Help Topics

Does FlexiTimeOff have A Public API? [ API ]

: Coming soon…

What can I do with the API? [ API ]

: You can recreate most of the functionality (ex. search, submit request, approval, etc) of your FlexiTimeOff account. It also allows you to export data for either back up or syncing the data to a Accounting/Payroll/data warehouse for custom reports.

Approve Time Off Request [ Administrator Use Case ]

Go to "Administration" by clicking the link on the top right side of the page.
Select "Requests" from the navigation menu on the left.
If not already selected select "requests" tab. The "requests" tab will become active.
To approve the request, click on the "post" icon next to the time off request.
The system will update the status of the request to "posted".
End Use Case

How do I change my user Avatar? [ Customization & Design ]

: User Avatars (Profile Pictures) are currently being imported from an open service called Gravatar. You simply register an email address with an image and our service will automatically pull in your new Avatar. See http://gravatar.com for further instructions.

Personal Time Questions [ FAQ ]

Personal time

What is the purpose of personal time?
What types of employees are eligible for personal time?
How much personal time may employees take?
What is the schedule for accruing personal time?
When does an employee begin accruing personal time?
Who must approve the use of personal days?
What happens to accrued, unused personal days when an employee leaves the company?

Bereavement Leave Questions [ FAQ ]

Bereavement leave

What is the purpose of bereavement leave?
How many days of paid bereavement leave may an employee take?
Must these days be taken consecutively? Within what time period?
Are there exceptions to when the time may be taken?
Whose death represents an occasion for bereavement leave? How is "immediate family" defined?
What is the procedure for taking and recording bereavement leave? Does it require approval, or just notice?

Jury Duty Questions [ FAQ ]

Jury duty

What is the purpose of jury duty?
What procedure should an employee follow after being notified that he or she is required to serve, and at the end of service? What records should be kept?
Are employees paid during their leave for jury duty? At what rate? May employees keep the pay they receive from the courts for jury duty?
If the jury is excused, must the employee return to work that day?
What happens if jury duty falls at a time when the employee cannot be away from work?

Military Leave Questions [ FAQ ]

Military leave

May employees who are members of the United States Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, National Guard, Reserves or Public Health Service take leave for military service, training, or related obligations?
Is this leave paid or unpaid?
What is the company policy for benefits while the employee is on leave?

Time Off To Vote [ FAQ ]

Time off to vote

How will the company ensure that employees are able to exercise this civic responsibility?
What, if any, state regulations must the company comply with?
Will work schedules be changed to allow employees to go to the polls?
What types of elections are covered under this policy?
What is the policy for employees who live in another locality or state?
Will employees be penalized or retaliated against for requesting time off to vote?

Absence Due To Illnes [ FAQ ]

Absence due to illness/sick leave

What is the purpose of sick leave?
Who is eligible for sick days?
How many sick days do employees get each year?
May an employee carry sick days over from one year to the next?
What happens to unused sick days at the end of the year?
What happens to unused sick days when an employee leaves the company?
What is the procedure for taking sick time? What happens if an employee is unable to notify the company personally?
What happens if an employee does not inform the company that he or she is ill?
May the company request documentation from a healthcare professional about the nature or length of an employee's illness or disability.

Are there any additional time off? [ FAQ ]

Many companies have policies on paid time off for special circumstances that are unexpected or unforeseeable. The three most typical circumstances include jury duty, military/reserve duty, and bereavement leave.

Jury duty. Most organizations allow employees to take paid time off if they are called for jury duty. The length of time granted varies depending on the jurisdiction and the case. It could take only a few hours, several days, or a week or longer. Even though courts provide a small amount of compensation for jury service, companies customarily compensate employees at their regular base rate of pay.
If you are called for jury duty, your employer will likely require you to obtain verification that you have served from the court. If your jury is excused earlier than the close of business, your employer could require you to report to work.
Jury duty is considered a civic responsibility. In general, if your employer is reluctant to permit you to serve, it is a matter for the courts and the employer to resolve. Contact the clerk of the court where you were called to serve if your employer resists letting you carry out your civic duty.

Military duty. Employees who are members of the reserve forces or the National Guard are subject to weekend duty, annual training duty, or short-term emergency duty. Companies are generally not required to compensate employees for leaves due to military service, but must grant a maximum of 14 days a year for such duty. The employee is not required to use his or her vacation or paid time off for days required for service.

Bereavement leave. Companies may grant paid time off for employees bereaved by the death of an immediate family member or a close relative. SHRM's 2004 Benefits Survey shows that 90 percent of respondents offer paid bereavement leave. Usually, employees are allowed three days off with pay, and no pay for any additional time, unless employees arrange to use personal days or vacation time. Advanced notice for a bereavement leave is not required. Companies could have a narrowly defined list of people who are considered immediate family members.

Holidays Questions [ FAQ ]

Holidays

What types of employees are eligible for paid company holidays?
When does an employee begin being eligible for paid holidays?
What holidays does the company observe? For convenience, the following are the holidays observed by the federal government of the United States.
- New Year's Day, January 1
- Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, the third Monday in January
- Washington's Birthday, the third Monday in February
- Memorial Day, the last Monday in May
- Independence Day, July 4
- Labor Day, the first Monday in September
- Columbus Day, the second Monday in October
- Veterans Day, November 11
- Thanksgiving Day, the fourth Thursday in November
- The day after Thanksgiving
- Christmas Day, December 25
How are religious holidays treated?
When will employees learn of the holiday schedule for each year?
What happens when a holiday falls on a weekend?

What is Paid Time Off from Work [ FAQ ]

Employers know that their employees need a break once in a while. That's why companies offer paid time off (PTO) in the form of vacation days, holidays, personal leave, and sick leave. Some employers' plans offer a specific amount of days for each form of PTO, while others, particularly in the healthcare and financial industries, provide one set amount of paid days off that can be used for various reasons at the employee's discretion.

The definition of paid time off is any time not worked by an employee for which the regular rate, a fixed or a prorated amount of pay, is accrued and paid to the employee. Companies grant time off to give employees down time and a chance to deal with non-work related issues. Despite the high costs of paid time off, companies offer this employee-friendly benefit primarily to be competitive in attracting and retaining talented employees.

Does vacation time varies by years of service? [ FAQ ]

Paid vacation time is a voluntary benefit that organizations offer to employees. There are no federal regulations requiring employers to provide vacation days, but it has become common business practice to do so.

Employees accrue hours of paid vacation time at a certain rate for each day worked. Different employers use different formulas to calculate vacation time. So, an employee with 15 days of paid vacation time at one company may or may not enjoy the same number of paid vacation days after changing jobs.

Generally speaking, the amount of paid vacation time depends on the length of service and the level in the organization. Usually companies have some scale that decides how many paid vacation days an employee will receive. Four or five weeks of vacation is not unlikely for an employee who remains with a company for more than 15 years, although that's typically the upper limit for vacation benefits in the United States.

Some employers base vacation days on the employment anniversary date, while others use the calendar year to keep track. Employees should always ask whenever there is doubt.

Exempt employees should receive the same salary pay rate for vacation days. So if you are exempt and take two weeks of paid vacation, you should receive a paycheck for the same amount of salary for those two weeks as if you had worked.

Some companies let employees carry unused vacation days over to the next calendar year. Policies differ, but typically employees may carry over five days. Not all companies pay cash for vacation days that are not taken by the end of the calendar year. If an employee leaves the company, it is required to compensate for those unused vacation days in cash. Some companies use a prorated payout that is in accordance with the number of months of accrued service in a given year.
Part-time employees are often granted some paid vacation days as well. However, the pay rate may be different from these employees' base pay rate.

Often HR managers are concerned about the effect of vacations on productivity, staffing, customer service, and operating continuity. Therefore, when you plan your vacation, you may need to notify managers and your HR department to get clearance. This is particularly important if you want to take time off during common holiday seasons, such as in August or at the end of the year. Early notification allows for advance planning to reduce the burden on your colleagues while you are away, and to minimize the backlog of work when you return. Remember that vacation time, like everything else, is negotiable. Just bear in mind that you might have to forego other forms of compensation in exchange for more vacation time.

Vacation Leave Questions [ FAQ ]

Vacation leave

What is the company's philosophy on vacations? What is their purpose?
Which types of employees are eligible for paid vacation - full-time only, or other employees as well?
What is the procedure for requesting vacation time? Who must approve it?
How many vacation days do employees get?
How are vacation days accrued? When do they start being accrued?
How long must an employee be with the company before becoming eligible for a paid vacation? Are employees permitted to take unpaid leave before that time has passed? Who must approve an unpaid leave?
May employees borrow vacation time? Is there a waiting period before they may borrow vacation time? What is the procedure for doing so?
What happens to unused vacation time at the end of the year? If some days may be carried over, is there a maximum? Is that subject to approval by the supervisor?
What happens if a company holiday falls during a vacation?
Does vacation time accrue during a disability leave or a leave without pay?
What is the smallest unit of vacation pay? What constitutes a day or a half-day?
If an employee becomes eligible for vacation time after having been ineligible, when does the vacation time start to accrue?
What happens to vacation time when an employee leaves the company? What if the employee has only recently joined the company?
If vacation time is paid out when an employee leaves the company, is it at the same rate as the employee's salary?
What happens to borrowed vacation time when an employee leaves the company?

What Is Domain Aliasing? [ Features ]

: This is the customization of the URL that you will direct customers to, so instead of sending users to http://yourcompany.flexitimeoff.com you could change the domain to http://timeoff.flexitimeoff.com
This will require altering the CNAME record on your DNS, so if you’ve never done this before, please consult your domain hosting provider.

What kind of Analytics does FlexiTimeOff offer? [ Features ]

: At this time, number of requests, balance & activity scores are offered - in the future we intend to build these tools out to display richer data sets for power users. With higher service levels we allow APIs to pull data out. In theory, you could also pull data out to generate your own metrics, or simply send the information to a Accounting/Payroll package.

Do I have to sign for full year for your service? [ Service ]

: No. We do not have annual commitments or multi-year contracts. You can cancel any time.

How does the 15-day free trial work? [ Service ]

: If you cancel a paying plan within 15 days of signing up, you won’t be charged a thing. If you choose to cancel your account in the future, you will not be charged the following month. Refunds can not be issued after your initial 15 day trial and we don't prorate for partial months.

Do I get a 15-day free trial if I upgrade? [ Service ]

: If you upgrade from a free account to a paid account, you are not eligible for the 15-day free trial. The 15-day free trial only applies if you sign up for a paying plan now. And yes, you can downgrade later if you need to.

I wish you offered _____? [ Service ]

: We'd love to hear how we can improve our service plans. Please leave us feedback on our contact form.

Does FlexiTimeOff offer Phone Support? [ Service ]

: Not for now!

How do you define a "User?" [ Service ]

: A Voter is any user, that has been issued user name and can login and submit request in a month.

What if I have multiple teams/departments? [ Service ]

: Each FlexiTimeOff account is set up on a single portal with one domain (youraccount.flexitimeoff.com), and one design.
If you don't require separate branding for each team/department, then you can have a single company-wide FlexiTimeOff account, for each of your teams/departments.
If you want a separate domain, design, or set of admins for each team/department, then you'll want to create an individual portal for each.

Time Off Plans [ Service ]

: As mentioned above, some employers prefer to give their employees a paid time off plan. This is a more flexible arrangement that gives the employee a set amount of days off to be used at the employee's discretion. These days can be used for sick time, personal days, vacations, or for whatever reason the employee may need time off. Like vacation and other forms of time off, the amount of days off generally accumulates through years of service and the level of the employee within the organization.

Submit Time Off Mail Message [ Use Case ]

Go to "My Account"
Select "Inbox" from the navigation menu on the left.
The "Inbox" tab becomes active.
Select the "submit new message" tab.
Fill out the time off mail message form. Select the recepient from the "To" drop down menu.
Enter subject and message as appropriate.
Click "Save" to save and submit the message.
After submission, the user is redirected to a screen with a detail view of the newly submitted message.
End Use Case

Read Time Off Mail Message [ Use Case ]

Go to "My Account"
Select "Inbox" from the navigation menu on the left.
The "Inbox" tab becomes active.
Click ot the "Open" icon next to the message that you want to read.
The "message detail" tab becomes active.
Read the message.Once done select the "Inbox" tab to return to the list of messages.
End Use Case

Review Account Settings [ Use Case ]

Go to "My Account"
Select "Account Settings" from the navigation menu on the left.
If not already selected select "account detail" tab. The "account detail" tab will become active.
Review the account settings uder the headings, including "General Information", "Contact Information", "Employment", "Profile", "Photo" and "Blog".
End Use Case

Find help [ Use Case ]

Go to "My Account"
Select "Help" from the navigation menu on the left.
If not already selected select "help" tab. The "help" tab will become active.
Scroll the page untill you find the help topic that is in interest.
To review further details click on the "read more" link on the top right corner of the topic section. "help topic detail" tab becomes active.
To return back to a list of help topics select the "help" tab.
End Use Case

Update Account Settings [ Use Case ]

Go to "My Account"
Select "Account Settings" from the navigation menu on the left.
If not already selected select "account detail" tab. The "account detail" tab will become active.
To update account settings, select "update account" link on the top right corner of the page.
"update account" tab will become active with the "Update Account" form. Change the account settings as appropriate. Click "Save" button to save the changes.
The user will be redirected to the "account detail" tab.
End Use Case

Submit time off request [ Use Case ]

Go to "My Account"
Select "Requests" from the navigation menu on the left.
Click "submit new request" tab. The new request tab will become active.
Fill out the form by selecting the type of time off request, and the beginnig and ending dates of the request. Enter any note in the note area if necessary. If the request is for a half day only, check the "Half Day" checkbox.
Click "Save" button.
The system will redirect the user to detail screen of the newly submitted request.
End Use Case

Check Time Off Account Balance [ Use Case ]

Go to "My Account"
Select "Reports" from the navigation menu on the left.
If not already selected select "Account Balance" tab. The "Account Balance" tab will become active.
Review the account balance information on the screen for the supported types of time off tracked.
To further review details for the accumulated dates, click the "Accumulated" link under each time off type.
To further review details for the taken dates, click the "Taken" link under each time off type.
End Use Case

Review Time Off Policies [ Use Case ]

Go to "My Account"
Select "Policies" from the navigation menu on the left.
If not already selected select "Paid Time Off Policy" tab. The "Paid Time Off Policy" tab will become active.
Review the number of days available for each type of paid time off for each year of service.
To review list of holidays observed by your company select the "Holidays" tab.
To review details of the current company policy relating to different types of non-paid leaves of absense, select the "Leaves" tab.
End Use Case

FlexiTimeOff - Time Off Requests 2.0

FAQ