--- title: "How Absence Requests and Substitutions Work Together" description: "Reference for the link between absence requests and substitutions in Vitextra Absence & Coverage: when a substitution is created, what happens on approval, rejection and cancellation, how coverage gaps appear and why standalone substitutions behave differently." url: https://vitextra.com/en/support/kb/10350 language: en published: 2026-10-28 modified: 2026-10-28 products: - "Absence & Coverage" author: "Lidija Reising" tags: ["absence request substitute", "substitution lifecycle", "approve absence substitute", "cancel absence substitution", "coverage gap", "standalone substitution", "Vitextra Absence & Coverage", "SharePoint absence management"] --- # How Absence Requests and Substitutions Work Together Reference for the link between absence requests and substitutions in Vitextra Absence & Coverage: when a substitution is created, what happens on approval, rejection and cancellation, how coverage gaps appear and why standalone substitutions behave differently. ## Overview An absence request says **when** a person is away. A substitution says **who** covers them. In Vitextra Absence & Coverage the two are separate records that can be linked: a substitution that was created for a request follows the fate of that request, while a substitution created on its own does not. This article describes the lifecycle of both records step by step, so that employees, approvers and managers know what to expect after each action. It does not repeat the instructions for individual screens; links to them are in the last section. --- ## What is linked and what is not | | Absence request | Substitution tied to the request | |:---|:---|:---| | Where it is created | **New request** in the **My Absences** web part | Automatically, from the **Substitute** field of the request, or with **Assign** on the **No substitute** tab | | Who has to agree | The approver (not needed for types without approval) | The substitute, who accepts or declines | | Dates | Start and end of the absence | Copied from the request when the substitution is created; half days are not carried over | | Kind | – | Always **Temporary** when created from the request | | **Responsibilities** | – | Empty when created from the request; the text is entered only in the **Assign a substitute** panel | | Link | – | The substitution stores the number of the request | A substitution that is created with **Assign a substitute** in the toolbar of the **Substitutions** web part has no link to a request. It is called standalone in this article. The link is one-directional. A request changes its substitutions; a substitution never changes the request. Accepting, declining or cancelling a substitution does not change the status of the request. --- ## Lifecycle step by step | Event | Request | Substitution | What people see | |:---|:---|:---|:---| | The employee submits a request of a type **with approval** and names a substitute | **Pending approval** | Not created yet. The name is only stored on the request | **Substitute:** with the name in the request row; the approver sees the same line in the **Approvals** tab | | The approver selects **Approve** | **Approved** | A substitution is created with the status **Waiting for confirmation** and the dates of the request | The substitute gets a badge on the **I cover** tab | | The employee submits a request of a type **without approval**, or the employee is their own approver, and names a substitute | **Approved** at once | The substitution is created immediately with the status **Waiting for confirmation** | The same as above, without the waiting time | | The substitute selects **Accept** | No change | **Accepted** | The absence leaves the **No substitute** tab; the pill shows **Planned** or **In progress** | | The substitute selects **Decline** | No change | **Declined** | The absence is on the **No substitute** tab with "declined" and the name; the manager can choose **Assign** | | The approver selects **Reject** | **Rejected** | No substitution exists yet; if one did, it would become **Cancelled**. The substitute named in the request is never asked | The substitute does not see anything | | The employee selects **Cancel request** | **Cancelled** | Every substitution of this request becomes **Cancelled**, including accepted and declined ones | The substitutions disappear from the lists of the substitute and the absent person | | The absent person selects **Cancel substitution** | No change. The request stays **Approved** | **Cancelled** | The absence returns to the **No substitute** tab | | The employee names no substitute | No change | None | An approved absence appears on the **No substitute** tab of the manager, unless its type has the category Remote | ![An approved request and the substitution created from it](https://static.vitextra.com/articles/10350/request-and-substitution-en.png) *An approved request and the substitution created from it* 📝 **Note** The product does not send e-mail or Teams messages. Each person sees the changes when they open the web part: the badge on the **Approvals** tab for the approver, and the badge on the **I cover** tab for the substitute. --- ## A typical flow 1. Anna Berzina requests a vacation from 2 to 13 November 2026 and names Jonas Kalns as the substitute. 2. The request is **Pending approval**. Peter Hansen, her manager, sees it on the **Approvals** tab together with the line "Substitute: Jonas Kalns". 3. Peter selects **Approve**. The request becomes **Approved**, and a substitution from 2 to 13 November with the status **Waiting for confirmation** is created. 4. Jonas opens the **Substitutions** web part, sees the badge on **I cover** and selects **Accept**. The substitution is now **Planned**. 5. On 2 November the pill changes to **In progress**, and the **Team Absence Calendar** shows "Covered by Jonas Kalns" for Anna in the **Away today** block. 6. If Anna cancels the vacation before it ends, the request becomes **Cancelled** and the substitution disappears. --- ## Coverage gaps The **No substitute** tab lists the approved absences of a manager's direct reports for the next 120 days (including those already in progress), except absences whose type has the category Remote. An absence stays on the tab until an **Accepted** substitution **tied to that absence** exists. ❗ **Important** Only a substitution tied to the absence closes the gap. A standalone substitution for the same person and the same dates, created with **Assign a substitute** in the toolbar, is shown in the lists but does not remove the absence from the **No substitute** tab. To close a gap, use the **Assign** button in the row of the gap: it opens the panel with the person and the dates of the absence and ties the new substitution to it. --- ## Standalone substitutions Use a standalone substitution when no request exists: a handover of duties for an employee who leaves, a cover for a role, or a substitute who is agreed after the request was approved without one. Such a substitution: - is valid for the dates you enter and is not affected when any request is rejected or cancelled; - must still be accepted by the substitute; - can be cancelled only by the absent person, with **Cancel substitution**; - does not appear in the gap list, and does not close a gap. For open-ended cover see [KB10349. How to Hand Over Duties When an Employee Leaves (No End Date)](https://vitextra.com/en/support/kb/10349). 💡 **Tip** If the employee forgot to name a substitute, the manager does not have to reject the request. The manager opens the **No substitute** tab, selects **Assign** in the row of the absence and picks the substitute there. The new substitution is tied to the request and follows it from then on.