Delegation on Absence
Automatically reroute approval tasks to a designated delegate when the primary approver is out of office. Prevents process stalls during vacations, sick leave, and travel.
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Visual Flow
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When to Use This Pattern
Use delegation on absence when:
- Approvers regularly go on leave, travel, or are otherwise unavailable
- Pending approvals stall for days whenever someone is out of office
- You want to avoid the heavy-handed approach of auto-approving after a timeout
- Your organisation has a culture of backup/delegate responsibilities
How It Works
| Step | What Happens |
|---|---|
| 1 | Workflow is about to assign an approval task |
| 2 | Check if the approver has an active delegation rule (OOO calendar, delegation table, or Exchange status) |
| 3 | If OOO → route the task to the designated delegate instead |
| 4 | Notify the original approver that the task was delegated |
| 5 | Delegate completes the approval on behalf of the original approver |
| 6 | Audit trail records both the original approver and the delegate |
Implementation Guide
Step 1: Build a Delegation Registry
Create a central place where employees register their delegates:
| Field | Example |
|---|---|
| Employee | jane.smith@company.com |
| Delegate | bob.jones@company.com |
| Start Date | 2025-03-15 |
| End Date | 2025-03-22 |
| Scope | All approvals / Specific types only |
| Status | Active |
Options for the registry:
- A SharePoint list with a self-service form (simplest)
- Exchange/Outlook OOO detection via Microsoft Graph API
- A database table managed by HR when leave is approved
- Automatic — when a leave request is approved, create the delegation entry
Step 2: Check Delegation Before Assigning
Before every task assignment:
target_approver = resolve_approver(request)
delegation = lookup_delegation(target_approver, today)
IF delegation exists AND delegation.is_active:
actual_assignee = delegation.delegate
delegation_flag = true
ELSE:
actual_assignee = target_approver
delegation_flag = false
assign_task(actual_assignee, delegation_flag)
Step 3: Add Context to Delegated Tasks
When a task is delegated, the delegate needs extra context:
- "You are acting on behalf of Jane Smith" — prominently displayed
- Original approver's typical approval criteria (if documented)
- Delegation scope — ensure this type of approval is within scope
- Escalation path — who to contact if the delegate isn't sure
Step 4: Handle Edge Cases
| Scenario | Solution |
|---|---|
| Delegate is also OOO | Check delegate's delegation → chain up to 2 levels, then escalate to manager |
| Delegation expired mid-task | If task is already assigned, keep it with the delegate. Don't yank tasks mid-review. |
| Approver returns early | Optionally reassign pending delegated tasks back. Or let the delegate finish. |
| No delegate configured | Fall back to the Escalation with SLA Timeout pattern |
Step 5: Audit Trail
Every delegated decision must record:
- Original approver name
- Delegate name
- Delegation reason (leave type, dates)
- Decision made by delegate
- Timestamp
Tips & Best Practices
Never allow open-ended delegation (no end date). Always require an end date and send a reminder to the employee to confirm their return or extend the delegation.
- Require delegate acceptance. Before the delegation takes effect, send the delegate a confirmation task. They should agree to take on the responsibility.
- Limit delegation depth. Don't allow A → B → C → D chains. Cap at 2 levels (delegate's delegate) then escalate to management.
- Separate approval authority. Some approvals (>$50k, legal contracts) may not be delegatable. Flag these in the routing matrix and escalate instead.
- Automate from leave requests. The smoothest UX: when a leave request is approved (see the Leave Request templates in the Gallery), automatically create the delegation entry.
Related patterns
Budget-Tiered Approval
Route purchase requests, expense reports, and financial approvals through different approval chains based on the dollar amount. Low-value requests skip senior approvers; high-value requests get more scrutiny.
Parallel Approval with Threshold
Send approval requests to multiple people simultaneously and proceed when a minimum number approve. Faster than serial chains for peer-level decisions.
Serial Approval Chain
Route a request through a sequence of approvers where each must approve before the next receives it. The simplest and most common approval pattern.