Delegation on Absence

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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	[email protected]
Delegate	[email protected]
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

Important

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.

Visual Flow

When to Use This Pattern

How It Works

Implementation Guide

Tips & Best Practices

Related patterns

Budget-Tiered Approval

Parallel Approval with Threshold

Serial Approval Chain