Leave and stand-ins without work piling up.
Someone goes on holiday — and their work keeps moving. Bricksta runs request and approval with the team in view: the manager sees who else is away before approving. And whoever stands in receives the handed-over and new tasks, instead of them sitting in an inbox no one reads.
- Request it yourself, no detour
- Tasks go to the stand-in
- Live in days, not months
Leave · Lena Hoffmann · 18–29 Aug
Started: request by Lena herself
- EmployeeRequest filed — doneStand-in entered — done
- ManagerTeam absences checked — doneApproval — in progress
- HRCheck remaining leave — done
- Stand-inHanded-over tasks — waitingNew tasks — waiting
Early warning
Overlap in the team
Jonas Weber is away on 25 and 26 Aug — the manager sees it before approving.
Someone is on holiday — and their work piles up.
The request is approved quickly. The hard part comes after: who takes over what, who approves while the manager is on the beach — and who notices that half the team is away at the same time in August?
What it costs if nothing changes
- Approvals and customer requests sit for weeks
- Two people from the same team are away at once
- HR maintains calendars and leave accounts by hand
Requests by email, calendar in Excel
The request goes to the manager by email or form, the leave calendar is a spreadsheet. You find out who is away when someone asks — or when it is too late.
The stand-in is just a name
The request names the stand-in. The open tasks, approvals and customer requests still sit in the inbox of the person who is not there.
Back from holiday: the pile
After two weeks, everything no one took over is waiting. Customers have chased, approvals are stuck, and the first days go on catching up.
A stand-in is not a name on a leave request. It is the work that has to keep moving.
Excel, HR software, task tool or workflow platform? What really carries leave and stand-ins?
These are the usual ways to handle leave and stand-ins.
Here you can see, point by point, what each of them can do.
| What a process needs | Keep going as isEmail, an Excel sheet and team agreements | HR softwareAbsence module of an HR suite | Task toolBoard or task list, stand-in arranged by hand | Workflow platformLow-code and BPM, set up by IT | BrickstaRequest with team view and a stand-in for the work |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Request it yourself, the manager approves | partly | can do it | partly | can do it | can do it |
| Overlaps and blackout periods show up before approval | can't do it | can do it | can't do it | partly | can do it |
| Team calendar shows who is away, never why | partly | can do it | can't do it | partly | can do it |
| Open tasks go to the stand-in, deliberately | can't do it | can't do it | partly | partly | can do it |
| New tasks from other processes go to the stand-in automatically | can't do it | partly | can't do it | partly | can do it |
| Leave account with year-end rollover by law and contract | partly | can do it | can't do it | can't do it | partly |
| Runs in days, without an implementation project | can do it | partly | can do it | can't do it | can do it |
| Already there, nothing new to introduce | can do it | partly | partly | can't do it | can't do it |
| Meets | 2 of 8 | 4 of 8 | 1 of 8 | 1 of 8 | 6 of 8 |
| Verdict | Familiar and already there. But who is away and who stands in is known only to whoever asks. | Strong on requests, calendar and accounts. But it does not know the absent person's other work: tasks from other processes pile up. | Tasks can be reassigned, but only by hand and only if someone remembers. | Can handle any process. But months of project work, and every change needs IT. | Request and approval with the team in view, plus a stand-in who takes over the new tasks from their processes. |
Email, an Excel sheet and team agreements
How leave and stand-ins run with Bricksta.
From request to return — with approval by the manager, a team calendar, and a stand-in who really stands in.
- 1
Everyone files their own request
Once the template allows it, each person files their own request, even without the right to create cases. If it touches a blackout period, they see it when submitting.
- 2
The manager approves with the team in view
The approval shows who from the same groups is already away in that period and which blackout applies. The team calendar shows who is away when, never the reason.
- 3
The stand-in takes over the work
Before the holiday, the person enters their stand-in and passes on open tasks deliberately. The manager confirms, and the result says for each task what was handed over and what was not.
- 4
New work goes to the stand-in
While the stand-in is active, new tasks land with them, with a notification “Standing in for …”, and so do approvals. The company can switch both off. Role tasks and tasks the person takes on themselves stay with them.
What changes.
Work keeps moving
New tasks go to the stand-in, not to the inbox of the person who is away.
No surprises in the team
Overlaps and blackout periods show up before approval, not in the first week of the holiday.
Holiday without the inbox
What can be handed over is with the stand-in; what cannot is named, with the reason, in the handover result.
Less upkeep for HR
No more leave calendar in Excel, and Bricksta pre-calculates the year-end rollover of the leave accounts.
Your first process.Live in 5 days.
DAY 01OF 5
You share. We listen.
We understand where things get stuck today and set your goal. Our commitment: your process goes live on Friday.
You + the Bricksta team
The five working days begin on the agreed project start date: for a clearly scoped first process, with your information and participation.
Hosted in Frankfurt
German and European law
Rights per role
Everyone sees only what concerns them
Complete history
Every step stays traceable
Connects to your systems
Start via email, CRM or form
Frequently asked questions
What teams most often want to know before they start.
Your question isn't here? Write to usWhich companies is this for?
For mid-sized companies where absences noticeably slow the business: approvals, customer requests and orders depend on individual people. If you handle leave by email and Excel today, you will notice the difference in the first holiday season.
Does Bricksta replace our HR software or payroll?
No. Bricksta runs request, approval, team calendar and stand-ins, and takes care of the work that has to keep moving during an absence. Payroll stays where it is.
Does the stand-in see why someone is away?
No. The team calendar and the stand-in only show that someone is away, and for how long. If a request contains a reason, such as a sick note, only the people the template allows can see it.
What happens to tasks the stand-in cannot take over?
They stay with the absent person, and the handover result says why for each task: for example because the stand-in lacks the permission, the task belongs to a role, or the case concerns the stand-in personally. Nothing disappears silently.
Who counts as the team for an overlap?
Everyone in the same groups. Your company defines the groups; someone in no group triggers no overlap notice. Whoever decides on the request sees the names; everyone else only sees people they also see in the team calendar.
Does this work for sick leave without an end date?
Yes. An absence may have an open end. The stand-in then applies until someone enters the end date. Sick leave is confirmed by HR, not by the manager.
Which public holidays apply?
Your company's: nationwide in Germany or by one of the 16 federal states, plus your own company holidays. The team calendar and leave account only count working days that are not public holidays.
Where is our data hosted?
In Frankfurt am Main (EU), under German and European law. Our infrastructure providers are bound by EU Standard Contractual Clauses; the full list is in the privacy policy.
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View solutionYour process isn't listed?
Bricksta runs any process with steps, owners and deadlines. We'll look at yours in the first conversation.
Do you know right now which approvals in your company are waiting for someone who is on holiday?
Personal, no obligation and based on your real process.