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Blocked Periods

Blocked Periods are date ranges where holidays are not allowed for selected users or roles. Administrators use them when the team must stay available, such as a hotel opening week, training period, finance close, or other critical window.

Blocked periods are different from project conflict warnings. A project conflict is an information warning. A blocked period is an administrator rule that tells staff the selected period should not be booked as holiday.

The Blocked Periods tab with an existing blocked period and the Add Blocked Period button.

How To Add A Blocked Period​

Create a blocked period from the Blocked Periods tab when holidays should not be allowed for a defined group.

  1. Open Absence Management.
  2. Select the Blocked Periods tab.
  3. Click Add Blocked Period.
  4. Select the Start Date.
  5. Select the End Date.
  6. Add a clear Description.
  7. Select who the block applies to in Disallow Holidays for.
  8. Click Add Blocked Period.

The Add Blocked Period modal with date, description, and disallowed holiday fields.

tip

Use a description that explains the business reason, such as IT-Academy, Hotel Opening Week, or Year-End Close.

What Each Blocked Period Field Means​

Blocked Periods use a small set of fields so employees can understand the rule quickly.

FieldMeaning
Start DateThe first date when holidays are blocked.
End DateThe last date when holidays are blocked.
DescriptionThe reason for the block.
Disallow Holidays forThe users or roles who cannot request holidays during this period.
Disallowed User(s)Specific users included in the block.
Disallowed Role(s)Roles included in the block, such as a project team or administrator group.
Created ByThe person who created the blocked period.

How Blocked Periods Affect Requests​

Blocked Periods are checked when someone creates or reviews an absence request.

If the selected dates overlap a blocked period for that employee or role, COMPASS shows a conflict. The employee can then change the dates or contact an administrator if the block should not apply.

Administrators should keep blocked periods focused. A short, clear block is easier for staff to understand than a broad block that covers many unrelated situations.