Time off and absences is where an absence stops being something agreed in conversation and becomes a fact visible in the calendar. The practitioner submits the request, the administrator decides, and while approving it Heltio shows the appointments that fall inside that period.
Sick leave is kept separately — it is not a request to be decided, only a fact to be recorded.
How to do it
Submit a request
Request time off opens a form with the fields Type, Start date, End date and Reason (optional). There are three types to choose from: Annual leave, Unpaid leave, Other absence.
The On-demand leave (urlop na żądanie) marker denotes a request submitted shortly before the date, in line with the Polish Labour Code. An administrator can submit a request on someone's behalf — they then get an extra field to pick the person.
Track the state of the request
The tabs are Pending requests, My requests, Calendar view and Counters. A request goes through the states Submitted → Approved or Rejected, and while the absence is running — Active, after it ends Ended.
Calendar view shows Team absences across a month, with the legend Approved, Active, Pending. Counters total up the days per person for a given year.
Decide the request and resolve the clashes
The administrator opens the request and sees Overlapping appointments with a count — or No overlapping appointments — safe to approve. For each clashing appointment you choose a Resolution:
- Keep as-is — the appointment stays, somebody will handle it.
- Cancel & notify patient.
- Reschedule (open wizard) — after approval Heltio will ask you to pick a new slot.
- Reassign to colleague — naming the person taking over.
Rejecting requires a reason — without one you will see Reason is required when rejecting.
Report sick leave
The Sick leave (L4) screen and the Report sick leave button. The form has a Start date, an optional End date, a ZUS L4 number (optional), an Issued by field (Doctor, Nurse, Physiotherapist, Self-reported) and a reason.
You leave the end date empty when it is not yet known — the sick leave then has the state Open and the label Open-ended. You close it later through Close sick leave, giving the Actual end date.
Arrange cover instead
When the absence is short and only individual shifts are involved, use Shift Swaps instead of leave: a Paired swap (with a specific colleague) or an Open coverage shift that anyone on the team can pick up. Open coverage has to be enabled in the practice policy.
When something goes wrong
You cannot approve your own request.
What this means: The person deciding is also the person who submitted it.
This request has already been decided.
What this means: Somebody decided earlier — usually a second administrator at the same moment.
End date must be on or after start date.
What this means: The date range is reversed.
Failed to load conflicts.
What this means: The list of clashing appointments did not load when the request was opened.
The work schedule feature is not enabled for this clinic.
What this means: The practice does not have the schedule module enabled, and time off is part of it.
Reporting sick leave requires an internet connection.
What this means: An attempt to report L4 from the mobile app with no signal.
Who has access
Clinic Admin PractitionerA practitioner submits requests and reports their own sick leave; they see the My requests tab and Team absences. Administrators and the owner approve, reject, submit requests for others and keep the sick-leave register. Nobody approves their own request. Every decision leaves a trace in the audit log.
Related
- Practitioner working schedule — record one-day deviations there as an exception, not as leave.
- Public holidays — closures that apply to the whole practice.
- Appointment list — where you cancel appointments in bulk if you did not do it while approving.
Related features
Practitioner working schedule
A working-hours template with a multi-week cycle, exceptions pinned to specific dates, copying a schedule across the team, and setting how much of it the practitioner may change themselves.
Public holidays
Thirteen Polish public holidays are already in Heltio, and the practice is closed on each of them by default. This is where you decide which ones you nevertheless work through.
Calendar — week grid and list view
The main working screen of the practice: a full 24-hour grid across the week, a switch to the appointment list, filters, drag-and-drop rescheduling and time blocking.
Appointment list — filters, printing and bulk actions
The table view of the calendar: narrowing by status, payment and visit card, CSV export, reminders and no-shows marked in bulk, printing a day or a week.