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Your team's Shifts schedule in Microsoft Teams and its
Absences channel show who is away and when. They fill in
automatically from two places you already use:
- MyEC leave requests
- Outlook Out of Office events and automatic replies
You never need to add or edit anything in Shifts. This replaces the old shared
absence calendar and manual Shifts requests.
Only who is away and when is shown. Leave types, reasons and
balances are never shown.
MyEC leave requests
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A leave request appears in Shifts within about two minutes of being
submitted or approved.
- An approved request shows as Away.
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A request waiting for approval shows as Away (requested),
so your team can plan around it.
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If you withdraw an approved request, it shows as
Away (pending) until the withdrawal is approved. You still
count as away until then.
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Editing, withdrawing or cancelling a request updates Shifts within minutes.
To submit leave, see
How to Submit Self-Service Leave Requests.
Outlook Out of Office
Some time away never goes through MyEC, such as a sick day or a dentist
appointment. Outlook covers these. Shifts picks up:
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Calendar events shown as Out of office. This is the best
way, and the only way to give exact times.
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Automatic replies (Outlook's out-of-office message), for
days not already covered by an Out of Office event.
Outlook time away counts on weekdays between 8:30 AM and 4:30 PM, in stretches
of 30 minutes or more. If MyEC already has you away that day, MyEC is used,
and Outlook only adds the times.
MyEC records how many hours you are away, but not what time of day. A partial
day from MyEC alone shows in Shifts as its length, such as
Away (4hrs), with no start or end time.
To show the actual times, add an event to your Outlook calendar for those
hours and set it to Out of office. Shifts then shows your
exact times, usually within a few minutes. Do the same for a short appointment
that doesn't need a MyEC request.
- In Outlook, create a new event for the time you will be away.
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Open the Busy menu (Show as) and choose
Out of office.
- Save the event. You don't need to invite anyone.
A regular appointment set to Busy is not picked up. The event
must be Out of office, which Outlook shows in purple with
stripes.
Several appointments: you can add each one as its own Out of
Office event. If they repeat, use Series to create them all
at once. Each one shows in Shifts on its own day.
Reminder: at 3:30 PM, anyone with a partial day tomorrow and
no times yet is tagged in the Absences channel and asked to add an Out of
Office event.
Automatic replies (Settings > Account > Automatic replies
in Outlook) are also picked up:
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With Send replies only during a time period checked, every
working day in that period counts, up to 60 days ahead.
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With no end date, they count for today only, day by day, until you turn them
off.
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Turning automatic replies off removes the days from today onward. Past days
stay.
Check the End date and time carefully. An end time on the
wrong day makes you away for every working day in between. If that happens,
just correct the dates; Shifts catches up within a few minutes.
Automatic replies only allow one time period. For several appointments, use
Out of Office calendar events.
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In Teams, open Shifts from the left sidebar. If you don't
see it, select ... (More apps) and search for Shifts.
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Choose your team's schedule. For ITS staff, this is
ITS - Office of the CIO (OCIO).
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Open View and choose Team shifts.
Your shifts shows only your own entries.
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Optional: open Filter and show only
Time off, so you see only who is away.
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Switch between Day, Week and
Month to see further ahead.
People are grouped by team, following the org chart, and the groups update
themselves when reporting lines change. University closures, such as statutory
holidays and the winter closure, appear as Day notes at the
top of each day.
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8:00 AM every weekday: one post lists who is away today,
grouped by team, with All Day or a time range for each
person. If nobody is away, nothing is posted.
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During the day: any change is added as a reply under that
morning's post. No longer away means someone is back.
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(Requested) means the request is waiting for approval in
MyEC. (Pending) means a withdrawal is waiting for approval.
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A partial day with no times shows its length with
Out of Office not set in calendar underneath, and that
person is tagged as a reminder to add an Out of Office event.
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Fix it where it came from: your MyEC request, your Out of Office event or
your automatic replies. Shifts and the Absences channel catch up within a
few minutes.
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Don't edit the automatic entries in Shifts. The next update can overwrite
your change.
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If it still looks wrong after a few minutes, reply in the Absences channel
or submit a ticket to the IT Service Desk.
I can only see my own absences in Shifts.
Open View and choose Team shifts.
Your shifts shows only your own entries.
Shifts looks empty.
Check that Filter includes Time off, and
that you opened your team's schedule, not another team you belong to.
My partial day shows at the wrong time, or with no time.
MyEC has no time of day. Add an
Out of Office event for the hours you will be
away. A regular appointment, or one marked Busy, is not picked up.
My request is in MyEC but isn't approved yet. Does it show?
Yes. It shows as Away (requested) until it is approved.
How do I record a medical or dentist appointment of a few hours?
Add an Out of Office event in Outlook for those hours. If the time off is
leave, submit it in MyEC as usual too. MyEC records the leave, and the Out of
Office event gives Shifts the times.
I have several appointments coming up. Do I add them one at a
time?
Create one Out of Office event per appointment, or use
Series if they repeat. Automatic replies only allow one time
period at a time, so calendar events work better here.
I'm off sick and didn't submit a MyEC request. Will it show?
Yes, if you turn on automatic replies or add an Out of Office event for the
day.
I corrected my automatic replies, but Shifts still shows the old
days.
Changes are picked up within a few minutes. If the old days are still there
after about 10 minutes, reply in the Absences channel.
Should I add or edit entries in Shifts myself?
No. Everything in Shifts comes from MyEC and Outlook, and the next update can
overwrite manual changes. Shifts in other team spaces, such as an older team
schedule, can be turned off. Contact the IT Service Desk if you'd like one
removed.
Can I see regular working hours in Shifts?
Team leads can add regular shifts, such as working hours or flex schedules, to
show normal staffing alongside absences. This is optional; absences don't
depend on it.
Can people see why I'm away?
No. Only who is away and when is shown. Leave types, reasons, balances and
event titles are never read or shown.