Requires a related period
The Requires a related period plugin restricts a time-off type to employees who already have an absence of another type — the working day before, overlapping it, or simply on record.
It is a rule about the request — its dates — rather than about the person, so it sits under Usage in the plugin list, not under Eligibility. It runs when a request is submitted, and it never hides a type from the request form: a second sick day is always offered, and refused with the reason if the first one is missing.
When to use
Use it for follow-on leave, where one type only makes sense after or alongside another:
- A child’s second sick day, which may only be taken on the working day after the first
- Pregnancy-related sickness, allowed only while a maternity-related period is on record
Parameters
| Parameter | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Qualifying types | The time-off types whose periods satisfy the rule. | Required |
| Required relation | How the request must stand to one of those periods. | Planned or active |
The three relations
| Relation | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Planned or active | A qualifying period exists and has not finished. Dates do not matter. |
| Overlapping | A qualifying period covers some of the same days as this request. |
| Previous working day | A qualifying period covers the working day immediately before this request starts. |
How it works
- The employee’s existing absences of the qualifying types are looked up
- They are measured against the required relation
- If none matches, the request is blocked
Weekends and holidays are skipped
Previous working day uses the employee’s own working calendar — their work pattern, their holidays. A first sick day on Friday is still “the previous working day” for a request starting Monday.
Finished absences still count for the date relations
Previous working day and Overlapping look at what has already happened, so an absence that is over and consumed still satisfies them. Planned or active does not: a type gated that way closes again once the qualifying leave is finished.
Examples
A child’s second sick day
- Add the Requires a related period plugin to the second sick-day policy
- Set Qualifying types to the first sick-day type
- Set Required relation to Previous working day
Sickness during maternity leave
- Add the Requires a related period plugin
- Set Qualifying types to the maternity-related types
- Leave Required relation on Planned or active
Error messages
An employee with no qualifying absence sees “This type requires a related absence of another type”, naming the relation you configured.
If existing absences cannot be read, the request is refused rather than allowed — a rule about eligibility should not pass because a lookup failed.