Who it’s for: Administrators and users with the relevant permissions
Platform: Sense HR
Available on: Team / Professional / Elite / Enterprise
Before you begin
Make sure you’re:
☑️ Logged in
☑️ Assigned the relevant permissions to manage Calendar & Planner settings
About Event Manager
Event Manager controls the Events available in Calendar and Planner and how they work for different groups.
Use Event Manager to:
create Working and Time-off Events;
decide who each Event applies to;
control who can book, edit or delete booked Events;
configure booking behaviour and approval;
manage entitlement for Time-off Events; and
configure the system Sickness Event and its reasons.
📖 Example: Your organisation uses one Training Event. Customer Support employees can book Training for themselves, while Warehouse employees have Training booked for them.
Both groups use the same Training Event. Separate rules provide the settings each group needs.
Navigation path
From the Sense HR Dashboard, go to:
Settings > Calendar & Planner > Event manager
Manage events shows your organisation’s configured Events.
Manage events shows the Working, Time-off and Sickness Events configured for your organisation.
Understand Events and booked Events
An Event is a configured option in Event Manager, such as Holiday, Training or Sickness.
A booked Event is a specific occurrence recorded for someone in Calendar or Planner.
📖 Example: Training is an Event. Kofi’s Training booked for 14 October is a booked Event.
Event Manager controls how the Event is configured. Calendar and Planner are where individual Events are booked and managed.
Understand Event categories
Event Manager uses three types of Event configuration.
Working Events
Working Events record working time or activities, such as:
Training
Conference
Working from home
You can create Working Events in Event Manager.
Time-off Events
Time-off Events record time away from work, such as:
Holiday
Study Leave
Bereavement
You can create Time-off Events in Event Manager.
Time-off Events can use Entitlement, so bookings reduce an employee’s entitlement balance.
Sickness
Sense HR provides one system Sickness Event.
You don’t create separate Sickness Events for different illnesses or employee groups. Instead, configure:
Sickness reasons;
rules for different groups;
booking access and partial-day options; and
reason settings such as Fit note, Return to Work, Paid absence and absence-scheme inclusion.
The system Sickness Event can’t be deleted.
Attendance is different
Attendance is a special system Event that can be booked but isn’t configured through Event Manager.
Don’t create a separate Attendance Event in Event Manager. Access to add and edit Attendance records is controlled separately through Access Roles.
Understand Event Manager rules
Each Event uses one or more rules.
A rule defines who the Event applies to and how it works for them.
Rules let different groups use the same Event with different settings.
📖 Example: Your organisation uses one Holiday Event. Most employees need approval for Holiday, but Senior Leadership doesn’t.
Create separate Holiday rules for the two groups rather than separate Holiday Events.
When you create a Working or Time-off Event, Sense HR automatically creates its first rule and assigns it to the Everyone Smart filter and Restrict to admin roles only is ON by default.
This lets you configure the rule before making the Event available more widely.
Add further rules where different groups need different settings.
🖊️ Note: Each person should be included in only one rule for the same Event. If rule Scopes overlap, Sense HR prevents the conflicting rule from being saved.
For guidance on Scope, Smart filters, exclusions, conflicts and planning multiple rules, see:
Understand Scope
Each rule has a Scope that determines who it applies to.
Use Assign to to include people or Smart filters and Exclude people to remove people who would otherwise match the rule.
An Event is applicable to someone only when at least one rule for that Event applies to them.
If no rule applies, the Event can’t be booked by them or on their behalf.
Use View filter results to check who a rule currently includes.
Understand Event Manager and Access Roles
Event Manager rules and Access Roles control different things.
Access Roles determine the Planner actions a user is allowed to perform and which people they can perform them for.
Event Manager determines whether those actions are allowed for the particular Event and the person it is being booked or managed for.
Both permission layers must allow the action.
📖 Example: Susan has Access Role permission to add Events to Fred’s Planner.
Susan can book Holiday for Fred only if the Holiday rule that applies to Fred also has Allow booking by others ON.
Event Manager doesn’t grant Planner permissions by itself.
🖊️ Note for Team plans: Access Roles Management isn’t available on Team. Team organisations use the shipped default permissions for Standard and Advanced (manager) roles.
👉 See the default Access Role permissions for Standard and Advanced roles
Find the Event Manager guidance you need
Plan different rules for an Event
Use this guidance to understand Scope, Smart filters, exclusions, conflicts, dynamic rule membership and what happens when rules change.
Create, edit or delete Working and Time-off Events
Use this guidance to create an Event, add rules, change its name or appearance, or delete it where permitted.
Control who can book, edit or delete booked Events
Use this guidance for:
Self-booking;
booking by others;
Administrator and Limited admin-only booking;
Allow edit; and
Allow delete.
Configure booking behaviour and approval
Use this guidance for:
Part of day booking options;
Minimum booking unit;
Max days in a row;
Max bookings per day;
Approval; and
booking outside working hours.
Configure Time-off entitlement
Use this guidance for:
Yearly and Ongoing entitlement;
Default FTE allowance;
First year entitlement;
Accrual;
Carryover;
Length of service; and
Balance & overbooking.
Configure Sickness
Use this guidance for Sickness rules, booking options and reason settings, including Fit notes and Return to Work.
Best practice
✔ Use rules instead of duplicate Events
If the Event is the same but different groups need different settings, use separate rules.
✔ Plan Scope before configuring complex rules
Decide which groups need different settings and make sure their Scopes don’t overlap.
✔ Check Access Roles as well as Event Manager
Event Manager doesn’t grant access to an employee or their Planner. Both permission layers must allow the required action.
✔ Keep new rules restricted while configuring them
New rules are restricted to Administrator and Limited admin roles by default. Leave this setting ON while configuring the rule unless broader booking access is already intended.
✔ Keep the number of Events manageable
Create a new Event where the activity or type of time off is genuinely different. Use rules where only the configuration differs.
FAQs
Click for answers to frequently asked questions
Click for answers to frequently asked questions
Q: What is Event Manager in Sense HR?
A: Event Manager controls the Events available in Sense HR Calendar and Planner and how they work for different groups.
Use Event Manager to create Working and Time-off Events, configure rules, control booking and management access, manage Time-off entitlement, and configure Sickness.
Q: What’s the difference between an Event and a booked Event in Sense HR?
A: An Event is a configured option such as Holiday or Training. A booked Event is a specific occurrence recorded for someone in Calendar or Planner.
For example, Training is an Event; Kofi’s Training on 14 October is a booked Event.
Q: What’s the difference between a Working Event and a Time-off Event in Event Manager?
A: A Working Event records working time or an activity, such as Training or a Conference. A Time-off Event records time away from work, such as Holiday or Study Leave.
Time-off Events can also use Entitlement where bookings should use an employee’s entitlement balance.
Q: Can I change a Working Event to a Time-off Event later?
A: No. You can’t change an Event’s category after it has been created.
If you selected the wrong category, create a new Event with the correct category.
Q: What is an Event Manager rule?
A: An Event Manager rule defines who an Event applies to and how it works for them.
Use separate rules where different groups need different settings for the same Event.
Q: Why would an Event have more than one rule in Event Manager?
A: An Event can have more than one rule so different groups can use the same Event with different settings.
For example, one Holiday rule can require approval while another confirms Holiday without approval.
Each person should be included in only one rule for the same Event.
Q: Should I create another Event or another rule in Event Manager?
A: Create another rule where the Event is the same but different groups need different settings.
For example, if two groups both book Holiday but need different approval or entitlement arrangements, use separate rules for the same Holiday Event.
Create another Event where the activity or type of time off is genuinely different.
Q: Can different groups have different settings for the same Event?
A: Yes. Different groups can have different settings for the same Event by using separate Event Manager rules.
Each rule can have its own Scope and applicable booking, access or entitlement settings.
Q: Why isn’t an Event available to book for an employee?
A: An Event may not be available to book because no Event Manager rule for that Event applies to the employee.
Open the Event and use View filter results to check which people each rule includes.
If no rule applies, the Event can’t be booked by the employee or on their behalf.
Q: Where do I configure who can book, edit or delete an Event?
A: Booking, editing and deleting booked Events are controlled through the applicable Event Manager rule together with the user’s Access Role permissions.
Use Access control for Self-booking and booking by others, and Edit & Delete permissions for existing bookings.
Q: Is Sickness configured in Event Manager?
A: Yes. Sense HR provides one system Sickness Event that is configured in Event Manager.
Use its rules and Sickness reasons to configure booking access, Part of day booking options, Fit note, Return to Work, Paid absence and absence-scheme settings.
You don’t create separate Sickness Events for different illnesses or groups.
Q: Why can’t I find Attendance in Event Manager?
A: You can’t find Attendance in Event Manager because Attendance is a special system Event and isn’t configured there.
Don’t create a separate Attendance Event in Event Manager. Access to add and edit Attendance records is controlled separately through Access Roles.
Q: Can I create another Sickness Event in Event Manager?
A: Sense HR provides one system Sickness Event, so you don’t create additional Sickness Events in Event Manager.
Use Sickness reasons for different causes of absence and separate rules where employee groups need different Sickness settings.
Q: Where do I configure Holiday entitlement in Event Manager?
A: Holiday entitlement is configured in the applicable Holiday rule under Entitlement.
Use the entitlement settings to configure the Entitlement period, Default FTE allowance and, where applicable, First year entitlement, Accrual, Carryover, Length of service and Balance & overbooking.