Who it’s for: Sense HR Administrators and users with permission to manage Event Manager
Platform: Sense HR
Available on: Team / Professional / Elite / Enterprise
Before you begin
☑️ Make sure the Event and rule you want to configure have been created.
☑️ Make sure the rule’s Scope includes the intended people.
☑️ Decide whether people included in the rule’s Scope should be able to book the Event themselves, whether authorised users should be able to book it for them, and who should be able to edit or delete existing bookings.
🖊️ Note: This article covers Access control and Edit & delete permissions in Event Manager rules. Planner permissions are also controlled through Access Roles. On Team plans, Access Roles use the shipped default permissions and can’t be customised.
For information about planning rules, Scope, Smart filters and conflicts, see:
For information about creating Working and Time-off Events and their rules, see:
About Event booking access
The rule controls both who can book the Event and who can edit or delete existing bookings for people included in its Scope.
Under Access control, you can control whether:
only Administrator and Limited Admin roles can book the Event for them;
they can book the Event for themselves; and
authorised users can book the Event for them.
Under Edit & delete permissions, you can control whether existing bookings for people included in the rule’s Scope can be:
edited by users with the required permissions; and
deleted by users with the required permissions.
These settings are configured separately for each rule. This means the same Event can have different booking, edit and delete access for different groups.
📖 Example: Your organisation uses one Training Event. One group can Self-book Training, while another group can only have Training booked for them by an authorised user.
Both groups use the same Training Event, but their applicable rules provide different booking access.
Navigation path
From the Sense HR Dashboard, go to:
Settings > Calendar & Planner > Event manager
Click the Event you want to configure.
Select the rule from the tabs at the top of the configuration page.
Go to Access control to configure who can book the Event.
Go to Edit & delete permissions to configure who can edit or delete existing bookings.
Understand how Event Manager and Access Roles work together
Booking and managing an Event can depend on both the user’s Access Role and the applicable Event Manager rule.
The Access Role controls the Planner actions the user is allowed to perform. Depending on the Access Role, this can include permissions for:
View
Update
Add
Delete
These permissions can apply to the user’s Own profile and, for Advanced Access Roles, to other people they have access to.
Event Manager then controls whether the corresponding action is allowed for the specific Event and the people included in the rule’s Scope.
Both layers must allow the action.
📖 Example: Fred’s Holiday rule has Self-booking ON.
Fred also needs Add permission for Planner under Own profile in his Access Role. If his Access Role doesn’t allow him to add Events to his own Planner, turning Self-booking ON for Holiday doesn’t give him that permission.
Similarly, if Susan is Fred’s manager and Fred’s Holiday rule has Allow booking by others ON, Susan still needs Add permission for Planner for the people she has access to.
🖊️ Note: Event Manager Access control doesn’t grant Planner permissions. It controls whether an action already permitted by the user’s Access Role can be performed for that particular Event for people included in the rule’s Scope.
The Event Manager settings in this table are always taken from the rule that applies to the person the Event is booked for.
🖊️ Note: Permissions under People are available for Advanced Access Roles and apply to people the user has access to.
Action | Event Manager | Access Role |
Book for yourself | Self-booking ON | Planner Add under Own profile |
Book for another person in the rule’s Scope | Allow booking by others ON | Planner Add under People, plus access to that person |
Edit your own booking | Allow edit ON | Planner Update under Own profile |
Edit a booking for another person in the rule’s Scope | Allow edit ON | Planner Update under People, plus access to that person |
Delete your own booking | Allow delete ON | Planner Delete under Own profile |
Delete a booking for another person in the rule’s Scope | Allow delete ON | Planner Delete under People, plus access to that person |
🖊️ Note: Booking, editing and deleting are checked separately. A user doesn’t need Self-booking or Allow booking by others to edit or delete an existing booking. They need Allow edit or Allow delete, together with the corresponding Access Role permission.
👉 See Access Roles guidance for information about configuring user permissions.
🖊️ Note for Team plans: Access Roles Management isn’t available on Team, so the Access Role permissions shown in this table can’t be changed. Sense HR uses the shipped default permissions for Standard and Advanced (manager) roles.
🖊️ Note: Attendance doesn’t use Event Manager Access control or Edit & delete permissions. Attendance is a special system Event, and access to add or edit Attendance records is controlled separately through Access Roles.
Restrict the Event to administrators
Turn Restrict to admin roles only ON when only Administrator and Limited Admin roles should be able to book the Event for people included in the rule’s Scope.
Use this where an Event should be booked centrally rather than booked by employees or other authorised users.
📖 Example: Maternity and Paternity are restricted to administrator booking by default. Use Restrict to admin roles only for other Events that should also be recorded centrally rather than booked by employees or managers.
Configure new rules safely
When you create an Event, its default rule is assigned to Everyone and Restrict to admin roles only is ON. Leave this ON while you configure and check the rule so the Event isn’t immediately available to everyone.
When the default rule is ready, configure Self-booking and Allow booking by others as required, then turn Restrict to admin roles only OFF if the Event should be available more widely.
Additional rules start without anyone assigned to them. Configure the rule first, then use Assign to to select the people or Smart filters it should apply to.
Configure Allow edit and Allow delete separately according to who should be able to manage existing bookings.
If a rule should remain centrally booked by Administrator and Limited Admin roles, turn Restrict to admin roles only ON.
Allow people to book the Event for themselves
Turn Self-booking ON to allow people covered by the rule to book the Event for themselves.
Leave it OFF where they shouldn’t be able to book the Event for themselves.
📖 Example: A Working from home rule has Self-booking ON. Kofi is covered by the rule and has Add permission for his own Planner through his Access Role, so he can book Working from home for himself.
For Sickness, Self-booking allows an employee with the required Planner permission to add their own Sickness Event directly to Planner.
🖊️ Note: Sickness Self-booking is different from Notify manager in the Dashboard sickness widget. Notify manager sends a sickness notification for an authorised user to review and record. Self-booking adds the Sickness Event directly to the employee’s Planner.
For a consistent sickness-reporting process, it’s best to use one route for the same group of employees rather than asking them to use both.
For more information, see:
Allow authorised users to book for other people
Turn Allow booking by others ON to allow authorised users to book the Event for people covered by the rule.
The person making the booking must also have the required Access Role permissions.
📖 Example: Fred’s Holiday rule has Allow booking by others ON.
Susan can book Holiday for Fred if her Access Role also gives her access to Fred and permission to Add Events to his Planner.
If Allow booking by others is OFF, Susan can’t book Holiday for Fred, even if her Access Role normally allows her to Add Events to his Planner.
Allow existing bookings to be edited
Turn Allow edit ON to allow booked Events for people included in the rule’s Scope to be edited.
The person editing the booking must also have the required Access Role permissions:
To edit their own booking, they need Update permission for Planner under Own profile.
To edit another person’s booking, they need Update permission for Planner under People and access to that person.
📖 Example: Fred’s Holiday rule has Allow edit ON.
Fred can edit his own Holiday booking if his Access Role also gives him Update permission for Planner under Own profile.
Susan can edit Fred’s Holiday booking if her Access Role gives her access to Fred and Update permission for Planner under People.
If Allow edit is OFF, neither Fred nor Susan can edit Fred’s Holiday booking. Editing is therefore restricted to Administrator and Limited Admin roles.
Editing past Events
To edit an Event that is already in the past, the user also needs:
Features > Planner actions > Edit past events in Access role permissions.
This applies alongside the relevant Update permission and the Event Manager Allow edit setting.
🖊️ Note: Allow edit is separate from the booking settings under Access control. Someone doesn’t need Self-booking or Allow booking by others to edit an existing booking. They need Allow edit and the corresponding Access Role permission.
This is particularly important for Sickness. An employee can be allowed to Self-book Sickness while Edit remains OFF.
Edit a booking after its rule has changed
When you give people Allow edit access, make sure they understand that an existing booking may be affected by rule changes made since it was originally booked.
Changing a rule doesn’t automatically update existing bookings. However, if a booking is later edited, the current applicable rule is used for the edit. The person editing it may therefore need to change the booking to meet the current configuration, or discard their changes and leave the original booking unchanged.
For more information about rule changes and existing bookings, see:
For instructions on editing a booking, see:
Allow existing bookings to be deleted
Turn Allow delete ON to allow booked Events for people included in the rule’s Scope to be deleted.
The person deleting the booking must also have the required Access Role permissions:
To delete their own booking, they need Delete permission for Planner under Own profile.
To delete another person’s booking, they need Delete permission for Planner under People and access to that person.
📖 Example: Fred’s Holiday rule has Allow delete ON.
Fred can delete his own Holiday booking if his Access Role also gives him Delete permission for Planner under Own profile.
Susan can delete Fred’s Holiday booking if her Access Role gives her access to Fred and Delete permission for Planner under People.
If Allow delete is OFF, neither Fred nor Susan can delete the Holiday booking. Deletion is therefore restricted to Administrator and Limited Admin roles.
Delete past Events
To delete an Event that is already in the past, the user also needs:
Features > Planner actions > Delete past events in Access role permissions.
This applies alongside the relevant Delete permission and the Event Manager Allow delete setting.
🖊️ Note: Allow delete is separate from the booking settings under Access control. Someone doesn’t need Self-booking or Allow booking by others to delete an existing booking. They need Allow delete and the corresponding Access Role permission.
👉 See Access Roles guidance for information about Planner permissions.
Configure different access for different groups
Because Access control and Edit & delete permissions are configured per rule, the same Event can have different booking, edit and delete access for different groups.
📖 Example: Your organisation uses one Training Event.
The Customer Support rule has:
Self-booking ON
Allow booking by others ON
Allow edit ON
The Warehouse rule has:
Self-booking OFF
Allow booking by others ON
Allow edit OFF
Customer Support employees can book and, where their Access Role permits, edit their own Training. Warehouse employees have Training booked for them and can’t edit the resulting booking.
Both groups continue to use the same Training Event.
For information about planning separate rules without creating overlaps, see:
Save your changes
When you’ve finished configuring Access control and Edit & delete permissions, click Save changes.
The settings apply to people covered by the selected rule.
If the Event has multiple rules, configure these settings separately for each rule as required.
Best practice
✔ Configure rules before making them available
Keep the default Everyone rule restricted to administrators until it’s ready. Configure additional rules before using Assign to to set their Scope.
✔ Give only the access people need
Self-booking, Allow booking by others, Allow edit and Allow delete are separate controls. Enable each action only where it’s required.
✔ Consider Edit and Delete separately from booking
Being able to book an Event doesn’t necessarily mean the person should be able to change or remove the booking afterwards.
✔ Check Access Roles as well as Event Manager
Allowing an action in Event Manager doesn’t give a user access to another employee or Planner. Both permission layers must allow the action.
✔ Use separate rules for genuinely different access arrangements
If different groups need different booking access for the same Event, configure separate rules rather than creating duplicate Events.
FAQs
Click to see answers to frequently asked questions
Click to see answers to frequently asked questions
Q: What does Restrict to admin roles only do in Event Manager?
A: Restrict to admin roles only means only users with an Administrator or Limited Admin role can book the Event for people included in the rule’s Scope.
When it is ON, Self-booking and Allow booking by others are disabled.
Use it where the Event should be centrally booked, or keep it ON while configuring the default Everyone rule for a new Event.
Q: What does Self-booking mean in Event Manager?
A: Self-booking determines whether people covered by the rule can book the Event for themselves.
Self-booking doesn’t determine whether another user can book the Event for them, or whether the booking can later be edited or deleted. Those actions have separate controls.
Q: Can an employee book their own Sickness Event in Sense HR?
A: Yes, where Self-booking is ON for the Sickness rule that applies to them.
Sickness Self-booking adds the Sickness Event directly to Planner. This is different from using Notify manager in the Dashboard sickness widget, which sends a sickness notification for an authorised user to review and record.
Q: Can someone Self-book an Event but be unable to edit it afterwards?
A: Yes. Self-booking and editing are controlled separately.
Someone can have Self-booking ON and the required Planner Add permission, while Allow edit is OFF or their Access Role doesn’t provide Planner Update permission.
For example, an employee can be allowed to book their own Sickness without being allowed to edit it afterwards.
Q: What does Allow booking by others do in Event Manager?
A: Allow booking by others determines whether another authorised user can book the Event for people covered by the rule.
The person making the booking must also have the required Access Role permissions.
Q: Why can a manager access an employee’s Planner but not book a particular Event for them?
A: Access to an employee’s Planner doesn’t automatically allow every Event to be booked for them.
The manager’s Access Role must allow the relevant Planner action, and Allow booking by others must be ON in the Event Manager rule that applies to the employee.
If no rule for the Event applies to the employee, the Event can’t be booked for them at all.
Q: Why can I view a booked Event but not edit it?
A: Viewing and editing booked Events are controlled separately.
Your Access Role must allow the relevant Planner action and Allow edit must be ON in the applicable Event Manager rule.
Additional Access Role permissions apply if the Event is already in the past.
Q: Why can I view a booked Event but not delete it?
A: Viewing and deleting booked Events are controlled separately.
Your Access Role must allow the relevant Planner action and Allow delete must be ON in the applicable Event Manager rule.
Additional Access Role permissions apply if the Event is already in the past.
Q: Does Allow edit change Events that have already been booked?
A: Turning Allow edit ON doesn’t change existing bookings.
It allows authorised users to edit them. If an existing booking is edited, the current applicable rule is used for the edit, so the booking may need to meet settings that differ from when it was originally created.
Q: Can different groups have different booking access for the same Event?
A: Yes. Access control is configured separately for each Event Manager rule.
Use separate rules where different groups need different Self-booking, booking by others, Edit or Delete access.
Q: How do I let employees book their own Sickness directly into Planner without manager or administrator acknowledgement?
A: To let employees book their own Sickness directly into Planner, turn Self-booking ON in the Sickness rule that applies to them.
Also make sure their Access Role has Add permission for Planner under Own profile.
Employees with both settings can add their own Sickness Event directly to Planner without using the Notify manager sickness-notification process.
Q: How do I let employees book their own Holiday in Sense HR?
A: To let employees book their own Holiday, turn Self-booking ON in the Holiday rule that applies to them.
Also make sure their Access Role has Add permission for Planner under Own profile.
Q: How do I let managers book Training for employees in their team?
A: To let managers book Training for employees in their team, turn Allow booking by others ON in the Training rule that applies to those employees.
The manager’s Access Role must also give them access to the relevant employees and Add permission for Planner under People.
Q: How do I let employees book an Event but stop them changing it afterwards?
A: To let employees book an Event but stop them changing it afterwards, turn Self-booking ON and Allow edit OFF in the Event Manager rule that applies to them.
Self-booking and editing are controlled separately, so employees can be allowed to make the initial booking without being allowed to edit it afterwards.
Their Access Role must also have Add permission for Planner under Own profile for Self-booking to work.
Q: How do I let managers book an Event for employees but stop employees booking it themselves?
A: In the applicable Event Manager rule, leave Self-booking OFF and turn Allow booking by others ON.
Managers or other authorised users can then book the Event for people in the rule’s Scope where their Access Role also gives them access to those people and Add permission for Planner under People.
Employees covered by the rule can’t book the Event themselves through Self-booking.
Q: How do I make an Event bookable only by Administrator and Limited Admin roles?
A: Turn Restrict to admin roles only ON in the applicable Event Manager rule.
This disables Self-booking and Allow booking by others, so only Administrator and Limited Admin roles can book the Event for people in the rule’s Scope.
Allow edit and Allow delete are separate settings and aren’t controlled by Restrict to admin roles only.
Q: How do I let employees book their own Holiday but stop them deleting it?
A: To let employees book their own Holiday without allowing them to delete the booking, turn Self-booking ON and Allow delete OFF in the Holiday rule that applies to them.
Their Access Role must also have Add permission for Planner under Own profile for Self-booking to work.
Self-booking and deleting are controlled separately, so allowing employees to make the booking doesn’t automatically allow them to remove it afterwards.
Q: Why can’t I change the Planner permissions in an Access Role on a Team plan?
A: You can’t customise Access Role permissions on a Team plan because 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
Q: Why can’t I configure Attendance booking in Event Manager?
A: You can’t configure Attendance booking in Event Manager because Attendance is a special system Event.
Access to add and edit Attendance records is controlled separately through Access Roles.
👉 See the default Access Role permissions for Standard and Advanced roles.