How to Set a Blackout Period (Block Time)
A Blackout Period is a period of time when employees aren’t allowed to book any leave. This Automation is useful for companies that have high-volume periods and want to implement a blackout period to ensure they have sufficient staff.
The Blackout Period can be set by an Approver or Admin. Please note that an Admin must purchase the add-on first before an Approver can set their Blackout Period.
Let’s begin!
Go to the Vacation Tracker Dashboard - app.vacationtracker.io/signin
On the left-hand side click on Add-ons
Select Blackout Period
In case you haven’t subscribed to the Blackout Period automation yet, go to Discover more add-ons and select Blackout Period there
![](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/d0b9210427117800/blackout-2_tdiytc.png)
Choose a name for your Blackout Period
Choose “Yes” to apply the Blackout Period to all Users within the company, choose “No” if you’d like to set the blackout period for a particular Location, Department or Label. For more information on how to assign a blackout period for different locations, departments, and/or labels, please see the following link:
![](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/d0b9210427117800/4_10xsjvm.png)
Select the Leave Types you would like the Blackout Period to be set for.
Select the start and end date for the Blackout Period.
![](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/d0b9210427117800/5_1wr956k.png)
Choose if you’d like for the Blackout period to recur annually.
Please note, at the bottom of the page, you will have a summary of how many Users the Blackout Period will affect and a summary of the policy you created.
![](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/d0b9210427117800/6_ejaa7x.png)
You can use our default template to set an Auto-Reject response or add your own message. The User will receive this automatic response when they try to request a leave during the Blackout Period you set.
![](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/d0b9210427117800/7_123mgsq.png)
Click on Create
You can create as many Blackout Periods needed for different dates.
You can revisit any Blackout Period automations you’ve previously created by going to Add-ons and clicking on Blackout Period.
![](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/d0b9210427117800/blackout-3_198h466.png)
Please note that the Blackout Period’s main role is to prevent Users from requesting time off during a certain period. The Blackout Period will not show as an event in your Vacation Tracker calendar.
Blackout Period is different from Holidays. Holidays are automatically non-working days, whereas a blackout period is a block of time Users aren’t allowed to request as leave.
For more information and details on other Automations we offer, please see the following guide: Guide: What Automations does Vacation Tracker offer?
The Blackout Period can be set by an Approver or Admin. Please note that an Admin must purchase the add-on first before an Approver can set their Blackout Period.
Let’s begin!
Go to the Vacation Tracker Dashboard - app.vacationtracker.io/signin
On the left-hand side click on Add-ons
Select Blackout Period
![](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/d0b9210427117800/blackout-1_xdiwn9.png)
In case you haven’t subscribed to the Blackout Period automation yet, go to Discover more add-ons and select Blackout Period there
![](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/d0b9210427117800/blackout-2_tdiytc.png)
Choose a name for your Blackout Period
Choose “Yes” to apply the Blackout Period to all Users within the company, choose “No” if you’d like to set the blackout period for a particular Location, Department or Label. For more information on how to assign a blackout period for different locations, departments, and/or labels, please see the following link:
![](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/d0b9210427117800/4_10xsjvm.png)
Select the Leave Types you would like the Blackout Period to be set for.
Select the start and end date for the Blackout Period.
![](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/d0b9210427117800/5_1wr956k.png)
Choose if you’d like for the Blackout period to recur annually.
Please note, at the bottom of the page, you will have a summary of how many Users the Blackout Period will affect and a summary of the policy you created.
![](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/d0b9210427117800/6_ejaa7x.png)
You can use our default template to set an Auto-Reject response or add your own message. The User will receive this automatic response when they try to request a leave during the Blackout Period you set.
![](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/d0b9210427117800/7_123mgsq.png)
Click on Create
You can create as many Blackout Periods needed for different dates.
You can revisit any Blackout Period automations you’ve previously created by going to Add-ons and clicking on Blackout Period.
![](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/d0b9210427117800/blackout-3_198h466.png)
Please note that the Blackout Period’s main role is to prevent Users from requesting time off during a certain period. The Blackout Period will not show as an event in your Vacation Tracker calendar.
Blackout Period is different from Holidays. Holidays are automatically non-working days, whereas a blackout period is a block of time Users aren’t allowed to request as leave.
For more information and details on other Automations we offer, please see the following guide: Guide: What Automations does Vacation Tracker offer?
Updated on: 20/06/2024
Thank you!