Time-Off Allotment Planning (generic process)

Time-Off Allotment Planning (generic process) is the generic process card, GP-203, for the process by which a workforce function decides how much time off it can release in each week of the year, publishes that allotment, allocates the primary demand for it through a bidding or allocation window, holds an exception path for protected leave and hardship, and rebalances the allotment mid-year when the plan of record or the forecast moves. The card owns the process at L1 and L2. It does not own the definitions: the five artifacts of a time-off system (the blackout calendar, the capacity grid, the allocation algorithm, the balance ledger and the compliance trail) and the allocation mathematics are on Time-Off Management, and the planned-shrinkage category the allotment belongs to, with its arithmetic, is on Shrinkage. The allotment is the supply-side decision that GP-201 consumes and that the time-off path in GP-202 draws down. It is part of Process Standardization and sits under the scheduling section of the function catalog in Anatomy of a ROC Standard.

The process matters because time off is the one planned-shrinkage component that is owed: every hour of entitlement accrued is an hour that will be scheduled, paid out or lost, and a function that does not plan where in the year those hours land will find them in the weeks it can least afford, with the result the method page describes as the year-end spike.

Process profile

The profile extends the L0 identity fields of Process Decomposition (L0–L3) with the facts a standards committee needs before any step is drawn. Local values are held by the deploying function and marked SET LOCALLY.

Field	Generic value
Card	GP-203 · local card id assigned by the standards committee at deployment
Class	strategic, in the catalog's four-class vocabulary (strategic · real-time · both · supporting); its annual cut is a planning decision, its weekly grid a scheduling input
Trigger	the signature of the annual plan of record from GP-101; the monthly plan of record from GP-102 for the rebalance; the leave-year boundary for the close
Cadence	annual cut; weekly grid; a monthly consumption read; a mid-year rebalance (SET LOCALLY; one scheduled rebalance with an exception trigger is typical [A])
Scope in	the entitlement liability; the annual allotment curve; the weekly grid by unit and skill group; the blackout calendar; the primary allocation window; the exception path; the rebalance; the year-end close and carry-over
Scope out	the accrual policy and the balance ledger (the HR partner's system of record); the ongoing request path after the primary window (GP-202); the shrinkage target itself (GP-101 and GP-102); the protected-leave determination (the HR partner)
Inputs	the plan of record with its planned-shrinkage line; the demand forecast by week; the entitlement base per person from the ledger; the statutory minimum leave and carry-over rules; the collective-agreement terms; last year's consumption and fairness metrics
Outputs	the annual allotment curve; the weekly grid; the blackout calendar with its rationale; the allocation results with reasons; the exception log; the rebalance record; the year-end close and the fairness report
Upstream	GP-101; GP-102; GP-103 for the rebalance signal; the HR partner; the definitions register for the shrinkage definition
Downstream	GP-201, which reads the grid as availability; GP-202, which draws the grid down; GP-603, which audits the trail; finance, for the leave liability
Resources	a capacity model with the shrinkage line; the balance ledger; a request and allocation portal; the forecast; the blackout calendar. Platforms are named at L3, never here
Decision points	does the plan absorb the liability; is the curve inside the planned-shrinkage line; is a request inside the allotment and the balance; is an exception protected leave or hardship; has the plan moved enough to re-cut
Authority tier	the grid and the allocation run at tier 1 (the scheduler seat inside guardrails); an exception above allotment at tier 2; the blackout calendar and the rebalance at tier 3; the annual cut, because it commits service and cost, at tier 4
Risk and compliance flags	statutory minimum leave and carry-over rules; protected leave as a hard constraint outside the allotment; collective-agreement order in vacation bidding; co-determination over leave principles where it applies; late responses as the dominant trust failure on the method page; the leave liability on the balance sheet
Variant-prone steps	the leave year and carry-over rule; the allocation mechanism; a consultation step before the calendar is published; the notice horizons by request class; the response-time commitment
Automation candidates	eleven L2 sub-steps in six groups (listed below)

L1 flow

Decision steps are questions. Owners are seats.

1. Receive the planned-shrinkage line for time off from the plan of record and the statutory and contractual entitlement base — capacity planner.
2. Roll up the entitlement liability from the ledger: hours owed, accruing and expiring across the roster — capacity planner, with the HR partner.
3. Does the plan absorb the liability within the shrinkage line? If not, raise the gap to GP-102 before cutting — capacity planner.
4. Shape the annual allotment curve: hours released per week, inverse to the demand forecast, with the blackout calendar and its stated rationale — capacity planner.
5. Convert the curve to the weekly grid by unit and skill group — scheduler.
6. Confirm the allocation mechanism and the notice horizons by request class in force for the year — scheduling lead, with the compliance lead.
7. Approve the annual cut and the calendar — function head (tier 4).
8. Publish the calendar and open the primary allocation window — scheduler.
9. Run the allocation and issue every approval or decline with its reason inside the response-time commitment — scheduler.
10. Release the unallocated allotment to the rolling request path in GP-202 — scheduler.
11. Is an out-of-allotment request protected leave or hardship? Protected leave is approved outside the allotment and the grid is adjusted; hardship goes to tier 2 — team lead, with the HR partner.
12. Read consumption against allotment and balances against liability each month — capacity planner.
13. Has the plan of record or the forecast moved beyond the band? If so, re-cut the curve, re-publish the grid and record the rebalance — capacity planner; approved at tier 3.
14. Close the leave year: forecast the year-end spike and pre-release allotment against it — capacity planner; apply carry-over and publish the fairness report — scheduling lead.

L2 step table

Thresholds, calendars and system names are L3 values marked SET LOCALLY. Durations are typical [A] unless marked.

Step	Sub-step	Owner (seat)	Inputs	Outputs	Duration	Automation candidate	Documentation join key
1	Extract the shrinkage line and the entitlement rules in force	capacity planner	plan of record; rule register	planning base	half a business day	N	203-01a
2	Roll up hours owed, accruing and expiring per person and in total	capacity planner	balance ledger	liability roll-up	half a business day	Y	203-02a
2	Reconcile the roll-up to the headcount of record	capacity planner; HR partner	roll-up; headcount	reconciled liability	half a business day	Y	203-02b
3	Compare the liability to the shrinkage line; raise a gap outside the band	capacity planner	reconciled liability; shrinkage line	finding; escalation if outside band	SET LOCALLY	N	203-03a
4	Compute the weekly release curve inverse to the forecast	capacity planner	forecast by week; liability	draft curve	one business day	Y	203-04a
4	Overlay the blackout calendar and write the rationale per blackout	capacity planner	draft curve; event calendar	curve with blackouts	half a business day	N	203-04b
5	Allocate the curve to units and skill groups as seats per day	scheduler	curve; roster by skill group	weekly grid	one business day	Y	203-05a
6	Confirm mechanism, horizons and the response-time commitment	scheduling lead; compliance lead	rule register; variant register	year's parameters	half a business day	N	203-06a
7	Present the cut: curve, grid, blackouts, liability, fairness history	function head	the pack	approval record	half a business day	N	203-07a
8	Publish the calendar; open the window; notify	scheduler	approved pack	open window	SET LOCALLY	Y	203-08a
9	Run the allocation in the mechanism in force	scheduler	requests; grid	provisional results	minutes	Y	203-09a
9	Issue each result with its reason inside the commitment	scheduler	provisional results	approvals and declines	SET LOCALLY	Y	203-09b
10	Mark the residual grid as open to rolling requests	scheduler	results; grid	residual grid to GP-202	minutes	Y	203-10a
11	Classify an out-of-allotment request: protected, hardship, other	team lead; HR partner	request	classification	SET LOCALLY	N	203-11a
11	Approve protected leave outside the allotment and adjust the grid	HR partner; scheduler	classification	grid adjustment	one business day	N	203-11b
12	Read consumption against allotment and balances against liability	capacity planner	ledger; grid; log	monthly read	half a business day	Y	203-12a
13	Test the plan and forecast movement against the rebalance band	capacity planner	plan of record; reforecast	re-cut trigger	minutes	Y (the test)	203-13a
13	Re-cut, re-publish, record the rebalance	capacity planner; operations manager	trigger; inputs of step 4	revised curve and grid; record	two business days	N	203-13b
14	Forecast the year-end spike and pre-release allotment	capacity planner	balances; expiry rules	pre-release	one business day	Y	203-14a
14	Apply carry-over, close the year, publish the fairness report	scheduling lead; HR partner	ledger; results	close record; report	one business day	N	203-14b

Variants

The known variant classes for this process, recorded per Standard and Variant in Process Documentation:

• Statutory. The minimum annual leave, the leave year and the carry-over and payout rules are parameters of steps 1 and 14, SET LOCALLY. Protected leave is the generic exception path of step 11 and takes no row; its determination is the HR partner's under the statute in force. A jurisdiction whose works council co-determines the general principles of leave and the leave schedule inserts a consultation step between the cut and publication; the works-council liaison owns it, the function head approves the variant, and it takes a row.
• Contractual. A collective agreement that awards vacation by seniority fixes the mechanism of step 9; a parameter, no row. A client contract that holds a coverage floor through its own peak is a blackout with a stated rationale; a parameter of step 4.
• Structural. A unit whose ledger is not integrated with the scheduling system reconciles the roll-up by hand; step 2 is varied with a review date at each cut until the integration exists. A partner node whose leave is the partner's to plan carries a contractual coverage floor instead of a grid; a row, reviewed at renewal.
• Transitional. A unit migrating from a predecessor organization on a different leave year keeps its year under a row with an expiry at the first harmonized close.

L3 register

A localizing team writes these job aids against the generic L2; names only, the content is the function's.

Job aid	Anchored to	Form
The allotment calendar: cut date, window dates, rebalance date, close date	steps 1 to 14	work instruction
The liability roll-up query and its reconciliation to headcount	step 2	work instruction; see Headcount Reconciliation in Service Operations
The curve computation and the release band	step 4	work instruction; arithmetic on Shrinkage
The blackout rationale template and the annual blackout review	step 4	playbook
The grid layout by unit and skill group	step 5	work instruction
The allocation window procedure and the mechanism in force	steps 8 and 9	playbook; mechanisms on Time-Off Management
The exception path: protected leave, hardship, the tier-2 decision	step 11	runbook
The monthly read and the rebalance test	steps 12 and 13	work instruction
The year-end close: spike forecast, pre-release, carry-over, fairness report	step 14	playbook

Automation candidates

Flagged at L2 per the method on Process Decomposition (L0–L3); released per class of action on a published catch rate per Human Gates and Number Grades, never on a maturity label.

1. The allocation run (203-09a): a deterministic assignment under a stated mechanism; the first candidate because the method page's integer program solves in seconds and every declined-then-overturned result is a countable error.
2. The liability roll-up and its reconciliation (203-02a, 02b): queries against systems of record. They rank after the run because the ledger is the HR partner's system, and a catch rate on a query across two systems needs a reconciliation sample the run does not.
3. The weekly grid (203-05a) and the release curve (203-04a): computed from the forecast and the liability, with the blackout overlay left to a person because each blackout needs a written reason. They rank after the roll-up because their arithmetic runs on a forecast that carries its own grade, so the catch rate is published net of forecast error.
4. Publishing the calendar and opening the window (203-08a), issuing results with reasons (203-09b) and releasing the residual (203-10a): mechanical once the cut and the run are accepted. They rank after the grid because their errors, a missed notification or a late result, surface through complaints rather than through a check, which makes the catch rate slower to establish.
5. The monthly read and the rebalance test (203-12a, 13a): the trigger is computed; the re-cut is decided. They rank after the mechanical steps because a trigger error is only visible at the next cut, so a year of observation precedes the catch rate.
6. The year-end spike forecast (203-14a): a projection from balances and expiry rules. It ranks last because it is run once a year and its catch rate accumulates one observation per year.

The annual cut (203-07a) is never a candidate: it commits a service level and a cost line for the year and is a signature. The protected-leave determination (203-11a, 11b) is never a candidate: it is a legal finding about an individual, and treating protected leave as discretionary capacity is a failure the method page calls a hard-constraint breach. The blackout rationale (203-04b) is never a candidate: an opaque blackout is the opaque-allocation failure the method page names, and an agent cannot sign a reason.

Maturity Model Position

Four scales on this wiki use the word level; the launch page states which is which. On the WFM Labs Maturity Model™ a function with a published allotment calendar, a grid and a documented mechanism is at Level 2; one whose grid is cut from the forecast, whose allocation and roll-up are released on published catch rates, whose fairness report is published and whose rebalance has a stated band is at Level 3; one whose allotment is co-cut with the schedule and whose year-end spike is projected from balances is at Level 4, the practice Time-Off Management describes at that level.

See Also

• Process Standardization — the hub and the inventory this card belongs to
• Time-Off Management — the five artifacts and the allocation mathematics this card defers to
• Shrinkage — the planned-shrinkage category the allotment belongs to
• Schedule Build and Publish (generic process) — the build that reads the grid
• Schedule Maintenance (generic process) — the rolling request path that draws it down
• Monthly Capacity Planning Cycle (generic process) — the plan of record the cut is made from
• Labor Law and Scheduling Compliance — the statutory class
• Standard and Variant in Process Documentation — how the variants above are recorded
• Wiki:Packs/Process Decomposition — the pack that localizes this card (CP-OPS-001)