Follow this guide to restrict or limit how many employees can request leave during specific periods using black-out and grey-out rules in Humanforce Web.
Black-out periods prevent any leave requests from being submitted during the specified dates. Grey-out periods allow requests up to a set daily limit; once the limit is reached, additional requests are blocked.
Part 1: Enable leave block-out functionality in Humanforce Web
- Go to Admin > Admin config > System settings > Leave/availability.
- Tick Enable advanced Black-out/Grey-out (with scope).
- Review and adjust the Grey-out maxed settings as needed:
- Include unavailability - Counts employees marked as unavailable toward the grey-out limit.
- Include not approved leave request - Counts leave requests immediately (at request time) rather than waiting for approval.
- Applicable only for default LDR - Applies restrictions based only on employees’ default Location, Department, and Role.
- Based on shift LDR - Applies restrictions based on the employee’s rostered shifts, rather than default LDR.
- Click Save changes.
When enabled, you’ll be able to configure and manage leave block-out periods across the organisation.
Part 2: Create a leave block-out period
- Go to Admin > System configuration > Leave block-out.
- Click + Add new record.
- Complete the following fields:
- Name - Enter a meaningful name (e.g. “Easter 2026 – Grey-out”).
- Date range - Choose the start and end dates.
- Block type - Select either Black-out or Grey-out.
- Scope - Choose where this applies: Location, Department, and Role.
- Excluded leave types - Select any leave types to exempt from the block.
- Max employees per day - For Grey-out periods only, specify how many employees can be on leave per day.
- Click Save.
Once saved, the block-out will be visible to employees when they submit leave via the Work App or Classic App.
Next Steps
Blocked or greyed-out dates will be shown on the employees’ availability map. If the daily limit is reached for a grey-out, further leave requests will be prevented. Black-out dates will block all employee-submitted requests during the period.
Managers with appropriate access can still submit requests on behalf of employees during blocked periods.
Additional information
- If two leave block-out periods overlap, the stricter rule applies:
- A black-out always overrides a grey-out
- If both are grey-outs, the period with the lower maximum number of employees will apply
- You can set a long-range default grey-out period (e.g. years into the future), then apply stricter blocks as needed over peak periods
- Block-outs and grey-outs help maintain service coverage during critical business times
Users with limited access may not be able to complete this task. Contact your administrator.