Who it’s for: Administrators and Automate administrators
Platform: Sense Automate, Sense HR
Available on: Elite and Enterprise
Before you begin
Before configuring TOIL Awards & Expiry decide:
☑️ Which Working Events should earn TOIL.
☑️ How much TOIL each Event should award.
☑️ Which Time-off Event employees will use when they take TOIL.
☑️ How long employees should have to use each TOIL Award.
☑️ Who should receive expiry reminders and TOIL booking notifications, and how they should receive them.
Then:
☑️ Make sure employees who will use the workflow have a Holiday year configured in Sense HR.
☑️ If you already have the Time-off Event you want to use for TOIL, make sure its Everyone rule uses Ongoing entitlement. The workflow can’t use an existing TOIL Event with a Yearly entitlement period.
⚠️ Important: TOIL must be measured in Hours to support all Duration modes. If an employee’s TOIL entitlement is measured in Days, qualifying Events that award TOIL in Hours won’t add TOIL until their entitlement is changed to Hours. The employee and their Line Manager receive a No TOIL added email when this happens.
🖊️ Note: If you’re moving existing TOIL balances into this workflow, contact Sense Support for help. Don’t create TOIL Award or TOIL Allocation records manually.
For an introduction to how entitlement, Awards, Allocations and expiry work together, see:
Install the workflow
Go to:
Automate > Workflow hub
Find or Search for TOIL Awards & Expiry.
Install the workflow.
The workflow is added to Automate > Installations, where you can configure and deploy it.
For general instructions, see:
Configure TOIL Awards & Expiry
Go to:
Automate > Installations
Locate TOIL Awards & Expiry.
Open the More actions (…) menu.
Click Configuration.
Review each setting before deploying the workflow.
Configure which Events earn TOIL, expiry,
reminders and notifications.
Choose which Events earn TOIL
Use Award rules to choose:
which Events earn TOIL; and
how much TOIL each one awards.
Enter each rule as:
Event name = award
Separate multiple rules with semicolons.
For example:
Overtime = booked; Fieldwork - <4 Hours Weekend Working (4 Hours TOIL) = 4 hours; Fieldwork - >4 Hours Weekend Working (7.5 hrs TOIL) = 7.5 hours
In this example:
Event | TOIL awarded |
Overtime Amount | booked |
Fieldwork - <4 Hours Weekend Working (4 Hours TOIL) | 4 hours for each day booked |
Fieldwork - >4 Hours Weekend Working (7.5 hrs TOIL) | 7.5 hours for each day booked |
⚠️ Important: Event names in Award rules must match their names in Event Manager exactly.
Award the amount booked
Use:
Event name = booked
when the TOIL Award should match the duration of the qualifying booking.
For example:
Overtime = booked
An approved 3-hour Overtime booking awards 3 hours of TOIL.
Award a fixed number of hours
Enter a fixed number of hours when the Event should award the same amount of TOIL for each day booked.
For example:
Weekend working = 7.5 hours
A one-day qualifying booking awards 7.5 hours of TOIL.
A two-day booking awards 15 hours of TOIL.
The Event’s booked duration and its TOIL Award are separate. For example, a Full day Event can remain recorded as a Full day in Planner while awarding a fixed 7.5 hours of TOIL for that day.
Award a fixed number of days
An Award rule can also specify a fixed number of days for each day booked.
For example:
On call = 1 day
The workflow converts the configured day amount into Hours using the employee’s working hours for the booked day.
This means the employee’s TOIL is still added to their Hours-based entitlement.
🖊️ Note: Fixed Awards apply for each day included in the qualifying booking.
Understand when TOIL is awarded
A qualifying Event creates a TOIL Award when its booking reaches Approved status.
If the Event requires approval, the workflow waits until the booking is approved.
If approval isn’t required, the booking is approved automatically and can award TOIL when it’s booked.
No TOIL is awarded while a booking is waiting for approval or if it’s declined.
If a booking is changed while waiting for approval, the Award is based on the version that is ultimately approved.
The same qualifying booking can’t earn TOIL twice.
If an approved Event is edited after the workflow has processed it, its Award isn’t recalculated. If the Award needs to be recalculated, delete the Event and rebook it correctly.
⚠️ Important: If the Award has already been used to fund TOIL, review the affected TOIL bookings before deleting its earning Event. Deleting the Event withdraws its Award and can affect bookings that used it.
Use Hours for full TOIL flexibility
TOIL entitlement can be established in Days or Hours, depending on the employee’s first TOIL Award.
However, Hours is recommended if employees earn TOIL from time-based bookings or fixed-hour Awards, or need to book TOIL using all available Duration modes.
If an employee’s TOIL entitlement is measured in Days, an Event that awards TOIL in Hours can’t add its Award to that entitlement. When this happens:
the employee receives a No TOIL added email;
their Line Manager is notified; and
further Events that award TOIL in Hours won’t add TOIL while the entitlement remains in Days.
To use hourly Awards, correct the employee’s TOIL entitlement so it is measured in Hours.
🖊️ Note: The workflow doesn’t automatically convert an existing TOIL balance between Days and Hours.
Choose the Event employees use to take TOIL
Use TOIL event type to enter the Time-off Event employees will book when they take TOIL.
The default is:
TOIL
The Event name must match Event Manager exactly.
If an Event with that name doesn’t already exist when you deploy the workflow, the workflow creates it as a Time-off Event using Ongoing entitlement.
If the Event already exists, the workflow uses its existing Event Manager setup. Its Everyone rule must use an Ongoing entitlement period.
⚠️ Important: Don’t use the same Event as both the TOIL event type and an Event in Award rules. The workflow can’t use the same Event name to both earn and take TOIL.
Choose the TOIL Event carefully
Treat TOIL event type as a setup choice rather than something to change routinely.
Changing it later moves workflow-managed TOIL to a different Event and entitlement balance.
If your organisation needs to change the TOIL Event after people have started using the workflow, review the existing TOIL setup and balances before making the change.
Set how long TOIL lasts
Use Days until TOIL expires to enter how many days each new TOIL Award remains available.
The default is:
45
The Award date is the first day of the qualifying booking. The expiry period starts from that date, not the date the booking is approved.
For example:
Award date / first day booked: 1 October
Expiry period: 45 days
Expiry date: 15 November
The Award can be used up to and including its expiry date.
🖊️ Note: Changing Days until TOIL expires affects new Awards only. Existing Awards keep their current expiry dates.
Choose whether to send expiry reminders
Use Send reminders before TOIL expires to choose whether the workflow reminds people before unused TOIL expires.
Select:
Yes — send reminders using the reminder days, recipients and notification channels configured below.
No — don’t send expiry reminders.
The default is Yes .
Choose when reminders are sent
If reminders are enabled, use Reminder days before expiry to enter how many days before expiry reminders should be sent.
Separate multiple values with commas.
For example:
14, 3
sends a reminder:
14 days before the Award expires; and
3 days before the Award expires.
The default is:
14, 3
Choose who receives reminders and notifications
Use Reminder and notification recipients to choose who receives:
TOIL expiry reminders; and
notifications about TOIL bookings affected by the workflow.
Select:
EmployeeLine manageror both.
The default is:
Employee, Line manager
Choose how reminders and notifications are sent
Use Reminder and notification channels to choose how the workflow contacts the selected recipients.
Select:
EmailPush notificationor both.
The default is:
Email, Push notification
Choose whether to notify people when a TOIL booking is cancelled
Use Notify when a TOIL booking is cancelled to choose whether the selected recipients are notified when the workflow cancels an existing TOIL booking because it can no longer be covered by valid TOIL Awards.
For example, this can happen if the Event that earned TOIL used by the booking is later deleted and there isn’t enough other valid TOIL to cover it.
Select:
Yes — send the notification.
No — don’t send the notification.
The default is Yes .
Save and deploy the workflow
When you’ve finished configuring TOIL Awards & Expiry, save and deploy the workflow.
Deployment prepares the Sense HR setup the workflow needs. You don’t need to manually create all the Events and Profile screens first.
For general deployment guidance, see:
Check the Events created or used by the workflow
After deployment, go to:
Settings > Calendar & Planner > Event manager
Check:
the Working Events configured to earn TOIL; and
the Time-off Event employees will use to take TOIL.
Check Events that award TOIL
If an Event named in Award rules doesn’t already exist in Event Manager, the workflow creates it as a Working Event that can be booked outside working hours.
If an Event with that name already exists, the workflow uses its existing Event Manager setup rather than replacing it.
For existing Events that award TOIL, make sure Allow booking outside working hours is ON so qualifying work can be recorded outside the employee’s normal working hours.
Also check that each Event’s rules provide the Scope, booking access, approval, and edit and delete permissions your organisation needs.
Whether an award Event requires approval is up to your organisation. TOIL is awarded when the qualifying booking reaches Approved status.
Check the Event employees use to take TOIL
If the Event named in TOIL event type doesn’t already exist, the workflow creates it as a Time-off Event using Ongoing entitlement.
If the Event already exists, the workflow uses its existing Event Manager setup.
Make sure:
its configured rules use Ongoing entitlement;
its Scope includes the intended employees; and
its booking access and approval settings match your organisation’s TOIL process.
The employee’s TOIL entitlement is a single cumulative balance rather than an entitlement that resets each year.
🖊️ Note: You don’t need to create each employee’s TOIL entitlement manually. The workflow creates it when they receive their first qualifying TOIL Award, provided they have a Holiday year configured, they’re covered by the applicable Event Manager rules, and their Profile Template includes the TOIL Award and TOIL Allocation screens.
Check the TOIL Profile screens
Deployment creates two Profile screens:
TOIL Award
TOIL Allocation
The workflow automatically adds both screens to the shipped Employee Profile Template.
If employees who will earn or use TOIL are assigned another Profile Template, add both screens to it through:
Settings > Screen Designer > Profile templates
Do this before they start earning or using TOIL, so the workflow can create and maintain their Award and Allocation records.
⚠️ Important: Don’t manually add, edit or delete records on the TOIL Award or TOIL Allocation screens. The workflow creates and maintains these records automatically.
If you’re moving existing TOIL balances into this workflow, contact Sense Support for help rather than creating Award or Allocation records manually.
Keep Event names in sync
The workflow references Events by the names entered in its configuration.
If you rename an Event used by the workflow in Event Manager, update the corresponding Event name in the workflow configuration fields:
Award rules; or
TOIL event type.
Then save and redeploy the workflow.
🖊️ Note: Updating TOIL event type to match the renamed TOIL Event doesn’t mean you’re choosing a different TOIL Event. The workflow continues to use the same renamed Event. The warning about moving to a different Event and entitlement balance applies when you change TOIL event type to a genuinely different Event.
‼️ Product to verify
Test your setup
Before relying on the workflow for live TOIL, test the complete process with a suitable employee.
Check that the employee has a Holiday year in Sense HR.
Check that they’re covered by the applicable Event Manager rules.
Check that their Profile Template contains TOIL Award and TOIL Allocation.
If they already have TOIL entitlement, check that it’s measured in Hours.
Book an Event configured in Award rules.
Complete any approval required by its Event Manager rule.
Check that a TOIL Award is created with the expected amount and expiry date.
Check that the employee’s TOIL entitlement is created or increased by the expected number of hours.
Book some of the employee’s TOIL.
Complete any approval required for the TOIL Event.
Check that the TOIL entitlement and Award have updated.
Check that the expected TOIL Allocation record or records have been created.
💡 Tip: For your first test, use less TOIL than was awarded. This makes it easy to check the amount used and remaining on the TOIL Award.
If you change the configuration later
Return to Automate > Installations > TOIL Awards & Expiry when you need to change the workflow configuration.
Remember:
changing Days until TOIL expires affects new Awards only;
changing an Event name in Event Manager doesn’t update the corresponding workflow reference;
changing TOIL event type moves workflow-managed TOIL to a different Event and entitlement balance; and
existing Events keep their Event Manager configuration unless you change it separately.
When you’ve finished, save and redeploy the workflow.
If you undeploy the workflow
Undeploying TOIL Awards & Expiry stops the automation. It doesn’t remove the Events, entitlement records, Profile screens, Awards or Allocations already created in Sense HR.
⚠️ Important: Qualifying Events and TOIL bookings made or approved while the workflow is undeployed aren’t processed retrospectively when you deploy it again.
Keep periods of undeployment as short as possible. If the workflow has been undeployed while people could still book TOIL or Events that earn TOIL, check activity from that period before resuming the process.
FAQs
Click for answers to frequently asked questions
Click for answers to frequently asked questions
Q: Do I need to create the TOIL Event before deploying TOIL Awards & Expiry?
A: No. If the Event entered in TOIL event type doesn’t already exist, the TOIL Awards & Expiry workflow creates it as a Time-off Event using Ongoing entitlement. If the Event already exists, the workflow uses its existing Event Manager setup and its configured rules must use Ongoing entitlement.
Q: Do I need to create the Events that earn TOIL before deploying the workflow?
A: No. If an Event entered in Award rules doesn’t already exist, the TOIL Awards & Expiry workflow creates it as a Working Event that can be booked outside working hours. If the Event already exists, the workflow uses its existing Event Manager setup.
Q: Can different Events award different amounts of TOIL?
A: Yes. In TOIL Awards & Expiry, each Event in Award rules can award the amount booked or a fixed amount for each day booked. Fixed Awards can be configured in Hours or Days; a fixed day-based Award is converted to Hours using the employee’s working hours for the booked day.
Q: Does a fixed TOIL Award have to match the duration of the Event booking?
A: No. A fixed Award configured in TOIL Awards & Expiry is separate from the Event’s recorded duration. For example, a Full day Weekend working Event can remain recorded as a Full day in Planner while awarding a fixed 4 hours of TOIL for that booked day.
Q: What happens if a fixed-award Event covers more than one day?
A: The TOIL Awards & Expiry workflow applies the configured fixed amount for each day included in the booking. For example, a two-day booking configured to award 7.5 hours per day creates a 15-hour TOIL Award.
Q: Can I use the same Event to earn and take TOIL?
A: No. In TOIL Awards & Expiry, the Event entered in TOIL event type must not also appear in Award rules. The workflow uses separate Events for earning and taking TOIL.
Q: Why hasn’t an existing award Event been changed to the workflow’s standard Event Manager setup?
A: The TOIL Awards & Expiry workflow doesn’t replace the Event Manager configuration of an Event that already exists. Review existing award Events and configure their Scope, booking access, approval and other settings as required. Make sure Allow booking outside working hours is ON.
Q: Why can’t I deploy TOIL Awards & Expiry with my existing TOIL Event?
A: An existing Time-off Event used by the TOIL Awards & Expiry workflow must use Ongoing entitlement for its configured rules. If the Event currently uses a Yearly entitlement period, change it to Ongoing in Event Manager before deploying the workflow.
Q: Do I need to create TOIL entitlement for every employee before deploying the workflow?
A: No. The TOIL Awards & Expiry workflow creates an employee’s TOIL entitlement when they receive their first qualifying Award, provided they have a Holiday year configured, they’re covered by the applicable Event Manager rules, and their Profile Template includes the TOIL Award and TOIL Allocation screens.
Q: What happens if an employee already has TOIL measured in Days?
A: An employee can continue to use TOIL measured in Days, but the TOIL Awards & Expiry workflow can’t add an Award in Hours to a Days entitlement. If a qualifying Event would award TOIL in Hours, the employee and their Line Manager receive a No TOIL added email. To use hourly Awards, correct the employee’s TOIL entitlement so it is measured in Hours, then resolve the TOIL that wasn’t awarded.
Q: What happens if I rename an Event used by TOIL Awards & Expiry?
A: Renaming an Event in Event Manager doesn’t update the TOIL Awards & Expiry configuration. Update the corresponding Event name in Award rules or TOIL event type, then save and redeploy the workflow.
Q: Does changing the expiry period update existing TOIL Awards?
A: No. Changing Days until TOIL expires in the TOIL Awards & Expiry workflow configuration affects new Awards only. Existing Awards keep the expiry dates calculated when they were created.
Q: Can I move our existing TOIL balances into TOIL Awards & Expiry myself?
A: Don’t create or edit TOIL Award or TOIL Allocation records manually to reproduce existing TOIL. Contact Sense Support for help moving existing TOIL balances into the workflow.
Q: What happens if TOIL Awards & Expiry is undeployed for a while and then redeployed?
A: The TOIL Awards & Expiry workflow doesn’t retrospectively process qualifying Events or TOIL bookings made or approved while it was undeployed. Keep periods of undeployment as short as possible and check relevant bookings from that period before resuming the workflow.