# Approve ClockShark time off requests against the schedule

> Your agent checks each pending ClockShark time off request against scheduled shifts and crew coverage, then answers it after your OK.

Source: https://cotlet.dev/integrations/clockshark-api-mcp-server/approve-time-off-requests

Requests arrive in Time > Requests from the web portal or from Schedule > Time Off in the mobile app, often for days the employee is already booked on a job. Before clicking Approve, a manager switches to SCHEDULES to see which job would lose a person and whether the rest of the crew can cover.

Cotlet does it in your own ClockShark account with list\_time\_off\_requests, list\_shifts and respond\_time\_off\_request, called by your AI agent, an n8n workflow or a script.

[Request access](https://cotlet.dev/app/signup?app=clockshark) [All ClockShark tools](https://cotlet.dev/integrations/clockshark-api-mcp-server)

Hosted · nothing to install or maintain

Official options

## Can ClockShark do this on its own?

ClockShark has no public API for time off, and its Zapier integration has no time off trigger or action (checked 10 Oct 2026). ClockShark notifies managers of new requests in the web portal or by email, and lets admins and managers approve, decline or add time off on an employee's behalf (checked 12 Oct 2026). The help articles we checked describe no comparison of a pending request with the shifts already scheduled; the manager does that by eye.

By hand

## How you do it in ClockShark today

1. Time off needs the Pro plan, a Pay Period, Enable Time Off under Admin > Company Settings > Time Off, and at least one policy under Time > Policies.
2. Go to Time > Requests and click a request to review it.
3. Open SCHEDULES for the same dates and check which job the employee is on and who else is booked there.
4. Back on the request, click Approve, or type a Note with the reason and click Decline.
5. Repeat for every pending request. A decline cannot be undone in ClockShark, so one wrong click means the employee has to send a new request.

With an agent

## How to approve ClockShark time off requests against the schedule

Prompt

```
Approve every pending ClockShark time off request that does not take someone off a scheduled shift, and ask me about the rest.
```

1. 01  
### Collect the pending queue  
list\_time\_off\_requests returns the pending requests. Requests whose dates are already past are listed apart, because answering them changes a balance, not next week.
2. 02  
### Lay each request over the schedule  
For each request the agent calls list\_shifts for that employee and those days, drafts included. No shift on the requested days means no conflict.
3. 03  
### Judge coverage, not just overlap  
When the employee is booked, the agent looks at the same job on those days. Other crew still scheduled there makes the request coverable; being the only person on the job makes it a conflict.
4. 04  
### Approve the clear ones, hold the rest  
Clear and coverable requests go to respond\_time\_off\_request as approve, each waiting for your OK unless you switched that off. Conflicts are never declined on their own: the agent drafts a decline note and waits, since a decline is final.
5. 05  
### Name the shifts that now need a person  
Answering a request does not touch the schedule, so every approved request that overlaps a shift is listed with the job and time, ready for you or the scheduling job to reassign.

### What you get back

Example data

```
Pending time off: 4 requests
Approved: Luis Ortega, Vacation, 19 to 20 Oct, 16 h, no shifts those days
Approved: Ana Silva, Sick, Fri 17 Oct, 8 h, two others still on 42 Oak Street
Waiting for you: Mike Torres, Vacation, 20 to 24 Oct, only framer on Elm Ave that week
Waiting for you: Jen Park, Personal, Tue 7 Oct, date already past
Shift to reassign: Ana Silva, Fri 17 Oct, 42 Oak Street, 7:00 to 15:30
```

### Other ways to ask

- Approve every pending vacation request for November that does not overlap a published shift.
- Every weekday at 8 am, approve sick day requests for today and tell me which shifts are now uncovered.
- Show me pending time off for the roofing crew next month with the jobs each person is scheduled on, but do not answer any.

Before you automate it

## What ClockShark allows, and what to know first

- ClockShark time off requests exist only on the Pro plan, and time off policies need a Pay Period under Admin > Company > Payroll and Overtime first.
- ClockShark emails the employee on both approve and decline, and approved hours are deducted from the balance of that policy.
- A ClockShark approval made by mistake can still be turned into a decline, but a decline cannot be undone and the employee must request again.
- A ClockShark manager answers requests only with Manage Time Off ticked in Manager Settings, and only for their own team.
- When an approved ClockShark request is later canceled or declined, the hours are refunded and the refund is recorded in the Audit Log.

respond\_time\_off\_request asks for your OK by default. To run it daily without you, switch confirmation off for that tool in your dashboard.

Sources: [ClockShark: Approve or decline requested time off](https://help.clockshark.com/how-to-approve-or-decline-requested-time-off) · [ClockShark: Set up time off policies](https://help.clockshark.com/how-to-setup-time-off-policies) · [ClockShark: Roles and manager permissions](https://help.clockshark.com/using-roles-and-manager-permissions) · [ClockShark: Audit Log FAQ](https://help.clockshark.com/audit-log-faq)

REST

## Call respond\_time\_off\_request from a script

curl

```
curl https://cotlet.dev/api/v1/clockshark/respond_time_off_request \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $COTLET_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"request_id":"r_20871","decision":"approve"}'
```

Example response

```
{
"request_id": "r_20871",
"employee": "Luis Ortega",
"decision": "approve",
"status": "approved"
}
```

MCP: add https://cotlet.dev/mcp/v1 with the same key; the tool is clockshark\_respond\_time\_off\_request. Example data.

[Schedule it in n8n, Make, Zapier or cron](https://cotlet.dev/integrations/clockshark-api-mcp-server#automations)

Tools

## ClockShark tools this automation uses

__Cotlet ClockShark tools used to approve ClockShark time off requests against the schedule__
| Tool | Parameters |
| --------------------------- | ------------------------------- |
| list\_time\_off\_requests | status |
| list\_shifts | from, to, employee\_ids, status |
| respond\_time\_off\_request | request\_id, decision, note |

[All 15 ClockShark tools with descriptions](https://cotlet.dev/integrations/clockshark-api-mcp-server#tools)

## More ClockShark automations

- [Approve ClockShark timesheets before payroll](https://cotlet.dev/integrations/clockshark-api-mcp-server/approve-weekly-timesheets)
- [Fix missed clock outs in ClockShark every morning](https://cotlet.dev/integrations/clockshark-api-mcp-server/fix-missed-clock-outs)
- [Schedule a crew on a new job in ClockShark](https://cotlet.dev/integrations/clockshark-api-mcp-server/schedule-crew-shifts)
- [ClockShark API and MCP server: every tool](https://cotlet.dev/integrations/clockshark-api-mcp-server)
- [All use cases](https://cotlet.dev/use-cases)

## Give your agent access to ClockShark.

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[Request access](https://cotlet.dev/app/signup?app=clockshark)