I can't enter my hours because they overlap approved time off

Applies to: US and Canadian employees who enter their own time in the Ascen portal and who also request time off there. Independent contractors do not accrue PTO or sick leave through Ascen and will not hit this.

Summary: Approved time off puts hours on your timesheet for that date. If you then try to enter work hours covering the same part of the day, the portal rejects the entry as an overlap. Fix the time-off request first, then enter the work hours — and if the request has already been approved, you will need us to change it.

Why it happens

When a time-off request is approved, the matching hours are placed on your timesheet for you — you do not type them in. That is convenient right up until the moment the time off does not match reality: you were off for a different part of the day, or you only meant to request one day and two were entered, or you ended up working after all.

The portal will not accept two entries covering the same hours on the same date, so your real work hours bounce. The error is about the clash, not about your work hours being wrong — which is why re-entering them the same way does not help.

What to do

If the request is still Pending

You can fix it yourself. A request that is still Pending — or sitting at Missing supporting documents — can still be edited or have day entries changed. Correct the dates or hours, then go back and enter your work hours. See How to request time off.

If the request has already been approved or rejected

You cannot change it yourself once it has been decided. Email support@ascen.com with:

• Your full name and your assignment or client.

• The date or dates involved.

• What the time-off request should say — the hours you were actually away, or that it should be removed entirely.

• The work hours you need entered, with start and end times and any unpaid break.

We will correct the time off and get your work hours on the timesheet. Please do this rather than leaving the hours off — unentered hours are unpaid hours, and chasing them later is harder than fixing it now.

Common versions of this

• The time off covers the wrong part of the day. You requested the morning but were actually away in the afternoon. Both halves need correcting, because the work hours you want to add sit exactly where the time off currently is.

• You meant to request two days and only one went in — or the opposite, and now a day you worked is showing as time off.

• You were off for part of the day and worked the rest. That is fine, but the two must not overlap: the time-off hours cover the part you were away, and the work entry covers the part you worked.

• You were off sick and are trying to type sick hours onto the timesheet directly. Sick time is not entered as a timesheet line — it goes through a time-off request. See How do I enter sick time? and How paid sick leave works.

It can also happen the other way round

If you already have hours on your timesheet for a date, a time-off request covering that same date can fail to go through. Same cause, opposite direction — check whether you have work hours already sitting on the day you are trying to book off.

Good to know

• Approval of time off is about whether the time is paid. Tell your staffing Partner and your on-site supervisor separately about days you will not be working — we do not manage your schedule.

• Your balances live on the same page as your requests — see How PTO accrual and balances work.

• If your hours will not go in for some other reason, see What to do if you can't enter or submit your timesheet. If the weekly deadline has already passed, see How to Submit a Timesheet After Missing the Deadline.

Questions about a time-off request or a timesheet correction: email support@ascen.com.