Time off request
A time off request is a person asking, in advance, not to be scheduled on particular dates, filed for a manager to answer. Once it is approved those dates are kept off the schedule.
Why it matters in a small workplace
Requests that arrive by message, in the corridor and on a sheet by the till cannot be compared with each other — and two people asking for the same Friday is exactly the case a manager has to see side by side.
How Weeksort handles it
Requests land in one queue with their dates and, where the person gave one, a reason. Approving blocks scheduling on those dates; the person is told the answer, and a note you write travels with the decision.