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How to Create a Shifts Annual Leave Waiting List and Approval Workflow in Teams

Nimra Malik Oct 7, 2026 869 views

Question details

The user wants to display an annual leave waiting list to all team members and automatically restrict approved time-off requests to two per day.

Creating an Annual Leave Waiting List and Approval Workflow in Teams Shifts

Product: Microsoft Teams Shifts
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Managing team-wide visibility for time-off requests and automating daily approval limits.
Observed behavior: Currently, managers can see pending requests but team members cannot view the waiting list or its priority. There is also no native feature to automatically cap daily approvals.

Before you start

Ensure you have Manager permissions in Microsoft Teams Shifts and access to Microsoft Power Automate to build custom approval logic.

Solution 1Recommended

Enforce Daily Approval Limits Using Power Automate

Since Teams Shifts does not natively restrict the number of daily approvals, you can create a custom flow in Power Automate to automatically enforce the two-request limit.

Implementing custom limits requires checking the number of previously approved requests for a given date before approving a new one. Power Automate can intercept Shifts requests and apply this logic.

Open Power Automate

Navigate to Microsoft Power Automate and create a new automated cloud flow.

Set the Trigger

Use the trigger 'When a time off request is created or modified' connected to your specific Teams Shifts schedule.

Count Existing Approvals

Add an action to list all approved time-off requests for the requested date to determine the current count.

Apply Condition Logic

Add a Condition control. If the count is less than two, allow the approval. If the count is two or higher, automatically reject the request or send an alert to the manager.

Advanced Flow Design: Building this flow involves advanced date parsing and arrays. If you need step-by-step technical help designing this specific flow, visit the Microsoft Power Platform Community forums.

Solution 2

Address Waiting List Visibility Limitations

Teams Shifts does not currently support making the pending request waiting list visible to regular team members.

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Manage Annual Leave Effortlessly with WPS Office

While Microsoft Teams Shifts handles basic scheduling, sharing an open waiting list or tracking complex leave logic is easier with a dedicated spreadsheet. WPS Office provides powerful, free spreadsheet tools to create transparent, automated leave trackers for your team.

1. Download and Install WPS Office: Get WPS Office for free from the official website and launch WPS Spreadsheet.
2. Apply a Leave Tracker Template: Search for 'Annual Leave Tracker' in the template library to instantly set up a shared team waiting list and approval tracker.
3. Share with Your Team: Save the file in standard .xlsx format and share the document link so team members can view their priority on the waiting list.

Completely free and lightweight office suite for daily management tasksFully compatible with Microsoft Excel (.xlsx) formats to manage employee data seamlesslyAccess hundreds of free HR, scheduling, and leave tracking templatesFamiliar user interface with zero learning curve for your team

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can regular team members see pending time-off requests in Teams Shifts?

No. By default, Microsoft Teams Shifts only permits designated managers and approvers to view pending time-off requests, submission dates, and priority queues.

How can I automatically limit the number of approved time-off requests per day in Teams?

You can implement a custom workflow using Microsoft Power Automate. The flow will count the number of already approved requests for a specific date and automatically reject or flag new requests once the limit (e.g., two per day) is reached.

Does Teams Shifts have a built-in waiting list for time off?

Teams Shifts does not feature a native priority order or public waiting list view for time-off requests. Requests are processed based on the submission time recorded by the manager.

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