--- title: "Why is a holiday or weekly off marked Absent?" space: "Frappe HR" url: "https://docs.frappe.io/hr/shift-management/help-articles/why-is-a-holiday-or-weekly-off-marked-absent" updated: "2026-10-27" --- Auto attendance marks an employee Absent on a holiday or weekly off when the holiday list it reads does not have that date. The Attendance shows the comment `Employee was marked Absent due to missing Employee Checkins.` This article explains which holiday list auto attendance uses, and how to correct the Absent records. ## What you see - The **Monthly Attendance Sheet** shows **A** on a Saturday, a Sunday, or a public holiday, instead of **WO** or **H**. - The Attendance record has this comment: ``` Employee was marked Absent due to missing Employee Checkins. ``` - You delete or cancel the Absent records, and the next run of auto attendance creates them again. - After you change the holiday list for the new year, weekly offs from last year become Absent. ![](/files/01-monthly-sheet-before.webp) ## Example Bluepeak Technologies works a 5-day week. Ayesha Khan has a Holiday List Assignment for **Bluepeak 5-Day Week 2026**. This list has Saturday and Sunday as weekly off, and Gandhi Jayanti (2 October) and Dussehra (20 October) as holidays. Her default shift is **General Shift**. Its **Holiday List** field is set to **Bluepeak Sunday Off 2026**, a list with Sundays only. Auto attendance uses the shift's list. So it marks her Absent on 2 October, on every Saturday, and on 20 October. ## Why this happens Auto attendance runs for each Shift Type that has **Enable Auto Attendance** on. For each employee on that shift, it finds the dates from **Process Attendance After** to **Last Sync of Checkin** that have no Attendance. It skips the dates that are in the holiday list. It marks every other date as Absent. A weekly off is not a separate setting. It is a row in the holiday list, with **Weekly Off** checked. If the date is not in the holiday list that auto attendance reads, the system treats it as a working day. Auto attendance takes the holiday list from the first of these that is set: 1. The **Holiday List** field in the **Shift Type**. If this is set, it is used for all employees on the shift. The employee's own holiday list is ignored. 2. The employee's holiday list: - **Version 16 and later:** the submitted **Holiday List Assignment** for the employee, or for the company. Each assignment applies from its **Assignment Starts From** date. Past dates keep the list that applied on that date. - **Version 15:** the **Holiday List** field in the **Employee**, or the **Default Holiday List** in the **Company**. Version 15 has no history. The current list is used for all dates, also past dates. The common causes are: - **The Shift Type has a different holiday list.** The shift's list has only Sundays, or it is for another branch, while the employee's list has the correct weekly offs. - **The holiday list does not include the date.** For example, a public holiday was not added, or the list ends on 31 March and the date is in April. - **The holiday list was changed for a new year (version 15).** The new list does not have last year's dates. Auto attendance checks again from **Process Attendance After**, and marks last year's weekly offs Absent. - **The holiday list was corrected after the Absent was marked.** A correction does not change Attendance that already exists. You must cancel the old records. ## How to fix it ### 1. Find the holiday list that auto attendance used 1. Open the **Attendance** record that is Absent. Note the **Shift**. 2. Go to **Shift Type** and open that shift. 3. Look at the **Holiday List** field. ![](/files/02-shift-type-holiday-list.webp) 4. If the field is empty, open the employee's holiday list. In version 16 and later, go to **Holiday List Assignment** and open the submitted assignment for the employee or the company. In version 15, open the **Employee** and look at **Attendance & Leaves → Holiday List**. ![](/files/03-holiday-list-assignment.webp) 5. Open that **Holiday List**. Make sure that the date is in the **Holidays** table. ### 2. Correct the holiday list Do one of these: - If all employees on the shift have the same holidays, add the missing dates to the shift's holiday list. In the **Holiday List**, under **Add Weekly Holidays**, select the **Weekly Off** day and click **Add to Holidays**. Add a public holiday as a row in the **Holidays** table. Click **Save**. - If employees on the shift have different holidays, clear the **Holiday List** field in the **Shift Type**. Click **Save**. Auto attendance now uses each employee's own holiday list. ![](/files/04-clear-shift-holiday-list.webp) ### 3. Cancel the wrong Absent records 1. Go to the **Attendance** list. 2. Filter by **Employee** and **Status** = **Absent**. Select the records on the holidays and weekly offs. 3. Click **Actions → Cancel**, and confirm. ![](/files/05-cancel-absent.webp) Make sure that you cancel only the wrong records. If you cancel an Absent on a working day, auto attendance marks it Absent again on the next run. ### 4. Mark attendance again 1. Open the **Shift Type**. 2. Click **Mark Attendance**. The message `Attendance has been marked as per employee check-ins.` appears. ![](/files/06-mark-attendance.webp) Auto attendance runs again with the corrected holiday list. It does not mark the holidays and weekly offs Absent. The **Monthly Attendance Sheet** now shows **WO** on weekly offs and **H** on holidays. ![](/files/07-monthly-sheet-after.webp) If the employee has a Salary Slip for the month, cancel it and create it again, so that the payment days are correct. ## How to prevent it - Leave the **Holiday List** in the **Shift Type** empty, unless every employee on the shift has the same holidays. - Add the public holidays and the weekly offs for the full year before the year starts. - **Version 16 and later:** for a new year, create a new **Holiday List Assignment** with **Assignment Starts From** set to the first day of the year. Do not change the old assignment. - **Version 15:** before you change the holiday list for a new year, set **Process Attendance After** in each auto attendance Shift Type to the first day of the new year. Then auto attendance does not check last year again. ## Related - [Why does my Leave Application ask for a Holiday List Assignment?](/hr/leave-management/help-articles/why-does-my-leave-application-ask-for-a-holiday-list-assignment) - [Where is the Holiday List field on the Employee form in v16?](/hr/organization-management/help-articles/where-is-the-holiday-list-field-on-the-employee-form-in-v16) - [Why do my Shift Assignments keep turning Inactive?](/hr/shift-management/help-articles/why-do-my-shift-assignments-keep-turning-inactive) - [Auto Attendance](/hr/auto-attendance)