Time Sheet Portal / Form: Delegated Approver cannot Approve or Reject Timesheets

[Chirag Pathak]

Hi Community,
I am currently validating the Timesheet functionality regarding delegation and running into an issue.
My Setup:
User B is a manager of multiple users.
User A has been designated as an active delegate for User B (with Approvals = true on the sys_user_delegate record).
Both User A and User B have the timecard_approver role.
The Issue:
When an employee (whose manager is User B) submits their timesheet, User B (the original manager) can see the options to Approve or Reject perfectly. However, User A (the delegated user) cannot see the Approve or Reject buttons—either on the Time Sheet Portal (/tcp) or directly on the backend time_sheet form. Instead, User A only sees options like Submit or Recall.
Per ServiceNow documentation, the delegated user should be able to approve or reject timesheets on behalf of the manager.
Has anyone else faced this limitation with the Time Sheet Portal and forms? Is there an out-of-the-box property I am missing, or do the Time Sheet UI Actions and portal widgets require custom scripting to support the sys_user_delegate table?
Any solutions or workarounds would be greatly appreciated!

[Hemanth M]

Hi @Chirag Pathak ,

Let me set up this in my PDI and try from my end, let you know!

[Chirag Pathak]

Thank you so much @Hemanth M. I am at the moment trying the same thing.

[Hemanth M]

Hi @Chirag Pathak ,

Found the issue, Approve/Reject visibility is bases on the Approver List on the Time Sheet/Time card

 >> UI Action:  Approve > which calls > Script Include > TimeSheetUIActionHelper to check approver list, delegate user logic

>>Approver List logic is through > BR > Set Approver list, which checks the default timesheet policy

check this and update this (don't keep auto or empty) , it should work!

Hope it helps!

[Chirag Pathak]

Hi @Hemanth M,

That does work but then why is the delegate module present if approver list has to be populated on a timecard/timesheet without creating the delegate record also this is possible.

[Hemanth M · Accepted solution]

Hi @Chirag Pathak ,

The approver list only populates the primary approvers (Manager, Record Manager) - based on policy

Delegate approval makes use of this list to build its logic: if the approver is present in approver list and has delegated approval, it will let the delegate approve or reject.

If you don't create a delegate, a delegate can't approve it - just the Managers/admins

Here is the logic:

Script include name: TimeSheetUIActionHelper (this is called from Approve and Reject Button)

Hope it helps!