SNB Production WorkflowGuideSigning Delegations
Signing Delegations
Letting somebody else sign while you are away, without giving them your role.
A delegation says: while I am away, this person may sign what I sign. Find it under Settings → Signing Delegations.
It is not a role and not a permission. Nothing about the delegate’s own account changes. When it lapses, their signing ability lapses with it, and nobody has to remember to switch anything off.
1Who is covering for whom
Signed by is the person covering. On behalf of is the person away. State says whether it is in force today.
2Setting one up
| Field | |
|---|---|
| Authority belongs to | the person going away |
| Signed by | the person covering |
| From / Until | both required |
| Reason | optional, and worth writing |
An end date is required, and that is the whole design.
A delegation stops working on its own the day after it ends. There is nothing to remember and nothing to switch off — which is what makes it safe to hand somebody your signature for a fortnight.
A delegation cannot manufacture authority its author never had.
Every signature is resolved against what the delegator may do today. If the person who delegated stops holding the role, the delegate stops being able to sign in the same instant — no edit, no revocation, nothing to notice.
And a level whose role nobody holds cannot be signed by a delegate either. See Who signs what.
Holding the role yourself wins. Somebody who can sign in their own right is never recorded as signing on another’s behalf, even with a delegation in place.
What happens next
The delegate is notified exactly as the delegator would have been. A delegate who is never told is a delegate who does not know a job is waiting — which is the standstill the delegation was set up to prevent.
A delegated signature records both names: who pressed the button, and whose authority was used. The approval panel shows both.
If it goes wrong
You cannot edit one. Nothing here can be edited or deleted — a delegation is a historical fact about who could sign during a period. The only way out is End early, which records a reason and leaves the original in place.
Somebody cannot sign even though a delegation exists. Check three things: it is in force today; the delegator still holds the role; and the level names a role somebody actually holds.
“Somebody cannot delegate their signing authority to themselves.” Exactly that.
The dates would not save. A delegation cannot end before it starts.