Approval rules setup for absence with different approval rules

Summary:

Approval rules setup for absence with different approval rules

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We have a requirement where we have multiple absences, few going to one level of approval and others going to multiple level where the approvers have to claim the request for approving. How can we set this up? We are exploring multiple stages but see that the approval which is single level also needs to have some step in stage 2 like auto approval by employee. This shows up in transaction history and is not acceptable to client.

Please help with the steps to setup a scenario like below