Approve via email, URLs not showing

[dharper]

We have an approval email setup for one of our projects. The email sends but does not add the respective links we've insert via the variable templates. 

i.e. 

Hello ${recipient.name},

This request created by *${issue.reporter.name}* is awaiting an approval. Your swift response will help us fulfil this request quickly.

To approve or decline this specific request you can click the link below and choose either the *Approve* or *Decline* button
${request.url}

To view all of your other pending request for approvals, [click here|${request.url}] then select *Requests* at the top right of the screen and then afterwards, select the *Approvals* link from the menu.

Thank you for your cooperation.

Your ${portal.name} team

The variables recipient.name and issue.reporter.name function but the request.url is not.

One extra thought is whether an approval can be done via the email rather than connecting to the ticket via Jira. 

Thanks for your support in advance.