Leave Management

Leave management handles employee time-off requests, balances, and approvals. This guide covers configuring leave policies and processing leave applications.

Overview

The leave management system enables you to:

• Configure multiple leave types
• Track leave balances and accruals
• Process leave applications
• Manage approval workflows
• Handle holiday calendars
• Generate leave reports

Accessing Leave Management

Navigate to HRM → Leave to access leave management features.

Understanding Leave

Leave Types

Type	Description	Typical Policy
Annual Leave	Vacation/earned leave	20-25 days/year
Sick Leave	Medical absence	10-15 days/year
Casual Leave	Short notice leave	5-10 days/year
Maternity	Childbirth leave	12-26 weeks
Paternity	Father's leave	1-4 weeks
Bereavement	Family death	3-5 days
Unpaid Leave	Without pay	As needed
Compensatory	In lieu of OT	As earned

Leave Statuses

Status	Description
Draft	Not yet submitted
Pending	Awaiting approval
Approved	Request approved
Rejected	Request denied
Cancelled	Withdrawn by employee
Partially Approved	Some days approved

Balance Types

Type	Description
Opening Balance	Start of period
Accrued	Earned during period
Taken	Used leave
Pending	Applied, not yet taken
Available	Remaining balance
Carry Forward	From previous period

Configuring Leave Types

Creating Leave Type

1. Go to Settings → HRM → Leave Types
2. Click New Leave Type
3. Configure parameters:

Basic Settings

• Name - Leave type name
• Code - Short code (e.g., AL, SL)
• Description - Policy description
• Is Paid - Paid or unpaid
• Color - Calendar display color

Balance Settings

• Annual Entitlement - Days per year
• Accrual Method - Monthly/Quarterly/Annual
• Max Accumulation - Balance cap
• Carry Forward - Allow/limit
• Encashment - Allow/limit

Rules

• Minimum Days - Per application
• Maximum Days - Per application
• Advance Notice - Days before leave
• Documentation Required - Yes/No
• Applicable To - Employee categories

4. Save leave type

Accrual Configuration

Accrual Methods

Monthly Accrual:

• Equal monthly credit
• Example: 20 days ÷ 12 = 1.67/month

Quarterly Accrual:

• Credit every quarter
• Example: 20 days ÷ 4 = 5/quarter

Annual Accrual:

• Full credit at year start
• All days available immediately

Pro-rated:

• Based on join date
• Calculated proportionally

Accrual Schedule

1. Go to Settings → HRM → Leave → Accrual
2. Set accrual date (1st/15th/last day)
3. Configure pro-rating rules
4. Set up auto-accrual job
5. Enable notifications

How-To Guides

How to Apply for Leave

Employee Application

1. Navigate to HRM → Leave → Apply
2. Select leave type
3. Enter dates:
   • From date
   • To date
   • Half day options
4. Check balance availability
5. Add reason/comments
6. Attach documents (if required)
7. Submit application

Viewing Balance

Before applying:

1. Go to HRM → Leave → My Balance
2. Review:
   • Available balance by type
   • Pending applications
   • Upcoming holidays
3. Plan leave accordingly

How to Approve/Reject Leave

Manager Approval

1. Go to HRM → Leave → Approvals
2. View pending requests
3. For each request:
   • Review dates and reason
   • Check team calendar
   • Check policy compliance
4. Click Approve or Reject
5. Add comments (required for rejection)

Bulk Approval

For multiple requests:

1. Select requests using checkboxes
2. Click Bulk Approve or Bulk Reject
3. Add common comment
4. Confirm action

Approval Delegation

When manager unavailable:

1. Go to HRM → Leave → Delegation
2. Set delegate approver
3. Define date range
4. Enable delegation
5. Notify delegate

How to Configure Leave Policies

Policy Setup

1. Go to Settings → HRM → Leave → Policies
2. Create policy:
   • Policy name
   • Applicable employees
   • Leave type entitlements
   • Rules and restrictions
3. Assign to employee groups

Policy Components

Eligibility Rules:

• Minimum service period
• Employment type
• Department/location
• Grade/level

Usage Rules:

• Advance notice requirement
• Maximum consecutive days
• Blackout periods
• Minimum gap between leaves

Documentation Rules:

• Medical certificate days
• Proof requirements
• Approval levels

How to Set Up Holiday Calendar

Creating Holidays

1. Go to HRM → Leave → Holiday Calendar
2. Click Add Holiday
3. Enter:
   • Holiday name
   • Date(s)
   • Type (national/regional/optional)
   • Applicable locations
4. Save holiday

Holiday Types

Type	Description
National	All employees
Regional	Location-specific
Optional	Employee choice (restricted)
Floating	Can be taken anytime

Annual Calendar Setup

1. Import standard holidays
2. Add company-specific holidays
3. Set optional holiday allowance
4. Publish calendar to employees

How to Handle Leave Carry Forward

Carry Forward Rules

Configure end-of-year handling:

1. Go to Settings → HRM → Leave → Year End
2. Set carry forward rules:
   • Maximum days to carry
   • Expiry period
   • Auto-encashment
3. Run year-end process

Year-End Process

1. Review carry forward report
2. Identify excess balances
3. Process encashment (if applicable)
4. Create new year balances
5. Notify employees

How to Process Leave Encashment

Encashment Eligibility

Set encashment rules:

• Leave types eligible
• Maximum encashable days
• Minimum balance to retain
• Encashment rate

Processing Encashment

1. Go to HRM → Leave → Encashment
2. Select employees
3. Enter days to encash
4. Calculate amount
5. Submit for approval
6. Process payment

How to Manage Compensatory Off

Earning Comp-Off

When employee works on holiday:

1. Manager creates comp-off entry
2. Enter work date and hours
3. Calculate comp-off days earned
4. Submit for approval
5. Credit to balance

Using Comp-Off

• Apply like regular leave
• May have expiry period
• Track separately from annual leave

Advanced Features

Leave Calendar

Visual calendar view:

• Team leave overview
• Holiday highlighting
• Availability check
• Conflict detection
• Export to calendar apps

Leave Balance Dashboard

Employee self-service:

• All leave balances
• Transaction history
• Pending requests
• Holiday calendar
• Policy information

Leave Analytics

Manager/HR insights:

• Absenteeism trends
• Leave patterns
• Balance utilization
• Department comparison
• Forecast planning

Sandwich Rule

Configure weekend/holiday handling:

• Include weekends between leave
• Include holidays between leave
• Custom rules by leave type

Best Practices

📋 Policy Management

• Clear, documented policies
• Annual policy review
• Employee acknowledgment
• Consistent application

⏰ Planning

• Advance notice requirements
• Team coverage planning
• Blackout period communication
• Holiday calendar early release

📊 Monitoring

• Regular balance audits
• Utilization tracking
• Trend analysis
• Compliance checking

🔄 Year-End

• Timely carry forward processing
• Clear communication
• Encashment deadlines
• New year preparation

Configuration

Leave Settings

Navigate to Settings → HRM → Leave:

• Leave Year - Start month
• Week Off Days - Saturday, Sunday
• Sandwich Rule - Enable/configure
• Negative Balance - Allow/restrict
• Auto-Approval - For specific types

Notification Settings

• Application Submitted - Notify manager
• Application Approved - Notify employee
• Application Rejected - Notify employee
• Balance Low - Warn employee
• Accrual Credited - Notify employee

Integration Settings

• Attendance Sync - Auto-mark leave days
• Payroll Link - LOP deduction
• Calendar Export - External calendars

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Cannot apply for leave

• Check available balance
• Verify advance notice met
• Check blackout periods
• Review eligibility rules

Balance incorrect

• Audit leave transactions
• Check accrual schedule
• Verify carry forward
• Review adjustments

Approval stuck

• Check approver availability
• Verify workflow configuration
• Check delegation settings
• Escalate if needed

Accrual not credited

• Verify accrual job running
• Check employee eligibility
• Review pro-rating rules
• Check leave type configuration

Next Steps

Learn about Payroll Processing to understand how leave affects salary calculations.