Leave

Overview#

The Leave module manages leave types and policies, employee leave requests and approvals, balances, the holiday calendar, carry-forward, compensatory off, and leave encashment.

Purpose#

Show employees how to apply for leave and check balances, and show HR Administrators how to configure leave types, policies, and holidays.

Prerequisites#

• A configured leave type and leave policy applicable to the employee.
• A sufficient leave balance, unless the policy allows negative balances.

Step-by-Step Instructions#

Applying for leave (employee)#

1. Open Leave → Apply in ESS.
2. Choose a leave type, date range, and add a reason.
3. Submit the request. It routes to your manager (and HR, depending on policy) for approval.
4. Track status from Leave → History, and cancel a pending request if plans change.

Checking balances and the calendar#

1. Open Leave → Calendar for your own leave, or Team Calendar (managers) for the team view.
2. Check your current balance per leave type before applying.
3. Review the Holiday calendar for company-wide holidays.

Approving leave (manager)#

1. Open Approvals in MSS.
2. Review the request against the team calendar for coverage conflicts.
3. Approve or reject, with a comment if rejecting.

Configuring leave types and policies (HR Administrator)#

1. Create or edit Leave Types (or seed the default set for a new tenant).
2. Configure a Leave Policy per type: accrual frequency and amount, yearly allocation, carry-forward (enable/max amount/expiry months), whether negative balances are allowed and any cap, probation restrictions and minimum service months, gender restrictions, notice period, and sandwich-leave / holiday-bridging rules.
3. Configure the Holiday calendar for your organization (this is where holidays live — not in Administration).
4. Manually adjust an employee’s balance when needed, with a reason recorded.

Comp-off and encashment#

1. Record compensatory off earned for working on an off-day or holiday.
2. Request leave encashment where your policy allows converting unused leave to pay.

Screens Involved#

Expected Results#

Employees can see an accurate balance before applying, requests route to the right approver, carry-forward and holiday rules apply automatically at period boundaries, and reports reflect the current state.

Common Mistakes#

• Looking for the holiday calendar under Administration instead of Leave → Policies/Holidays.
• Applying for leave without checking the team calendar first, causing avoidable approval friction.
• Assuming carry-forward is unlimited — policies can cap the carried-forward amount and set an expiry.

Troubleshooting#

My leave balance looks wrong after year-end.#

Check the leave policy’s carry-forward settings (max amount and expiry months) — carried-forward leave can expire on a schedule set by HR, not indefinitely.

I cannot apply for a leave type.#

Some leave types have eligibility rules (probation restriction, minimum service months, gender restriction). Confirm with HR whether the type applies to you yet.

Related Pages#

FAQ#

Best Practices#

• Review carry-forward and encashment policy settings once a year, ahead of year-end leave processing.
• Managers should check the team calendar, not just the individual request, before approving.