Create leave for an employee

What this guide covers

How a manager books leave on an employee's behalf — and approves it in the same step. Use it when someone can't apply themselves (e.g. they're off sick) or you're recording leave after the fact. It's a different job from Manage your team's leave, which is for deciding requests the employee submitted.

Who can use it: department managers (for their own team) and HR administrators (for anyone). You reach it from the Management Portal; a Back link returns you where you came from.

The steps

1. Find & select the employee

Search by name or worker ID and filter by department. The list is scoped to your team (HR admins see everyone). Click a person to open the form. (A direct link can pre-select someone for you.)

2. Pick the leave type

Choose the leave type (Annual, Sick, Unpaid, …). Its balance loads so you can see what they have.

3. Set the duration & dates

Pick the duration style:

• Days — a Start Date and a Last Day of Leave. The form says it plainly: "The last day they are off — not the day they come back." For Monday to Wednesday off, the last day is Wednesday.
• Morning half-day / Afternoon half-day (4h) — a single date.
• Custom hours — enter hours/minutes and the Leave Direction (Morning, start of shift, or Afternoon, end of shift).

A breakdown shows the working days counted; rest days and public holidays in the range are not counted.

4. Check the balance

The form shows Available now and the projected balance At start date (after accruals and anything already pending), so you know whether the leave fits.

5. If the balance is short

If the projected balance is below the requested time, choose how to handle the overflow:

• Split to unpaid (default policy) — the excess becomes unpaid leave.
• Allow negative balance (manager override) — let the balance go negative.

(This only applies when there isn't enough balance.)

6. Add a manager note

The Manager Note is required — it's recorded on the request and included in the employee's notification (say why the leave is being created).

7. Attach a document (optional)

Under Medical certificate / supporting document (optional), use Attach now to upload a PDF, JPG or PNG. It is attached when the leave is created. If nothing is attached and the BCEA sick-note rule applies (sick leave of 3 or more consecutive days, or the employee's third sick episode within 8 weeks), the employee is told a certificate is required and HR is notified at once; the employee stays responsible for uploading it.

8. Create & Auto-Approve

Click Create & Auto-Approve Leave. The leave is created already approved — there's no separate approval round-trip — the balance is drawn down, and the employee is notified.

If any of the selected days already has clock-in scans, a Review worked time dialog opens first. It lists each such day with its Worked and Scheduled hours. By default the leave for that day is the un-worked remainder (worked the morning → leave the afternoon); tick Full day to book the whole day anyway, or set the hours and Morning / Afternoon slot yourself. Then click Confirm & Create.

Good to know

• It's auto-approved, so double-check the type, dates and the unpaid/negative choice before you create — there's no approval step to catch a mistake.
• Half-days and custom hours are single-day; only the Days option asks for a last day.
• Scope is enforced — you can't create leave for someone outside your team.
• Unpaid leave affects pay (and shows up as a deduction at payroll) — see My Hours: your hours and pay, how it works.

Related guides

• Manage your team's leave — approving/rejecting requests the employee submitted (the other side of leave).
• Team Leave Report: a record of approved leave — a record of approved leave for your team.
• My Leave: apply, edit, cancel and return early — what the employee does to request leave themselves.
• Leave request statuses field definitions — what each status means.