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

Creating leave for an employee: 1 find and select the employee (search/filter, your team only); 2 pick the leave type (its balance loads); 3 set duration and dates (Days with start+return, a Morning/Afternoon half-day, or Custom hours; rest days and public holidays not counted); 4 check the balance (available now + projected at the start date); 5 if short, split the overflow to unpaid (default) or allow a negative balance (override); 6 add a required manager note; 7 Create & Auto-Approve — the leave is created already approved, the balance drawn down and the employee notified. Use this to book leave on someone's behalf; use Manage your team's leave to decide requests they submitted.

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 return-to-work date.
Morning half-day / Afternoon half-day (4h).
Custom hours — enter hours/minutes and the direction (start or 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 the 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

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

7. 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.

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 return date.
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 Your hours and pay.

Manage your team's leave — approving/rejecting requests the employee submitted (the other side of leave).
Team Leave Report — a record of approved leave for your team.
Apply for leave — what the employee does to request leave themselves.
Leave request statuses field definitions — what each status means.