Allow partial leave
Partial leave lets employees book less than a full working day off.
This is useful when employees need to take:
- a half day
- a few hours
- a short appointment
- part of a shift
- a shorter working day
In TimeOff.Management, partial leave helps you track time off more accurately.
It also helps keep allowance and PTO balances correct.
What partial leave means
A full-day request covers the employee’s full working day.
A partial leave request covers only part of that day.
For example:
| Booking | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Full day | Employee takes the whole working day off |
| Half day | Employee takes part of the day off |
| 2 hours | Employee takes 2 hours off |
| 5 hours | Can be a full day or partial day, depending on standard day length |
The important point is that TimeOff.Management uses the employee’s settings to decide how the booking should be counted.
Standard day length and partial bookings
TimeOff.Management uses the standard day length to decide whether a booking is a full day or a partial day.
The number of hours alone does not decide this.
For example, 5 hours can be either a full day or a partial day. It depends on the standard day length set for that employee, company, or working day.
| Standard day length | Employee books | How TimeOff treats it |
|---|---|---|
| 8 hours | 5 hours | Partial day |
| 7.5 hours | 5 hours | Partial day |
| 5 hours | 5 hours | Full day |
| 5.5 hours | 5.5 hours | Full day |
This is useful when employees work shorter days on some days of the week.
For example, an employee may normally work:
| Day | Standard day length |
|---|---|
| Monday | 8 hours |
| Tuesday | 8 hours |
| Wednesday | 8 hours |
| Thursday | 8 hours |
| Friday | 5 hours |
If this employee books 5 hours on Friday, TimeOff.Management treats it as a full Friday, because Friday’s standard day length is 5 hours.
If the same employee books 5 hours on Monday, TimeOff.Management treats it as a partial Monday, because Monday’s standard day length is 8 hours.
The key rule is:
Full day = booked hours match the standard day length for that day.
Partial day = booked hours are less than the standard day length for that day.
How partial leave affects allowance and PTO
Partial leave affects how much allowance is deducted.
For example:
| Standard day length | Employee books | Allowance used |
|---|---|---|
| 8 hours | 8 hours | 1 full day |
| 8 hours | 4 hours | 0.5 day |
| 8 hours | 2 hours | 0.25 day |
| 5 hours | 5 hours | 1 full day |
| 5 hours | 2.5 hours | 0.5 day |
This keeps allowance fair for employees with different working patterns.
Read more: Setting up allowances
When to allow partial leave
Partial leave is useful when your team needs to book time off in smaller units.
For example:
- employees book medical appointments
- employees take school-related time off
- employees work flexible hours
- employees work shorter days
- employees work shifts
- managers need more accurate leave records
- allowance is tracked in hours
If your company only allows full-day leave, you may not need partial leave.
Booking precision
TimeOff.Management can support different booking increments, depending on your company policy.
For example, you may allow leave to be booked in:
- 15-minute increments
- 30-minute increments
- 1-hour increments
- half-day increments
- full-day increments
This helps you match TimeOff.Management to your real leave policy.
For example, one location may allow 15-minute bookings, while another location may only allow half-day bookings.
Partial leave and schedules
Partial leave works best when employee schedules are correct.
The schedule tells TimeOff.Management which days the employee normally works.
The standard day length tells TimeOff.Management how long a normal working day is.
Together, these settings help the system calculate leave correctly.
Read more: Setting employee schedule
Partial leave and rotas
If employees work changing patterns, rotating shifts, or different hours on different days, check their rota setup.
A rota can help TimeOff.Management understand which days the employee is due to work.
It can also help avoid incorrect allowance deductions.
Read more: Setting employee rotas
Partial leave and hourly allowance
Some companies track allowance in days.
Other companies track allowance in hours.
If your company tracks allowance in hours, partial leave can be especially useful.
For example, if an employee books 2 hours off, the system can deduct 2 hours from their allowance.
If your company tracks allowance in days, TimeOff.Management can still calculate the day value based on the standard day length.
For example:
| Standard day length | Employee books | Day value |
|---|---|---|
| 8 hours | 4 hours | 0.5 day |
| 8 hours | 2 hours | 0.25 day |
| 5 hours | 2.5 hours | 0.5 day |
Common setup checks
If partial leave is not calculating as expected, check:
- whether partial leave is enabled
- the employee’s schedule
- the employee’s rota, if they use one
- the standard day length
- the leave type settings
- whether the request is booked in hours, half days, or full days
- whether the leave type deducts from allowance
Read more: Why isn’t leave being deducted from the allowance?
Related articles
-
Setting up allowances Learn how allowance, PTO, schedules, rotas, leave types, and manual adjustments work together.
-
Setting employee schedule Set the employee’s normal working days and standard day length.
-
Setting employee rotas Use rotas for employees with changing work patterns, shifts, or different working days.
Best practice
Set the employee schedule, rota, and standard day length before employees start booking partial leave.
This helps TimeOff.Management calculate allowance correctly from the start.