Customizing Global Settings for Individual Employees

8 min read By TimeOff Support

Most TimeOff.Management settings can be applied across the whole company or department.

Sometimes one employee needs a different setup.

For example, an employee may need:

a different login method
automatic leave approval
an individual leave allowance
different leave type limits
access to selected leave types
a different work schedule
extra employee policies
permission to exceed allowance limits

Employee-level settings let you make these changes without affecting everyone else.

When to use employee-level settings

Use an employee-specific setting when one person needs different rules from their department or company.

Examples include:

a company owner whose leave should be approved automatically
an employee with extra annual leave
a part-time employee with a different schedule
an employee who should not use a selected leave type
a senior manager who needs access to reports
an employee who can book more leave than their current balance

For rules that apply to many employees, use a department setting or employee policy instead.

Before changing an employee setting

Before making changes, check:

the employee’s department
their location
their current allowance
their schedule or rota
future leave requests
assigned employee policies
your company leave rules

After saving a change, review the employee profile to make sure the new setup is correct.

Each employee can use one active login method:

email and password
Google or Microsoft Single Sign-On

To change the login type:

Go to Employees.
Select the employee.
Open Employee details.
Go to the General tab.
Select Edit, the pencil on the Identity caption.
Find Login type, in the Account section.
Select the required option.
Select Save changes at the foot of the drawer.

Google SSO login type in employee general details

Tell the employee which login method to use after the change.

2. Enable auto-approval for one employee

Auto-approval lets an employee’s leave requests be approved the moment they are made, with no manager decision in between. If a two-tier approval policy also covers them, its screening step still comes first, unless you turn on Skip two-tier screening in the auto-approval policy.

This may be useful for:

company owners
directors
senior employees
employees who do not need a leave approver

It is not set on the employee. Add an auto-approval policy and name that employee in it:

Open Settings → Employee policies.
Open the Auto-approval tile.
Add a policy and give it a name.
Under Auto-approved actions, leave Own actions → Leave requests on and turn the other three off. A new policy starts with all four on, which would also auto-approve that employee’s revocations and anything they book or revoke for people they manage.
Under Scope, add the employee to the Employees picker.
Save your changes.

The same policy can cover several people, so one policy is often enough for all the exceptions of this kind.

Use this only when it follows your company leave policy.

3. Override the department allowance

Employees normally receive the allowance set for their department.

You can override this when one employee needs a different annual allowance.

To set an individual allowance:

Go to Employees.
Select the employee.
Open the Allowance tab.
Select Edit nominal allowance, the pencil on the Allowance breakdown caption.
In the Nominal allowance dialog, choose Set individual allowance and enter the employee’s allowance.
Select Save changes.

The Nominal allowance dialog with Set individual allowance chosen and a figure entered, between the department's allowance and Use accrual schedule, above Cancel and Save changes

The individual amount replaces the department allowance for that employee. Under its figure, the breakdown’s Nominal allowance row then says set individually.

This is useful when an employee has:

extra contractual leave
a different annual entitlement
a special working agreement
an allowance that does not match the rest of their department

4. Block leave types or change their limits

Company leave types can be adjusted for one employee.

You can:

block a leave type
set a different limit
allow a leave type that follows a special company rule
change how much of a selected leave type the employee can book

To customize leave types:

Open the employee profile.
Go to the Leave types tab.
To block a leave type, switch Available off. The switch saves as you change it.
To set a different limit, open the ”…” menu at the end of the leave type’s row, select Edit limit override, enter the limit and select the tick, Save changes.

Where a Leave Access policy covers the employee, the tab says so, lists only the types it grants and has no Available switch.

Employee-specific leave type limits and access settings

When a leave type is blocked, the employee cannot select it when booking leave.

An administrator may still be able to book that leave type on the employee’s behalf when company rules allow it.

5. Set or change the employee schedule

The employee schedule tells TimeOff.Management which days the employee normally works.

It affects:

which days count as working days
how much allowance is deducted
part-time leave calculations
partial-day bookings
public holiday treatment

To change the current schedule:

Open the employee profile.
Go to Schedule.
Select Edit, the pencil on the schedule’s caption, and change the employee’s working days and hours.
Select Save changes at the foot of the schedule.

An employee's Schedule tab with the Default schedule in edit mode: the working week, the standard day length and each day's hours, with Cancel and Save changes at its foot

If the employee’s working pattern will change later, add a future-dated schedule: select the + at the right of the first schedule’s caption, then Add weekly schedule or Add rota schedule, set its Starts on date and select Add.

This keeps the existing schedule in place until the new one starts.

A new weekly schedule added from the + on the Schedule tab: its Starts on date, standard day length and each day's hours, with Cancel and Add

6. Assign employee policies

Employee policies let you give selected rules or permissions to specific employees.

Depending on your company setup, policies may control:

four-day working weeks
access to reports
access to company leave data
leave type access
tenure-based allowance
accrued allowance
other company-defined permissions

To assign a policy:

Open Settings → Employee policies.
Open the policy and add the employee to it, on the policy’s own page.
Save your changes.

The employee’s own Policies tab lists the policies that apply to them, each linking to its page. Policies are not added or removed there.

The Visibility and access group on the Employee policies page, its policy tiles each with a short description

Use policies when the same rule should apply to a selected group of employees.

7. Enable advanced allowance options

Advanced settings can provide extra controls for allowance and leave type limits.

These may include:

accrued allowance
permission to exceed leave type limits
permission to use negative allowance

The relevant option must first be enabled in the company’s Advanced Settings.

Advanced settings for negative allowance and exceeding leave type limits

After the company option is enabled, you can apply it to selected employees.

Allowance settings on an employee's Allowance tab, on one line: Accrued allowance from the department, and Negative allowance enabled and Can exceed leave type limits set individually to Yes, with a pencil to edit them

For example, you may allow one employee to:

book leave before their allowance is available
exceed a leave type limit
use a negative allowance balance
follow an accrued allowance schedule

Use these options carefully and make sure they match your company policy.

Requirement	Recommended setting
One employee needs a different allowance	Individual nominal allowance
One employee should use SSO	Employee login type
Leave should approve automatically	Auto-approval policy
One employee cannot use a leave type	Employee leave type setting
One employee has a different limit	Individual leave type limit
Working days differ from the department	Employee schedule or rota
Several selected employees need the same rule	Employee policy
One employee may use a negative balance	Advanced employee setting

Check the employee after making changes

After saving an employee-specific setting, check:

the employee can log in
the correct leave types are available
allowance is displayed correctly
leave is deducted correctly
the schedule starts on the correct date
the right policies are assigned
the approval process works as expected

It is also helpful to test the setup before the employee starts booking leave.

Adding, editing, and deleting users Manage employee details, departments, locations, schedules, and account access.
Setting up allowances Understand department allowance, individual allowance, accrual schedules, adjustments, and leave type limits.
Employee policies overview Apply selected rules and permissions to individuals or groups of employees.

Best practice

Use employee overrides only for genuine exceptions.

When the same rule applies to several people, create a department rule or employee policy instead. This keeps your setup easier to understand and manage.