Custom leave policies
Custom leave policies.
Set up leave types that work differently by department, location or individual employee — with access rules, booking increments, selected allowance exceptions, limit overrides, private labels and email watchers for leave that needs follow-up.
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- Leave access
- Booking increments
- Policy exceptions
Policy options
Make each leave type fit the people who use it.
Different teams often need different leave rules. TimeOff keeps those rules clear without showing employees options that do not apply to them.
Leave access
Make selected leave types available to the right departments, locations or employees.
Booking increments
Use 15-minute, 30-minute, hourly, half-day or full-day booking depending on the policy.
Policy exceptions
Let selected employees go below their allowance, or above a leave type limit, when it has been agreed.
Private leave labels
Hide or anonymise sensitive leave types so the right people see details without exposing more than needed.
Leave access
Show the right leave types to the right people.
Leave access avoids clutter and confusion. A leave type can be available only to the employees, departments or locations that actually need it.
- Department and location rules for leave types used by only certain teams.
- Policies by employee for special arrangements and management-only leave options.
- New joiners are covered automatically when they are added to a department or location the policy applies to.
- Cleaner booking forms, because people only see the leave options that apply to them.
Booking increments
Set the smallest booking unit by policy.
One team only needs full days. Another needs shorter bookings — warehouse staff in 30-minute blocks, office staff in 15-minute increments. A leave increment policy sets the smallest unit for whoever it covers.
- Minimum bookable unit of 15 minutes, 30 minutes, one hour, half a day or a full day.
- Assign by employee, department, location or the whole company — a policy covers whoever you point it at.
- The finest increment wins when more than one policy covers the same person, so overlapping policies stay predictable.
- Accurate for hourly teams, where a two-hour absence should not cost half a day.
Policy exceptions and privacy
Allow exceptions without changing the rule for everyone.
Sometimes one employee needs to go below their allowance, or above a leave type limit for a special case. TimeOff keeps those exceptions controlled instead of changing the whole policy.
- Negative allowance for selected employees, so an agreed exception can take one balance below zero.
- Exceed leave type limits is a separate permission, because a leave type limit is not the same thing as the main allowance.
- Individual limit overrides when one person simply needs a different cap rather than a one-off exception.
- Hidden or obfuscated labels, so sensitive leave shows as unavailable in shared views while admins and supervisors keep the detail.
Email watchers
Keep HR in the loop.
Some leave types need follow-up. Sick leave might need paperwork, a return-to-work note or a manager check-in. A Watch by Email policy copies the right people in, without anyone having to forward the request.
- Watch selected leave types such as sick leave, unpaid leave or working from home — or leave the filter empty to watch them all.
- Choose who is watched: named employees, whole departments or whole locations.
- Notify people who are not the manager — HR, a project lead or a senior manager who needs visibility without supervising the team.
- Fewer missed follow-ups on the requests that need an extra step.
Custom policies without a messy setup.
Start with simple leave types, then add access, increments, selected exceptions, private labels and watchers where your team needs more control. All of it is included on every account.
Leave access
Use policies for selected employees, departments or locations.
Booking units
Set the smallest unit people can book, from 15 minutes to a full day.
Policy exceptions
Let selected employees go below allowance, or above a leave type limit, for agreed cases.
Privacy and watchers
Hide sensitive labels and keep HR aware of the leave types that need follow-up.
Common questions
Policy questions we are asked most.
- Can different departments have different leave types?
- Yes. A Leave access policy groups selected leave types together and assigns them to employees, departments or locations. The global leave type list stays your main storage area: create a leave type once, then add it only to the policies that need it. When someone new joins a department or location the policy covers, they are picked up automatically, so nobody has to remember to grant access.
- What is the smallest amount of leave someone can book?
- The minimum bookable unit can be 15 minutes, 30 minutes, one hour, half a day or a full day. It is set by a leave increment policy, which you assign to an employee, a department, a location or the whole company. If more than one policy covers the same person, the finest increment applies.
- Can one employee go over their allowance without changing the policy for everyone?
- Yes, with negative allowance. Turn the feature on in Advanced Settings, then either allow it company-wide or — far more common — enable it for one person on Employee Details → Allowance. That employee can book past their remaining balance, and their balance may then show as negative. Everyone else is unaffected, and requests still go through the normal approval route.
- What is the difference between negative allowance and exceeding a leave type limit?
- They affect different things. Negative allowance is about the main allowance balance — the employee's holiday, annual leave or PTO. A leave type limit is a separate yearly cap on one leave type, such as ten days of sick leave. Going above that cap needs the Exceed leave type limits permission, which is a different setting. If a person needs both, enable both. If they simply need a different cap, set an individual limit for that leave type instead.
- Can we hide sensitive leave types from colleagues?
- Yes. Leave type details can be hidden on Team View. Colleagues still see that the person is off — the absence appears in grey — but not which leave type it is, so sick leave, medical appointments and compassionate leave stay private while the team can still plan around the absence. Admins and supervisors continue to see the full detail their permissions allow.
- Can HR be copied in on certain leave requests?
- Yes, with a Watch by Email policy. You set the watched scope — named employees, whole departments or whole locations — and optionally filter it to specific leave types, such as sick leave only. The employees named as policy owners then receive an email whenever a watched person books that leave. It is designed for HR, project leads and senior managers who need visibility without being anyone's supervisor.
Useful features without unnecessary complexity.
Leave policies should give admins control without making the system harder for employees.
“TimeOff.management is a feature rich, affordable leave management solution backed by an excellent support team that’s quick to respond and genuinely helpful. The pricing is refreshingly clear and low‑cost, with no unnecessary complexity, making it great value for teams that just want leave management to work without hassle.”
Create leave policies that match your team.
Set access, increments, selected exceptions, private labels and watchers so each leave type works the way your business needs it to work.
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