Streamlining Leave Management: Configuring Holiday Types & Approving Requests

Welcome to this tutorial on mastering leave management in Flowtly! This guide will walk you through the essential steps to configure various holiday types, set up annual leave allowances at both organizational and individual employee levels, and efficiently process employee holiday requests. By the end, you'll have a robust system in place to streamline your company's absence management.

1. Understanding Holiday Types in Flowtly

Flowtly's Holiday Types feature allows you to categorize different kinds of leave your employees can request. This is the foundation of your leave management system.

• Navigate to Holiday Types:
• From your Flowtly dashboard, click on your profile picture or initials in the top right corner.
• Select Settings from the dropdown menu.
• In the Settings sidebar, navigate to Human Resources and click on Holiday Types.

• Review Existing Holiday Types:
• You'll likely see some default holiday types already present, such as "Annual Leave" or "Sick Leave." Familiarize yourself with these.
• To view or edit an existing type, click on its name in the list.

• Create a New Holiday Type:
• Click the + New Holiday Type button, usually located in the top right corner of the Holiday Types page.
• A new panel or form will appear, prompting you to define the new holiday type.

• Configure the New Holiday Type Details:
• Name: Enter a descriptive name for the holiday type (e.g., "Parental Leave," "Bereavement Leave," "Unpaid Leave").
• Allowance Reset Period: This setting is crucial for types that have an annual or recurring allowance.
• No Allowance: Select this if the leave type doesn't deduct from a pre-defined allowance (e.g., Sick Leave, Bereavement Leave where there's no fixed limit).
• Annual: Most common for "Annual Leave" or "Vacation." The allowance resets at the start of each year (or your specified fiscal year start date in general settings).
• Monthly: Less common, but useful for specific policies where leave accrues monthly.
• Per Request: The allowance is applied per approved request, not over a period.
• Deducts from Allowance: Check this box if an approved request for this type should reduce an employee's available leave balance. This is typically true for "Annual Leave" and false for "Sick Leave" (unless your company tracks a specific sick leave allowance).
• Requires Approval: Check this box if requests for this holiday type must be reviewed and approved by a manager or HR. This is almost always true for all leave types that need oversight.
• Color: Choose a color that will represent this holiday type in calendars and reports, making it easy to visually distinguish different types of absence.
• Description: Add an optional description to clarify the purpose or policy for this holiday type.

Tip: For "Annual Leave," ensure Allowance Reset Period is set to Annual and Deducts from Allowance is checked. For "Sick Leave" or "Bereavement Leave" (if not tied to an allowance), set Allowance Reset Period to No Allowance and Deducts from Allowance to false.

• Save Your Changes:
• Click the Save button to add the new holiday type to your system.

2. Defining Annual Leave Limits at the Organizational Level

Once your "Annual Leave" type is set up, you can define a default allowance that applies to all employees unless specified otherwise. This is usually done directly within the "Annual Leave" holiday type settings.

• Access "Annual Leave" Holiday Type:
• Go to Settings > Human Resources > Holiday Types.
• Click on the "Annual Leave" holiday type from the list.

• Set Default Annual Allowance:
• Within the "Annual Leave" configuration panel, look for a field like Default Annual Allowance or similar.
• Enter the standard number of days (or hours, depending on your system's unit) that employees are granted for annual leave per year.
• Ensure all other settings (like Allowance Reset Period and Deducts from Allowance) are correctly configured for annual leave as discussed in Section 1.

Note: This default allowance will automatically apply to any new employees you add to Flowtly, and to existing employees who do not have a specific override set in their individual profiles.

• Save Changes:
• Click Save to apply the default allowance.

3. Defining Annual Leave Limits at the Employee Level

Sometimes, employees may have different leave entitlements based on their contract, seniority, or role. Flowtly allows you to customize the annual leave allowance for individual employees.

• Navigate to Employee Profiles:
• From your Flowtly dashboard, navigate to the People section (usually found in the main navigation or Human Resources module).
• Find and click on the name of the employee whose leave allowance you wish to adjust.

• Access Employee's Holiday Settings:
• Once on the employee's profile page, look for a tab or section labeled Holidays or Leave. Click on it.

• Override Default Allowance:
• Within the Holidays tab, you'll typically see a summary of their leave balances and a section for setting specific allowances.
• Locate the "Annual Leave" entry.
• You should find a field where you can enter a specific allowance for this employee, overriding the organizational default you set earlier. Enter the desired number of days/hours.
• You might also be able to adjust starting balances for the current year, or add carry-over days from previous years if your policy allows.

Tip: Clearly document the reasons for individual allowance overrides, perhaps in the employee's Notes section, for audit and transparency purposes.

• Save Employee-Specific Settings:
• Click Save or Update on the employee's profile to apply these changes. The employee's available annual leave balance will immediately reflect this custom allowance.

4. Employees Requesting Holidays (Brief Overview)

While this tutorial focuses on configuration and approval, it's helpful to understand how employees submit requests. Typically, employees can:

• Access their personal dashboard and click a "Request Holiday" button.
• Navigate to the Holidays section within their own profile.
• Select the desired Holiday Type, specify Start Date and End Date, and add any Comments or attach relevant Documents.
• Submit the request for approval.

5. Efficiently Managing and Approving Holiday Requests

Once employees submit their requests, they will land in your Action Center or the Holidays module for review.

• Accessing Pending Requests via Action Center:
• From your Flowtly dashboard, click on the Action Center icon (often a bell or notification icon).
• You'll see a list of pending actions, which will include "Holiday Request" notifications.
• Click on a specific holiday request to view its details and take action.

• Accessing All Holiday Requests via Holidays Module:
• Navigate to the Holidays module from the main Flowtly navigation or the Human Resources section.
• This section provides a comprehensive overview of all holiday requests, past, present, and pending, often displayed in a list or calendar view.
• You can filter by status (Pending, Approved, Rejected) or by employee.

• Reviewing a Holiday Request:
• Click on a pending holiday request to open its details.
• You will see:
• Employee Name
• Holiday Type
• Requested Dates (Start and End)
• Duration (total days/hours)
• Employee Comments
• Current Leave Balance for the requested type (e.g., Annual Leave: 15/20 days remaining)
• Conflict warnings (e.g., if another team member is off on the same dates, or if the employee has insufficient balance).

Tip: Always check the employee's remaining balance for the requested holiday type. Flowtly often provides a warning if the request exceeds their available allowance, but a quick manual check ensures accuracy.

• Approving or Rejecting a Request:
• Based on your review and company policy, you will have options to:
• Approve: If the request is valid and acceptable.
• Reject: If the request cannot be granted (e.g., insufficient balance, critical business needs, conflicting dates).
• Request More Info: If you need clarification from the employee.
• When approving or rejecting, you can add a mandatory Comment to provide context for the employee (e.g., "Approved, enjoy your time off!" or "Rejected due to project deadline, please reschedule.").

Note: Upon approval or rejection, Flowtly can automatically send email notifications to the employee, keeping them informed of the status of their request. Ensure your Emails & Notifications settings are configured appropriately.

• Monitoring Approved Leave:
• Approved holidays will typically appear on team calendars and in the Holidays module, providing a clear overview of who is absent and when. This helps in workforce planning and project management.

Summary and Next Steps

Congratulations! You've successfully learned how to configure holiday types, set annual leave allowances at both organizational and individual levels, and efficiently manage employee holiday requests in Flowtly. This foundational setup empowers you to maintain accurate leave records, ensure policy compliance, and foster a transparent and well-managed work environment.

Now that your leave management is streamlined, consider exploring how Flowtly integrates with other HR and project management functions to further optimize your operations.

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Learn more

• Holiday Types
• Holidays
• People
• Action Center
• Emails & Notifications