Setting Up Your Company's Holiday and Leave Policies

Here's your tutorial for setting up holiday and leave policies in Flowtly:

This tutorial will guide you through the essential steps of configuring your company's holiday and leave policies within Flowtly. You'll learn how to define various leave types, establish accrual rules for annual leave, set up company-wide public holidays, and assign these policies to your employees, ensuring a smooth and compliant leave management framework.

Step 1: Accessing Holiday and Leave Settings

To begin, you'll need to navigate to the administrative section of Flowtly where holiday and leave policies are managed. This is typically found under the main Administration or Settings menu.

• Log in to your Flowtly account.
• From the main dashboard, locate and click on Administration in the left-hand navigation pane.
• Within the Administration menu, find and select Holiday Types or a similarly named section related to leave management.

Tip: If you're unsure where to find it, use the search bar within Flowtly (if available) or consult the Settings area, as some HR-related configurations might be housed there.

Step 2: Defining Custom Holiday and Leave Types

Flowtly allows you to create various types of leave to accurately reflect your company's policies, such as annual leave, sick leave, parental leave, unpaid leave, and more.

• On the Holiday Types page, click the + New Holiday Type button (or similar).
• Name: Enter a clear and descriptive name for the leave type (e.g., "Annual Leave", "Sick Leave", "Maternity Leave", "Unpaid Leave").
• Code (Optional): Assign a short, unique code for internal tracking, if desired (e.g., "AL", "SL", "ML").
• Category: Select a predefined category that best fits this leave type (e.g., "Paid Leave", "Unpaid Leave", "Statutory Leave"). This helps with reporting and filtering.
• Accrual Settings:
• Does this type accrue? For types like Annual Leave, tick this box. This means employees will earn days/hours over time. For Sick Leave or Unpaid Leave, this is usually unticked.
• If ticked, you'll typically configure accrual rules in a later step.
• Balance Deduction:
• Does this type deduct from a balance? Tick this for any leave type that consumes an allocated balance (e.g., Annual Leave, Sick Leave if you have an allocated sick leave bank). Untick for types like Public Holidays or Unpaid Leave that might not consume a specific tracked balance.
• Requires Approval:
• Tick this box if requests for this leave type need manager approval. Most leave types, except perhaps company-wide public holidays, will require approval.
• Attachment Required (Optional):
• For specific leave types like Sick Leave or Parental Leave, you might require employees to upload supporting documents (e.g., medical certificates, birth certificates). Tick this box if necessary.
• Colour Code (Optional): Assign a colour to this leave type for easy identification on calendars and reports.
• Click Save to create the new holiday type.

Tip: Create all the distinct leave types your company offers before moving on to accrual rules. This gives you a comprehensive list to work with. Consider how each leave type impacts an employee's balance and if it needs manager oversight.

Step 3: Configuring Accrual Rules for Leave Types

For leave types that accrue, such as Annual Leave, you need to define how employees earn their entitlement. Flowtly provides flexible options to set these rules.

• From the Holiday Types page, select the specific leave type you want to configure accrual for (e.g., "Annual Leave").
• Look for an Accrual Rules tab or section within the holiday type's details.
• Click + Add Accrual Rule (or similar).
• Accrual Period:
• Annually: Employees accrue their full entitlement once a year (e.g., on their anniversary date or the start of the calendar year).
• Monthly: Employees accrue a portion of their entitlement each month.
• Bi-Weekly / Weekly / Daily: More granular accrual options, if supported and needed.
• Accrual Amount:
• Specify the number of days or hours employees accrue per period (e.g., "20 days per year", or "1.66 days per month").
• Accrual Start Date:
• Employment Start Date: Accrual begins when the employee starts working.
• Fixed Date: Accrual starts on a specific date (e.g., January 1st for all employees).
• Proration for New Hires:
• If an employee joins mid-period, Flowtly can automatically prorate their initial accrual based on their start date. Ensure this option is enabled if applicable to your policy.
• Rollover Policy (Optional):
• Allow Rollover: If employees can carry over unused leave to the next period, specify the maximum number of days/hours they can roll over.
• Rollover Expiry: Define when rolled-over leave expires (e.g., after 3 or 6 months).
• Maximum Balance (Optional):
• Set a cap on the total amount of leave an employee can accumulate.
• Eligibility Criteria (Optional):
• You might be able to define rules based on seniority (e.g., "After 1 year of service, accrual increases to 25 days"). Add such rules if your company has tiered entitlements.
• Click Save Accrual Rule.

Note: Accrual rules can be complex. Ensure you accurately translate your company's policy into Flowtly's settings. Double-check calculations for monthly accruals to avoid discrepancies.

Step 4: Setting Up Public Holidays

Public holidays are typically fixed dates that apply to all or specific groups of employees. Flowtly allows you to manage these separately from individual leave balances.

• Navigate back to the Administration section, then find Holidays (distinct from Holiday Types).
• Click + Add Public Holiday (or similar).
• Name: Enter the name of the public holiday (e.g., "New Year's Day", "Christmas Day").
• Date: Select the specific date of the public holiday.
• Recurrence (Optional): If the holiday occurs on the same date every year, you might have an option to make it recurring.
• Applicability (Optional):
• Specify if this public holiday applies to all employees, or only to employees in certain locations, departments, or Work Schedules. This is crucial for multi-location or international companies.
• Description (Optional): Add any relevant notes.
• Click Save.
• Repeat this process for all public holidays relevant to your company's operating regions.

Tip: Carefully consider the geographical scope of public holidays. What might be a public holiday in one country or region might be a regular working day in another. Link public holidays to specific work schedules or locations for accurate application.

Step 5: Assigning Leave Policies to Employees

Once you've defined your holiday types, accrual rules, and public holidays, the next crucial step is to assign these policies to your employees. This ensures each employee has the correct leave entitlement and that their requests are processed according to the rules you've set up.

• Navigate to the People section in Flowtly.
• You can typically assign policies in two ways:
• Individually: Click on an employee's profile, then look for a Leave or HR tab. Here, you can assign them specific holiday types, their initial leave balance, and the accrual rules that apply to them.
• In Bulk (Recommended for larger companies): Flowtly often allows you to assign policies to groups of employees based on their department, role, or Work Schedules. Look for a Bulk Actions or Policy Assignment tool within the People or Administration section.
• Select the employees or groups.
• Choose the relevant holiday type and associated accrual rule.
• Specify any initial balances for existing employees (e.g., if they are carrying over leave from a previous system or period).
• For each employee, ensure their Work Schedule is correctly set up, as this can influence how leave days are calculated (e.g., distinguishing between working days and weekends).

Note: When first migrating to Flowtly, you'll need to input the current leave balances for all existing employees. Ensure these are accurate to prevent issues later. Reviewing employee Work Schedules is vital for accurate leave calculations.

Step 6: Setting Up Leave Request and Approval Workflows

While you've configured what leave types exist, you also need to ensure the process for requesting and approving leave is clear.

• Flowtly typically integrates leave requests directly into the employee and manager portals. Employees can submit requests through their Home or People Dashboard.
• Manager Approvals: Ensure that managers are correctly assigned to their direct reports within the People section. Flowtly usually uses this reporting structure to route leave requests for approval.
• Notifications: Verify that Emails & Notifications are set up for leave requests and approvals. This ensures managers are alerted to new requests and employees are informed of the status of their requests.
• Action Center: Managers will typically see pending leave requests in their Action Center where they can review and approve or reject them.

Tip: Communicate your company's new leave policies and the process for requesting leave clearly to all employees. Provide a quick guide on how to submit a request and what to expect regarding approvals.

Summary and Next Steps

By following these steps, you have successfully configured your company's holiday and leave policies in Flowtly. You've defined various leave types, set up accrual rules, added public holidays, and assigned these policies to your workforce. This robust framework will streamline your leave management, reduce administrative burden, and ensure compliance with your company's HR policies.

Your next steps should involve:

• Communicating the new policies and procedures to your employees.
• Conducting a small test with a few employees to ensure everything is working as expected.
• Regularly reviewing and updating your holiday types and accrual rules as your company's policies evolve.

Learn more

• Holiday Types
• Holidays
• People
• Work Schedules
• Action Center