Leave Management Guide
Complete step-by-step guide for configuring leave policies, applying for leaves, and managing approvals in edumerge HRMS.
1. Complete Step-by-Step Usage Guide
Flow 1: Creating a Leave Type & Policy (HR/Admin)
Go to the menu: Leave Management → Admin Configuration.
Click on Define Leave.
A list of existing leaves opens. Click the Create Leave button.
A pop-up appears. Fields shown:
- •Leave Name (e.g., Casual Leave)
- •Display Name (e.g., CL)
- •Description
- •Color (Color tag used in reports/calendars)
Enter the details and click Save.
Navigate to Policy Rules to set the exact behavior. Click Create Leave Policy.
Name the policy (e.g., "Teaching Staff Policy 2024").
Click on the leave type (e.g., Casual Leave) from the left tabs and switch Is Applicable to ON.
Fill in policy rules:
- •Allocation: Choose Yearly or Monthly. Enter Entitled Days.
- •Limits: Set Max Per Month, Min/Max Consecutive Days.
- •Notice & Documents: Set Days Before Apply, or if Document Upload is required.
Click Save. The policy is now ready to be assigned to staff.
Flow 2: Applying for Leave (Staff)
Go to the menu: Leave Application.
The dashboard shows upcoming/past leaves and a summary of Leave Balances.
Click the Apply Leave button.
A pop-up screen opens. Select the Leave Type from the dropdown.
Select From Date and To Date.
System validations happen instantly here:
- •If the balance is zero, it warns the user of "Loss of Pay (LOP)".
- •If dates include a sandwich rule deduction, a preview confirmation shows up.
- •If policy dictates substitution is mandatory, it blocks application until classes are substituted.
Enter the Reason (if mandatory) and upload an Attachment (if required by policy).
Click Save.
Success message appears. The leave status changes to "Pending at L1" in the Upcoming Leaves tab.
Flow 3: Approving a Leave (Management)
Go to the menu: Approval Dashboard or click the bell notification for pending leaves.
The screen lists all staff requests waiting for your approval.
Click on a specific request to expand details.
You will see: Staff Name, Leave Type, Dates, Requested Days, LOP Days (if any), Reason, and Balances.
Write a comment in the text box (optional but recommended for rejections).
Click Approve or Reject.
The system updates the status. If there is a Level 2 approver, it moves to their bucket. If it is final, the staff balance is permanently deducted, and the staff gets notified.
2. Screen / Page Explanation
1. Leave Dashboard (My Leaves)
Purpose: Central hub for employees to manage their personal time off.
Sections:
- •Leave Balances Chart: Visual pie chart showing consumed vs available leaves.
- •Application List: Tabs for Upcoming and Past approved/rejected/pending leaves.
- •Buttons: Apply Leave.
Focus Area: Users should focus on their balances before applying to avoid LOP.
2. Policy Rules Configuration (Admin)
Purpose: The brain of the module. Determines how the system behaves for each leave.
Sections:
- •Left Sidebar: Lists all created leave types.
- •Right Pane: The highly detailed rule form for the selected leave type.
- •Important Fields: Include advance notice days, backdated limits, accrual frequency (monthly/yearly), carry-forward maximums, and document mandate flags.
3. Shift Assignment (Admin)
Purpose: Ties working hours to employees to calculate half-days or late marks correctly.
Important Fields:
Shift Start Time, End Time, Half Day limits.
3. How the System Works (Simplified Logic)
Date Calculation Logic
When a user selects dates for a leave: The system calculates the total days. It then backend-checks the holiday calendar. If a date falls on a holiday or weekend (based on shift), it subtracts it from the leave count.
Sandwich Logic Check
If an employee takes Friday and Monday off, and the "Sandwich Rule" is active, the system automatically counts Saturday and Sunday as leave days too. It presents a warning preview to the staff before they hit Apply.
Loss of Pay (LOP) Data Flow
If a staff member applies for 5 days of Sick Leave, but only has 2 in balance, the system approves 2 as paid and marks 3 as LOP. When the payroll module runs at month-end, it fetches these 3 LOP days and automatically docks pay.
4. Roles & Responsibilities
Admin
Handles core one-time setup—creating leave types, configuring policies, updating holiday calendars, mapping shifts, and occasionally doing bulk-balance updates or proxy applications.
Staff
Sole responsibility is to check balances, apply for leaves on time (abiding by advance notice rules), provide valid reasons/attachments, and plan their time off.
Management (Approvers)
Log in regularly to review and clear the pending approval queue. Provide clear comments if rejecting a leave.
5. Reports & Outputs
Staff Leave Balance Report
Shows each employee's opening balance, consumed days, LOP days, and current balance. Used for HR audits.
Leave Transaction/History Report
A day-by-day line item report of who was on leave on a given date.
Pending Approvals Report
Used by top management to see which HODs are delaying leave approvals.
Actionable Outputs: The primary output flows into the Payroll Module to deduct salary for LOP days.
6. Do's & Don'ts
VERY IMPORTANT
DO's
- Configure the Holiday Calendar BEFORE allowing staff to apply for leaves.
- Map clear L1/L2 approvers. If someone lacks an approver, their leave application routes to default admin or gets stuck.
- Use "Apply for Others" feature if an employee is absent and physically cannot apply online; HR should regularize this to keep data clean.
DON'Ts
- Do not change Policy Rules (like converting a yearly bucket to a monthly bucket) in the middle of a term. It will reset or break staff balances.
- Do not assign staff to multiple conflicting shifts.
- Do not forget to test document upload rules with a dummy account before making it live.
7. Common Issues & Solutions
"You cannot apply for leave on this date" error.
Why it happens: Staff is trying to backdate a leave, but the policy rules have "Apply Back Date" locked to 0 days.
How to fix it: HR needs to edit the Policy Rule to allow backdating, OR HR must use "Apply for Others" to regularize on their behalf.
User does not see "Apply Leave" button.
Why it happens: Employee lacks a mapped Shift or lacks a Leave Policy mapped to their profile.
How to fix it: Admin must map the user to a Policy via Staff Policy Link.
Leave deduction is taking 3 days instead of 1 on a Monday.
Why it happens: The Sandwich Rule is enabled in their policy, automatically deducting the weekend.
How to fix it: This is expected behavior based on setup. If incorrect, Admin must disable Sandwich Rule in the policy.
Manager cannot see pending approval.
Why it happens: The approver mapping is broken or the employee is mapped to an old/different manager.
How to fix it: Check the Approvers config screen and ensure the reporting lines are valid.
8. FAQs
"Can an employee edit a leave after submission?"
If it is pending, they usually have to delete/cancel and re-apply. If it is already approved, they must request HR to cancel the approved leave transaction to refund the balance.
"What happens if an employee applies for 5 days but only has 3 days balance?"
The system will smartly prompt them that 3 days will be paid and 2 days will be marked as Loss of Pay (LOP), strictly preventing negative leave balances.
"Can a Manager apply for a half-day?"
Yes, as long as "Half Day Allowed" is checked as active in the specific Policy Rule configuration.
"Do we have to manually roll over unused leaves at the end of the year?"
No, if "Carry Forward" rules and limits are set in the policy, the system handles it automatically based on the rollover frequency.
9. Limitations / System Constraints
Mid-Year Policy Swaps
Changing a policy from "Yearly Accrual" to "Monthly Accrual" for active staff in the middle of a term can cause confusion with historical balances. Changes should ideally happen during cycle transitions.
Substitute Management Blocker
If the institution uses the TimeTable module and "Substitution Mandatory" is checked, an employee CANNOT apply for leave unless they assign a proxy teacher for their classes. If no proxy is available, they are technically blocked from applying.
Need More Help?
Our support team is ready to assist you with any questions about Leave Management or other modules.