--- title: Leave Setup at Employee Level – Detailed Explanation description: When setting up leave for each employee, there are a few fields that are crucial to understand. These fields define how leave days are calculated, how often they reset, and whether they accrue over time. Below is a breakdown of… url: "https://hrsimplified.org/docs/leave-setup-at-employee-level-detailed-explanation/" updated: "2024-10-16" category: Leave Management --- # Leave Setup at Employee Level – Detailed Explanation When setting up leave for each employee, there are a few fields that are crucial to understand. These fields define how leave days are calculated, how often they reset, and whether they accrue over time. Below is a breakdown of each part: ![HRSimplified Employee record screen on the leave information tab to setup leave configuration.](https://hrsimplified.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/image-20-1024x576.png) HRSimplified Employee record screen on the leave information tab to setup leave configuration. --- ### **Leave Categories** - **Sick Leave**: Typically, this is leave used for employee illness. - **Annual Leave**: This is standard leave, often used for vacations. - **Special Leave**: This may include other types of leave such as bereavement or emergency leave. - **Study Leave**: Leave specifically granted for employees pursuing studies. - **Family Leave**: Leave granted for family-related reasons, such as maternity or paternity leave. --- ### **Fields for Each Leave Type** Each leave type includes the following key fields to set up leave for employees: 1. **Current Balance**: - This shows the **current number of days** an employee has available for this type of leave. - It represents the leave days they can take immediately. For example, if an employee has a current balance of **30 sick leave days**, they can take up to 30 days off due to illness. 2. **Leave Days per Cycle**: - This field indicates how many leave days the employee is **entitled to** per leave cycle. - For example, if **15 days** of annual leave are given **per year** (cycle), that will be recorded in this field. - It’s important to note that **annual leave is often accrued** over the duration of the cycle (e.g., each month), whereas other leave types like sick leave or study leave might reset in full at the end of the cycle. 3. **Cycle Duration (Months)**: - This determines the **length of time** before the leave resets or accrues again. - For example, for annual leave, you might have a **12-month cycle**, meaning the leave allowance is granted annually. For sick leave, the company might set up a **36-month cycle**. - **Sick leave and other types (study, special)** typically have longer cycles, and once the cycle is over, the balance may reset to the allocated leave days for the new cycle. 4. **Increase per Cycle (Days)**: - This field determines if an employee’s **leave allowance increases** with every cycle. - For example, if you want to reward long-serving employees with **one extra day** of annual leave every year, you can set the **Increase per Cycle** field to **1 day** for annual leave. - If the value is set to **0**, the leave allocation remains the same with each new cycle. --- ### **Additional Leave Settings** On the right-hand side of the employee’s **Leave Information** screen, there are three key options that further refine leave management: 1. **Employee Works 5-Day Week**: - Toggle this **on** if the employee works a standard **5-day workweek** (Monday to Friday). - Toggle it **off** if the employee works shifts, weekends, or follows a different work schedule. 2. **Disable if Employee Works on Public Holidays**: - When this is **enabled**, public holidays will not count as part of the employee’s leave days. - **Important**: Public holidays are determined by the employee's **operational country** setting. This means that the system will **automatically exclude public holidays** based on the country selected in the employee's record. 3. **Disable if Employee Works on Weekends**: - If this is **enabled**, weekends will be excluded from the leave count when the employee takes leave. For example, if an employee takes leave starting on a Friday, the weekend will not reduce their leave balance. 4. **Operational Country**: - This field determines the **public holiday calendar** that applies to the employee. - Based on the **selected country**, the system will automatically adjust leave calculations to account for **local public holidays**. For example, if an employee is based in the **United Arab Emirates**, the UAE public holidays will be used to ensure they aren’t deducted from the employee's leave when applicable. --- ### **How the Leave Settings Work Together** For example: - If the employee works a **5-day week**, with public holidays **excluded**, the system will make sure that the employee's leave is not deducted on **national holidays**. - If the employee works in **South Africa**, selecting **South Africa** as the operational country will ensure that only South African public holidays are applied to their leave calendar. - **Weekend settings** will further exclude weekends from the leave days, which is especially important for employees who follow a Monday-Friday workweek. If the employee takes leave, the **Current Balance** will decrease accordingly. For annual leave, if the employee takes 5 days off, their balance will decrease from **15 days** to **10 days**. --- ### **Key Points for HR Staff**: 1. **Cycle Duration** and **Leave Days per Cycle** are crucial to understand when configuring leave. They define how often leave resets and how many days employees get. 2. Always **review each employee's balance** and make sure the setup matches the company policy. 3. **Annual leave accrues** gradually across the cycle, while other types (like sick leave or study leave) often reset at the end of the cycle. 4. The **Increase per Cycle** field allows you to reward employees by increasing their leave entitlement over time. --- ### **Understanding the Workflow** 1. **Company Level Setup**: Initially, the **company-wide leave policies** are configured under **Company > Company Details > Leave Management**, which sets the default parameters for each type of leave. 2. **Employee Level Setup**: For individual employees, you can customize their leave balances, cycles, and entitlements from their **employee records**. 3. **Tracking Leave**: Employees and managers can view and track leave using the **Employee Self-Service (ESS)** portal or their **manager dashboards**. By setting up the correct leave configurations at both the company and employee levels, HR can ensure accurate leave tracking and compliance with company policies.