Applying for & Approving Leaves
This chapter covers the end-to-end leave request workflow in Udyamo HRMS — from an employee submitting a leave application to a manager reviewing, approving or denying it, and the employee tracking the outcome. Leave comments, notifications, and cancellation processes are also covered.
What You Will Learn
- How employees apply for leave (full day, half day, custom hours)
- How the leave approval workflow operates
- How managers approve or deny leave requests
- How leave comments work for communication between the employee and approver
- How to track leave request statuses
- How employees cancel approved leave
- How to view leave history
- How to manage the manager's leave approval queue
Prerequisites
Required: Leave categories and leave policies must be configured and assigned to employees. See Chapter 21: Leave Categories and Chapter 22: Leave Policies. Holidays should be configured for accurate leave day calculations. See Chapter 23: Holidays.
Applying for Leave — Employee View
Accessing the Leave Application
Employees can apply for leave through two paths:
- Dashboard shortcut: Click the Apply Leave quick action on the dashboard.
- Leave section: Navigate to Leaves in the left sidebar, then click Apply Leave.
Leave Application Form
The leave application form contains the following fields:
| Field | Description | Required |
|---|---|---|
| Leave Category | The type of leave to apply for (e.g., Casual Leave, Sick Leave). Only categories with assigned policies appear. | Yes |
| Start Date | The first day of the leave period. | Yes |
| End Date | The last day of the leave period. For a single day, same as start date. | Yes |
| Leave Mode | Full Day, Half Day, or Custom Hours (if enabled). | Yes |
| Reason | A text explanation for the leave request. | Yes |
Full Day Leave
For full-day leave, the employee selects a start date and end date. The system automatically calculates the number of leave days, excluding:
- Weekly offs (based on the employee's work week configuration)
- Holidays (based on the employee's office)
Example: An employee applies for leave from Monday, March 3 to Friday, March 7 (5 calendar days). If the employee has a 5-day work week (Saturday and Sunday off), the system calculates:
| Date | Day | Status | Counted? |
|---|---|---|---|
| March 3 | Monday | Working day | Yes |
| March 4 | Tuesday | Working day | Yes |
| March 5 | Wednesday | Working day | Yes |
| March 6 | Thursday | Working day | Yes |
| March 7 | Friday | Working day | Yes |
Leave days = 5
If March 5 were a public holiday, the count would be 4 leave days.
Half Day Leave
Half-day leave deducts 0.5 days from the leave balance. When selecting half day, the employee specifies whether they are taking the first half or second half of the day.
| Selection | Work Expectation |
|---|---|
| First half | Employee is absent in the morning and works in the afternoon |
| Second half | Employee works in the morning and is absent in the afternoon |
Custom Hours Leave
If custom time-off is enabled (see Chapter 22 for the min_custom_time_off_minutes setting), employees can specify exact hours.
- Select Custom Hours as the leave mode.
- Enter the number of hours (subject to the minimum configured).
- The system converts hours to a fractional day based on the employee's shift duration.
Example: An employee on an 8-hour shift applies for 2 hours of custom time-off. The system deducts 0.25 days (2/8) from the leave balance.
Tip: Encourage employees to provide clear, specific reasons in their leave applications. This helps managers make informed approval decisions and creates a useful audit trail.
Leave Application Validation
When an employee submits a leave request, the system performs several validations:
| Validation | Behavior |
|---|---|
| Sufficient balance | The system checks if the employee has enough leave days in the selected category. If not, a warning is displayed. |
| Past date restriction | If the past_leave_enabled setting is disabled, the system blocks applications for past dates. |
| Overlapping leaves | The system checks for existing leave requests that overlap with the selected dates. Overlapping requests are not allowed. |
| Holiday overlap | Days that fall on holidays are automatically excluded from the leave count. |
| Weekly off overlap | Days that fall on weekly offs are automatically excluded from the leave count. |
Warning: If an employee submits a leave request that exceeds their available balance, the system may still allow submission (depending on configuration), but the request will be flagged for the approver. The approver can then decide whether to approve it, knowing it will result in a negative balance or LOP.
Submitting the Leave Request
After filling in all required fields:
- Review the calculated leave days and balance impact shown in the form.
- Click Submit.
- The leave request is created with a status of Pending.
- A notification is sent to the employee's reporting manager (or configured leave approver).
The employee receives a confirmation that the request has been submitted successfully.
Leave Approval Workflow — Manager View
Accessing the Approval Queue
Managers can access pending leave requests through:
- Dashboard notifications: A badge or notification indicating pending approvals.
- Leave Approvals: Navigate to Leaves > Approvals (or Team > Leave Requests) to see all pending requests from direct reports.
The approval queue displays:
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| Employee Name | The employee who submitted the request |
| Leave Category | The type of leave requested |
| Dates | Start date to end date |
| Days | Number of leave days calculated |
| Available Balance | The employee's current balance in that category |
| Reason | The reason provided by the employee |
| Status | Current status (Pending) |
Approving a Leave Request
To approve a leave request:
- Open the pending request from the approval queue.
- Review the details: dates, category, balance, and reason.
- Optionally add a comment (see Leave Comments below).
- Click Approve.
- The leave status changes to Approved.
- The employee receives a notification that their leave has been approved.
- The leave days are deducted from the employee's balance.
Denying a Leave Request
To deny a leave request:
- Open the pending request from the approval queue.
- Review the details.
- Add a comment explaining the reason for denial (recommended for transparency).
- Click Deny (or Reject).
- The leave status changes to Rejected.
- The employee receives a notification that their leave has been denied, along with the comment.
- No leave days are deducted from the balance.
Tip: Always provide a comment when denying leave. This helps the employee understand the reason and decide whether to reapply for different dates or discuss the matter with their manager.
Leave Comments
Udyamo HRMS provides a LeaveComment feature that allows back-and-forth communication on a leave request. Both the employee and the approver can add comments.
Use Cases for Leave Comments
| Scenario | Example Comment |
|---|---|
| Manager needs clarification | "Can you confirm if this overlaps with the project deadline on March 6?" |
| Manager approves with a note | "Approved. Please hand over pending tasks to Rahul before you leave." |
| Manager denies with explanation | "The team has a critical release on these dates. Can you apply for the following week instead?" |
| Employee responds to query | "The project deliverable is complete and handed over. No overlap." |
Adding a Comment
- Open the leave request.
- Scroll to the Comments section.
- Type your comment in the text field.
- Click Add Comment (or Post).
- The comment is visible to both the employee and the approver.
Comments are displayed in chronological order with timestamps and the commenter's name.
Leave Request Statuses
Every leave request in Udyamo HRMS has one of the following statuses:
| Status | Description | Who Can Change It |
|---|---|---|
| Pending | The request has been submitted and is awaiting approval. | Manager/Admin (approve or deny) |
| Approved | The request has been approved by the manager. Leave days are deducted from the balance. | Employee (can cancel), Admin (can revoke) |
| Rejected | The request has been denied by the manager. No balance deduction. | Employee (can reapply with new dates) |
| Cancelled | The request was withdrawn by the employee or revoked by an admin. Balance is restored. | Final state |
Status Flow Diagram
Submit Approve
| |
v v
Pending -----> Approved -----> Cancelled
| ^
| Deny |
v Cancel |
Rejected (by employee)---+
Cancelling Approved Leave
An employee can cancel leave that has already been approved, provided the leave dates have not yet passed (or past leave cancellation is allowed by your organization's settings).
Steps to Cancel Leave
- Navigate to Leaves > My Leaves (or Leave History).
- Locate the approved leave request.
- Click Cancel.
- Confirm the cancellation when prompted.
- The leave status changes to Cancelled.
- The leave days are restored to the employee's balance.
- The manager receives a notification about the cancellation.
Warning: If payroll has already been processed for the period that includes the cancelled leave, the balance restoration does not automatically adjust payroll. Payroll corrections must be handled separately. See Chapter 30: Off-Cycle Payroll & Corrections.
Viewing Leave History
Employee View
Employees can view their complete leave history:
- Navigate to Leaves > My Leaves.
- The page displays all leave requests with their status, dates, category, and day count.
- Use filters to narrow by:
- Date range — View leaves within a specific period
- Category — Filter by leave type
- Status — Filter by Pending, Approved, Rejected, or Cancelled
Manager View
Managers can view leave history for their team:
- Navigate to Leaves > Team Leaves (or Team > Leave History).
- The page displays leave requests from all direct reports.
- Use filters to narrow by employee name, date range, category, or status.
Administrator View
Administrators can view leave data for all employees:
- Navigate to Leaves > All Leaves.
- Use filters and search to find specific records.
- Export data as needed for reporting.
Admin Actions on Leave Requests
Administrators have additional capabilities beyond the standard manager approval workflow:
| Action | Description |
|---|---|
| Apply leave on behalf of an employee | Useful when an employee cannot access the system (e.g., medical emergency). Navigate to the employee's profile > Leave tab and submit a leave request. |
| Approve/deny any request | Administrators can approve or deny leave requests for any employee, regardless of the reporting hierarchy. |
| Revoke approved leave | Administrators can cancel a previously approved leave request and restore the balance. |
| Adjust leave balances | See Chapter 25: Leave Balances for manual balance adjustments. |
Notifications
Udyamo HRMS sends notifications at each stage of the leave workflow:
| Event | Recipient | Notification |
|---|---|---|
| Leave submitted | Manager/Approver | "Employee Name has applied for Leave Category from Start Date to End Date." |
| Leave approved | Employee | "Your Leave Category request from Start Date to End Date has been approved." |
| Leave rejected | Employee | "Your Leave Category request from Start Date to End Date has been denied." |
| Leave cancelled | Manager/Approver | "Employee Name has cancelled their Leave Category from Start Date to End Date." |
If the MS Teams integration is enabled, these notifications are also delivered through Teams. See Chapter 46: MS Teams Integration.
Leave Import
For organizations migrating to Udyamo HRMS or needing to record historical leave data, the system supports leave import via a template file.
Steps to Import Leaves
- Navigate to Leaves.
- Click Import.
- Download the import template.
- Fill in the template with leave records (employee identifier, category, start date, end date, status, reason).
- Upload the completed file.
- Review the preview and resolve any errors.
- Click Confirm to import.
Warning: Imported leave records are created with the status specified in the file (usually "Approved"). Ensure the data is accurate before importing, as imported records affect leave balances immediately.
Best Practices
- Train employees on the leave application process. Ensure they know which category to use, how to select the correct dates, and the importance of providing a reason.
- Set response time expectations for managers. Employees appreciate timely approvals. Encourage managers to review leave requests within 24 -- 48 hours.
- Use comments for transparency. Both approval and denial decisions benefit from a brief comment.
- Review the approval queue regularly. Pending requests left unattended can cause frustration and planning difficulties.
- Leverage notifications. Enable email and/or Teams notifications to ensure leave requests are not overlooked.
What Comes Next
With the leave workflow operational, the next step is understanding leave balance tracking and year-end processing. Proceed to Chapter 25: Leave Balances & Year-End Processing.