A guide to effective employee leave management

So, what is leave management in HR? Leave management is the process of effectively managing and tracking employee time-off requests such as annual leave, sick days/medical leave, parental leave and emergency leave, following policies and procedures specific to your organisation.

Leave management encompasses everything from establishing clear company guidelines about the different leave types and how to request them, to tracking leave balances and ensuring fair and consistent approvals. It goes beyond simply recording time off, fostering a culture of trust and wellbeing amongst employees whilst maintaining operational efficiency. 

Effective leave management plays a vital role within an organisation, as it provides a clear picture of employee absences and workloads. The CIPD’s 2025 Health and Wellbeing at Work report, supported by Simplyhealth, found that the annual level of sickness absence had reached 9.4 days per employee, on average. The rise in absence highlights the importance of effective leave management as this transparency allows businesses to better monitor and plan for employee leave in relation to any ongoing projects and deadlines, helping maintain productivity through:  

• Proactive workforce planning
• Ensuring business continuity    
• Reducing work overload   
• Reducing bottlenecks   

With clear visibility into team availability, businesses can proactively address potential staffing gaps and distribute workloads accordingly, minimising the risk of being caught short-handed on critical projects. This transparency also facilitates fairer distribution of tasks and responsibilities among remaining team members.   

By preventing situations where employees are overburdened due to unplanned absences or broader employee absenteeism, effective leave management helps organisations maintain normal operations, productivity levels, and employee well-being, reducing the risk of burnout. A focus on employee wellbeing and reducing the risk of burnout is pertinent due to increasing pressures in people’s lives, whether work related, family related, or financial. An effective employee leave management policy can be a step to solving some of the following issues: 

• 91% of UK adults experienced high or extreme levels of stress at some point in the past year, and 34% felt this “always” or “often”. [mentalhealth-uk.org]
• One in five employees (21%) needed time off work due to poor mental health caused by stress. [mentalhealth-uk.org] 
• 74% of UK workers report significant levels of burnout, with many struggling to get out of bed on workdays and wanting to leave their jobs. [hr-now.co.uk] 
• Gen Z workers are burning out at double the rate of Baby Boomers, with half of 18–28-year-olds saying they feel burnt out “all the time” or “often”. [westfieldhealth.com] 

HR software with AI integration can have a significant impact on a team’s ability to tackle these issues and improve their leave management processes, as Oli and Zoe point out: 

“AI can outsource a lot of the admin that is really low value, so HR can spend time on the things that really matter - employee experience and wellbeing. It’s about freeing HR from the repetitive tasks that drain time and energy, so they can focus on creating a culture where people thrive.” 

Oli Quayle, AI Evangelist, Access Group, in Episode 1: Mastering your employee lifecycle of our Do the Best Work of Your Life series. 

“We don’t want to lose the human in this. Tech should free HR to focus on the moments that matter — those personal touches that make people feel valued. Automation is great for compliance and efficiency, but the real magic happens when HR uses that time to connect with employees and show they care.” 

Zoe Wilson, Director at ReThink HR, in Episode 4: Make the best first impression of our Do the Best Work of Your Life series. 

Now that we've established the importance of strong leave management, let's explore how to manage leave of employees effectively: 

1. Encourage open communication 

A culture of open communication is key to smooth staff holiday management. Encourage employees to discuss their leave plans well in advance, especially for longer periods of absence. This allows managers to anticipate staffing needs and distribute workloads accordingly.   

2. Track leave balances and promote leave usage 

Maintaining clear records of employee leave balances is crucial. Organisations can help prevent last-minute requests for large chunks of leave by encouraging staff to use their allocated days throughout the year. This can involve friendly reminders or offering incentives for timely leave usage.  

3. Consider operational needs  

While employee well-being is important, it's also essential to consider any operational needs when managing staff holiday requests. Implementing a fair and transparent policy that discourages a large number of employees being absent at the same time can help maintain business continuity. This may involve setting blackout periods during busy times, or limitations on consecutive leave days. Planning shifts effectively is key to maintaining business continuity. Download our guide to shift pattern mastery to learn proven techniques for optimising shift schedules, reducing overtime costs, and improving employee satisfaction. 

4. Leverage technology  

Consider implementing a dedicated leave management system to streamline staff holiday management processes and provide both managers and employees with greater visibility and transparency, reducing administrative burden. Oli Quayle, AI Evangelist at The Access Group, discusses the benefits of leveraging technology for leave related tasks: 

“It’s about having the right people, at the right time, in the right place — and technology helps you do that at scale without drowning in admin. When you combine smart systems with predictive insights, you’re not just managing leave, you’re planning for productivity and wellbeing across the business.” 

Episode 5: Making workforce management, work of our Do the Best Work of Your Life series. 

Discover how to future-proof your workforce operations with our guide to operational workforce transformation, which provides actionable steps to streamline processes, reduce inefficiencies, and build resilience in your HR strategy. 

What is a leave management system?

A leave management system, also known as a staff holiday booking system, is a HR software solution that streamlines the entire process of managing and tracking employee annual leave, sick leave, and other forms of time off. These systems offer a multitude of features that have been designed to improve efficiency and transparency in staff holiday management.  

Some of these features include: 

Employee self-service 

Self-service features allow employees to submit leave requests directly through the system, specifying leave type, dates, and reasons for absence. This empowers them to manage their leave allowances and view their remaining balances in real-time whilst providing visibility of their team’s availability.  

Automated tracking and calculations 

Most leave management systems automatically track and calculate remaining annual leave balances for each employee, eliminating the need for manual tracking which reduces the risk of errors. 

Approval workflows 

Leave requests can be routed to designated managers or HR team members for electronic approval. This ensures a clear and consistent approval process, with built-in notifications for both employees and managers. 

Integration with payroll systems  

Many leave management systems integrate seamlessly with payroll systems, allowing for automatic deductions of leave days from pay.  

This integration between HR and payroll systems could help reduce administrative burden and minimise the risk of payroll errors related to leave. When your absence data flows directly into payroll calculations, you're removing the need for manual data entry and the potential for human error that comes with it. This means employees are more likely to be paid accurately and on time, whilst your teams can focus on more strategic work. If you're considering how integrated systems could transform your wider HR operations beyond just leave management, read our article on the benefits of an integrated HR system to explore the broader efficiency gains organisations often experience. 

Online leave management 

Replacing paper-based leave requests with an online leave management system eliminates the need for printing, storing, and manually processing physical forms and data. This not only saves time and resources but also contributes to a more environmentally friendly approach. 

The N Brown Group implemented a staff booking holiday system as part of a wider PeopleXD Evo suite.

Before implementing the solution, N Brown Group relied on paper-based processes for holiday approvals, which were slow, error-prone, and created compliance risks. By moving to a fully digital system, they eliminated manual bottlenecks and gained real-time visibility of leave data across their 1,800-strong workforce. This shift not only improved accuracy but also empowered employees with self-service holiday booking, reducing admin time for HR teams and managers. As Megan Weedon, People Manager for Policy Systems and Reward at N Brown Group, explains: 

 “We had pieces of paper going from one employee’s desk to another, waiting to be filled out and signed. It was slow and laborious. Now, with Access PeopleXD, everything is seamless and accessible, giving our people the same experience wherever they’re based.” 

Implementing a leave management system offers a great deal of benefits for organisations of all sizes, such as: 

1. Transparency of annual leave  

As previously mentioned, a leave management system provides a centralised platform for employees to view their leave allowances, track their remaining balances, carry leave over and submit leave requests electronically. This transparency helps foster trust between employees and their managers, whilst reducing confusion around leave policies.  

2. Centralised platform  

Eliminating the hassle of paper-based leave requests and scattered spreadsheets, a leave management system provides a single source for all leave-related information allowing you to streamline processes for both employees and HR administrators.  

3. Employee self-service  

Employee self-service features empower employees to manage their leave allowances independently, by allowing them to submit leave requests, view team availability calendars, and track their leave balances in real-time. This reduces the administrative burden on HR teams.  

4. Reporting and Analytics   

Leave management systems also allow you to gain valuable insights into leave trends and patterns of your employees, by providing comprehensive reports. This allows HR managers to identify areas for improvement and optimise company leave policies.  

All these features form part of a fully integrated HR suite like PeopleXD Evo. By embedding leave management within a broader ecosystem of HR tools, organisations gain seamless connectivity between absence tracking, payroll, workforce planning, and compliance. This integration ensures data consistency, reduces manual effort, and provides a unified experience for employees and HR teams, making PeopleXD Evo a comprehensive solution for managing the entire employee lifecycle. 

Effective employee leave management is essential for a healthy and productive work environment. Implementing a system with features such as employee self-service, automated tracking and approval workflows can streamline processes, improve transparency, and empower employees to manage their leave allowances. This will provide your organisation with a system that fosters a culture of trust, ensures business continuity, and keeps employees happy and productive. 

Ready to transform your leave management process?  

Discover our staff holiday booking system and start driving organisational excellence today.