> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.ontime.hosai.app/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Applying for leave

> File a leave request as an employee, read the quote before you submit, and apply on someone's behalf as an administrator.

export const PermissionNote = ({perm}) => <Info>
    Requires the <code>{perm}</code> permission. Ask your administrator if an
    action described here is missing from your screen — see
    [Roles & permissions](/help/concepts/roles-and-permissions).
  </Info>;

## As an employee

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the Leave tab">
    Your balance for each leave type is at the top, alongside upcoming approved leave and your recent requests with their current stage.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose the type and dates">
    Pick a leave type, a start date and an end date.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose the duration">
    **Full day**, **first half** or **second half**. Half-day options only appear for types that allow them.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Read the quote">
    Before you submit, OnTime tells you exactly what the request costs — see below. This is the moment to catch a range that accidentally spans a holiday, or one you cannot afford.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add a reason and a backup contact">
    The reason goes to your approver. The backup contact is who your work goes to while you are away; OnTime suggests colleagues who are not themselves on leave for those dates.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Submit">
    It goes to your direct manager. If the leave type requires it, HR reviews after your manager approves. The request shows which stage it is at.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## The quote

The quote is computed live from your dates, your shift's weekly offs, the organization's holiday calendar and your current balance:

| The quote tells you       | Why it matters                                           |
| ------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Working days**          | What the request actually costs — not the calendar span. |
| **Weekend days excluded** | Weekly offs inside the range, which are free.            |
| **Holiday days excluded** | Dates on the holiday calendar, also free.                |
| **Current remaining**     | Your balance right now.                                  |
| **Balance after**         | What you would be left with.                             |
| **Insufficient**          | Flagged when the request exceeds your balance.           |
| **Conflict**              | Flagged when the range overlaps leave you already have.  |
| **Requires HR approval**  | Whether a second approval step applies to this type.     |

<Note>
  The conflict check looks at **your own** existing leave. It does not tell you how many colleagues are already off on those dates — your manager sees that on the approval screen.
</Note>

<Tip>
  An insufficient balance does not block you from submitting. Your approver decides; the usual outcome is that the excess becomes Loss of Pay. Talk to them first rather than submitting and hoping.
</Tip>

## What happens next

Your manager sees the request in their approvals queue with the context to decide. You are notified when a decision lands, along with any note they left.

While it is pending, the request appears in your list at its current stage. Approved leave moves to **Upcoming** and the covered days appear on your history calendar as `Leave` — or `Half` for a half-day.

## Applying on someone's behalf

<PermissionNote perm="leave:approve" />

Administrators and HR can file a request for an employee — for people who cannot file themselves, or to record leave that was agreed offline.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the employee's record">
    Find them in the directory and go to the **Leave** tab. Their balances and history are there.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Apply on behalf">
    Same form as the employee's: type, dates, duration, reason.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Submit">
    The request is created against that employee, and the action is written to the audit log with your identity.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Warning>
  **Filing on someone's behalf does not approve it.** The request still enters the normal chain and still needs a decision — and if you file it, the same-actor rule means you cannot be the one to approve it.
</Warning>

You can only file for employees inside your scope: your direct reports, or the whole organization if you hold `hr:approve`.