> ## 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.

# Leave types and policies

> Create and edit the leave types your organization offers — quota, accrual, carry-forward, half-days and approval chain.

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>;

<PermissionNote perm="leave:config" />

**Settings → Leave policies** is where the catalog lives. Everything an employee can apply for is defined here.

## What a leave type carries

| Field                    | What it does                                                                                           |
| ------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Code**                 | The short business key — `EL`, `CL`, `SL`. Unique in your organization and **immutable** once created. |
| **Name**                 | What employees see.                                                                                    |
| **Annual quota**         | Days per year. Leave it empty for unlimited — that is what Loss of Pay uses.                           |
| **Accrual method**       | `Monthly`, `Annual`, `CompOff` or `None`. Drives the accrual runner.                                   |
| **Accrual rate**         | Days credited per monthly run. Only meaningful for the `Monthly` method.                               |
| **Carry-forward cap**    | The most days that survive into the next financial year. `0` means nothing carries.                    |
| **Allow half day**       | Whether requests can be a first or second half.                                                        |
| **Requires HR approval** | Whether approval needs an HR second step after the manager's.                                          |
| **Colour tone**          | How the type appears on calendars and balance tiles.                                                   |
| **Order**                | Where it sits in lists.                                                                                |

<Note>
  **The code cannot be changed after creation.** It is the key that balances, requests and payroll lookups are tied to. Pick it carefully; if you get it wrong, create a new type while the old one is still unused and delete the old one.
</Note>

## Creating one

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open Settings → Leave policies">
    The existing types are listed in display order.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add a type">
    Set the code and name, then the quota and accrual behaviour.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Decide the accrual method">
    * **Monthly** — credits `accrualRate` days on each monthly run. Use for earned leave that builds through the year.
    * **Annual** — credits the whole annual quota once, at the start of the financial year. Use for casual and sick leave granted up front.
    * **CompOff** — not credited on a schedule at all; credited when approved overtime lands on a holiday or rest day.
    * **None** — never credited automatically. Use for Loss of Pay, which has no balance to spend.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set carry-forward">
    At the financial-year boundary, the runner carries the *lesser* of the employee's remaining balance and this cap into the new year. `0` means the balance resets.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose the approval chain">
    Turn on **Requires HR approval** for types where a manager's word alone should not be enough. Leave it off and the manager's approval finalizes the request.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## A worked example

A typical Indian SMB catalog, for a fictional manufacturer:

| Code   | Name         | Quota     | Accrual | Rate | Carry-forward | Half day | HR step |
| ------ | ------------ | --------- | ------- | ---- | ------------- | -------- | ------- |
| `EL`   | Earned Leave | 18        | Monthly | 1.5  | 30            | Yes      | Yes     |
| `CL`   | Casual Leave | 12        | Annual  | —    | 0             | Yes      | No      |
| `SL`   | Sick Leave   | 10        | Annual  | —    | 0             | Yes      | No      |
| `COMP` | Comp-off     | 12        | CompOff | —    | 0             | Yes      | No      |
| `LOP`  | Loss of Pay  | unlimited | None    | —    | 0             | Yes      | No      |

The pattern behind it: leave that is *earned* accrues monthly, carries forward, and gets a second approval because it has real value. Leave that is *granted* is credited annually and lapses. Loss of Pay is unlimited, uncredited, and unpaid — the fallback when there is no balance left.

## Editing

Every field except the code can be changed at any time, and takes effect immediately.

<Warning>
  **Changing the accrual rate does not retroactively adjust past credits.** The runner credits from where each employee's balance was last topped up; lowering a rate slows future accrual but does not claw back what has already been credited.
</Warning>

Turning **Requires HR approval** off does not strand requests already waiting at the HR stage — a request that has reached the HR step still needs an HR decision to finish.

## Deleting

A leave type can only be deleted if it has **never been used** — no balances and no requests reference it. Otherwise the delete is refused.

<Tip>
  To retire a type that is in use, set its quota to zero and move it to the bottom of the order. Employees keep their history; new requests have nothing to draw on.
</Tip>