Build leave categories that fit your business
Every company is different. While Officaid's system leave types cover the basics, you may need additional categories for study leave, volunteer days, sabbaticals, or other company-specific policies. Creating custom leave types lets you track these absences properly and give employees clear visibility into their entitlements.
How to Add a Custom Leave Type
- 1 Navigate to Team from the left sidebar.
- 2 Click Leaves from the submenu.
- 3 Click the Leave Policy tab.
- 4 Click the + Add New Leave Type button in the top right corner.
- 5 Complete the Leave Type Details form.
- 6 Click Add New Leave Type to save.
The Leave Type Details Form
When creating a new leave type, you will configure the following:
- Leave Type is the name that appears in dropdowns and leave balances. Choose something clear and recognizable.
- All employees are entitled for this leave? determines whether the leave type is automatically available to everyone or only specific employees.
- Entitled Days sets the default number of days employees receive per year for this leave type.
- Is unpaid? marks the leave as unpaid if employees should not receive salary during this absence.
- Enable carry over allows unused days to roll into the next year.
- Leave need documentation requires employees to upload supporting documents for requests exceeding a certain number of days.
- Remarks lets you add optional notes about the leave type for internal reference.
Applying to All vs Specific Employees
The "All employees are entitled for this leave?" toggle controls availability:
- On means every employee automatically receives this leave type with the configured entitlement. It appears in their leave balance immediately.
- Off means the leave type exists but is not assigned to anyone by default. You can enable it for specific employees through their profile in the Directory.
Configuring Carry Over
When you enable carry over, additional options appear:
- Limit carry over days lets you cap how many days can roll over. Toggle this on to set a maximum.
- Carry Over Limit specifies the maximum number of days that can carry over when the limit is enabled.
If carry over is enabled without a limit, all unused days transfer to the next year. If you set a limit, only up to that number of days carry over and any excess expires.
Requiring Documentation
Some leave types benefit from documentation requirements for longer absences. When you enable "Leave need documentation", an additional field appears:
- Documentation required if leave exceeds (days) sets the threshold. If an employee requests more than this number of days, they must upload supporting documents.
This is useful for leave types where extended absences should be substantiated, while short requests can proceed without extra paperwork.
Example: Creating Study Leave
Here is how you might create a study leave type:
- Leave Type: Study Leave
- All employees entitled: Off (only sponsored employees)
- Entitled Days: 10
- Is unpaid: Off (paid study leave)
- Enable carry over: Off (use it or lose it)
- Leave need documentation: On, if leave exceeds 3 days
- Remarks: For employees enrolled in company-sponsored education programs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Find the leave type in the Leave Policy tab and click the edit icon (pencil) in the Actions column. Make your changes and click Update Leave Type to save.
Click the delete icon (trash) in the Actions column for the leave type you want to remove. Note that deleting a leave type may affect historical records, so consider simply disabling "Applies To All" instead.
Create the leave type with "All employees entitled" toggled off. Then go to Team → Directory, open the employee's profile, click Manage Leaves, and enable the leave type for that individual.
What's Next?
Learn more about configuring leave policies:
- Adding a Custom Leave Type explains all available options in detail.
- Understanding Leave Types covers system vs custom categories.
- Managing Employee Leaves shows how to assign leave to individuals.