The Leave section is where you request time off work — holidays, sick days, or unpaid leave — and check how many days you have left for the year.
This section is for: All staff — Employees, Managers, and Admins
The Leave Process — How It Works
You submit Your manager Decision sent Calendar
a request → reviews it → to you by → updated
WorkRoster
(1–2 working days)
Once approved, your leave days are deducted from your balance automatically.
Part 1 — Checking Your Leave Balance
Before requesting time off, it is a good idea to check how many days you have left.
How to Check Your Balance
- Click Leave in the left-hand sidebar
- Look at the summary cards at the top of the page
┌──────────────┐ ┌──────────────┐ ┌──────────────┐ ┌──────────────┐
│ 20 days │ │ 8 days │ │ 12 days │ │ 3 days │
│ │ │ │ │ │ │ │
│ Annual │ │ Approved │ │ Remaining │ │ Sick Days │
│ Entitlement │ │ (taken) │ │ Balance │ │ Used │
└──────────────┘ └──────────────┘ └──────────────┘ └──────────────┘
| Card | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Annual Entitlement | Your total paid holiday days for this year (usually 20) |
| Approved (taken) | Days you have already used or that are approved |
| Remaining Balance | How many paid holiday days you still have left |
| Sick Days Used | How many sick days you have taken this year |
💡 Tip: Your remaining balance updates automatically every time a leave request is approved. You always see the current, accurate figure.
Part 2 — The Three Types of Leave
WorkRoster supports three types of leave, each with different rules:
┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ LEAVE TYPES │
├──────────────────┬────────────────────┬────────────────────────── │
│ ANNUAL LEAVE │ SICK LEAVE │ UNPAID LEAVE │
│ │ │ │
│ Paid holidays │ When you are ill │ Time off without pay │
│ │ │ │
│ Deducted from │ Tracked but NOT │ No impact on your │
│ your balance │ deducted from │ paid leave balance │
│ │ annual balance │ │
│ Approval needed │ Approval needed │ Approval needed │
└──────────────────┴────────────────────┴──────────────────────────┘
Annual Leave — Use this for planned holidays, days off, or personal time. Days are deducted from your annual entitlement (usually 20 days per year).
Sick Leave — Use this when you are unwell. Sick days are tracked separately for HR records but do NOT reduce your annual holiday balance.
Unpaid Leave — Use this for time off beyond your remaining balance or for personal reasons. You do not receive pay for these days, and they do not affect your annual balance.
Part 3 — Submitting a Leave Request
How to Get There
- Click Leave in the left-hand sidebar
- Click the green + Request Leave button
The Leave Request Form
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Request Time Off │
│─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────│
│ │
│ Leave Type │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ Annual Leave ▼ │ │
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
│ Choices: Annual Leave / Sick Leave / Unpaid Leave │
│ │
│ Start Date End Date │
│ ┌─────────────────────┐ ┌─────────────────────┐ │
│ │ Mon 23 Jun 2026 ▼ │ │ Fri 27 Jun 2026 ▼ │ │
│ └─────────────────────┘ └─────────────────────┘ │
│ │
│ Total Days: 5 working days │
│ │
│ Reason (required — min 10 characters) │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ Family holiday — pre-booked trip │ │
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
│ │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ Submit Request │ │
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Step-by-Step Instructions
Leave Type — Click the dropdown and choose:
- Annual Leave — for planned days off
- Sick Leave — when you are ill
- Unpaid Leave — for time off without pay
Start Date — The first day you will be away. Click the calendar icon and select the date.
End Date — The last day you will be away. Click the calendar icon and select the date.
- WorkRoster counts only working days (Monday to Friday). Weekends and public holidays are not counted.
Reason — Type a brief reason for your request. At least 10 characters is required. Your manager uses this to make their decision.
Click Submit Request
✅ Your request is now sent. Your manager will review it and you will be notified of their decision.
What Happens After You Submit?
Status: PENDING
Your request is waiting for your manager.
They will approve or reject it — usually within 1–2 working days.
↓ Manager decides ↓
Approved ✅ Rejected ❌
Your leave is confirmed. Your manager left a comment.
Your balance is updated. Read it — you can cancel and
You can see it on the calendar. resubmit with corrected dates.
Part 4 — Viewing Your Leave History
All your past and current leave requests are shown in a table on the Leave page:
┌─────────────┬──────────────┬──────────┬──────────┬──────────┬───────────┐
│ Type │ Start Date │ End Date │ Days │ Status │ Actions │
├─────────────┼──────────────┼──────────┼──────────┼──────────┼───────────┤
│ Annual │ 23 Jun 2026 │27 Jun │ 5 │ Pending │ Cancel │
│ Sick │ 10 Jun 2026 │10 Jun │ 1 │ Approved │ — │
│ Annual │ 5 May 2026 │9 May │ 5 │ Approved │ — │
│ Annual │ 3 Jan 2026 │3 Jan │ 1 │ Rejected │ — │
└─────────────┴──────────────┴──────────┴──────────┴──────────┴───────────┘
Status labels explained:
| Status | What It Means |
|---|---|
| 🟡 Pending | Submitted — waiting for your manager's decision |
| 🟢 Approved | Confirmed — your leave is booked |
| 🔴 Rejected | Not approved — click to see your manager's reason |
| ⬜ Cancelled | You cancelled this request |
Part 5 — Cancelling a Request
If your plans change and you no longer need the time off:
- Find the request in your Leave History table
- Check it says Pending — you can only cancel pending requests
- Click Cancel in the Actions column
- A box will appear asking you to confirm — click Yes, Cancel
⚠️ Cancellations are final. Once cancelled, the request cannot be un-cancelled. If you still need the time off, simply submit a new request.
⚠️ You cannot cancel Approved or Rejected leave. If you need to change an approved leave date, contact your manager directly and ask them to make the adjustment.
Leave Rules — Important to Know
| Rule | Details |
|---|---|
| Annual Leave maximum | You cannot request more days than your remaining balance |
| Pending requests | You cannot edit a pending request — cancel and resubmit instead |
| Sick leave | No balance limit — sick days do not come out of your holiday entitlement |
| Unpaid leave | No balance limit — but approval is still required |
| Weekend days | Weekends are automatically excluded from your day count |
Viewing Leave on the Calendar
All your approved and pending leave requests appear on the Calendar page. If you are a Manager or Admin, you can see the whole team's leave in one place — very useful for spotting clashes.
┌────────────────────────── JUNE 2026 ──────────────────────────────┐
│ Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun │
│ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 │
│ 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 │
│ 🟣Sick │
│ 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 │
│ 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 │
│ 🔵Annual 🔵Annual 🔵Annual 🔵Annual 🔵Annual │
│ 29 30 │
└───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
🔵 Blue = Annual Leave 🟣 Purple = Sick Leave ⚪ Grey = Unpaid
See the Calendar guide for full details.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: I am sick today. Do I still need to submit a leave request? Yes. If you are off sick, submit a Sick Leave request for today. Your manager will approve it. This keeps your records accurate.
Q: I only have 3 days left but want to take 5 days off. What happens? WorkRoster will not allow you to submit a 5-day Annual Leave request if you only have 3 days remaining. You could take 3 days annual + 2 days unpaid — submit them as two separate requests.
Q: Can I see how much leave my colleagues have taken? If you are an Employee, you can only see your own leave. Managers and Admins can see the whole team.
Q: What if I accidentally submitted the wrong dates? If the request is still Pending, cancel it and submit a new one with the correct dates. If it has been approved already, speak to your manager.
Q: My leave balance looks wrong. Contact your Administrator — they can adjust your entitlement and used days from the Employee settings page.
Next: Manager Approvals →