Employee Leave Planner

Reviewed & updated by Updated Originally published

Businesses need an accurate method for leave planning. It helps them manage absences effectively. Employees also need proper breaks for their well-being, and this has a direct effect on the productivity of the team.

A proper leave planner lets you plan employee leave carefully and in a professional way. The planner you make will vary with the type of business you run, so you need to build one that suits your own.

What is an employee leave planner?

An employee leave planner is a tool that helps a manager or other responsible person track employee annual leave and absences. Managers, employees and human resources staff can all use it to keep track of leave.

Employee Leave Planner

Set up your year, add your team, then record each leave request. Working days, balances and the monthly planner are worked out for you.

Company & Year
Yearly Entitlement (days per employee)

Unpaid leave has no entitlement and is only counted. Days carried forward from last year can be added for each employee on the next tab and are added to annual leave.

Public Holidays (not counted as leave)

Employees

Add Many at Once

Leave Requests

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What does an employee leave planner do?

A leave planner records every absence, so the manager can see which employees are taking more leave than expected. It also records when an employee will be away, so the manager can handle the absence without disrupting the work of the company. For instance, someone else can cover the employee’s work while he or she is away.

How to create an employee leave planner?

Make the planner so that the people who use it can fill it in easily and correctly. Keep the following points in mind.

Select an application: Choose an application to build the planner in. Microsoft Excel works well, because you can record leave details neatly and add formulas for totals.

Format: A leave planner is used in a professional setting, so it should have a formal format. Add a heading such as “Employee Leave Planner for …” and state the year or month it covers. Do not add unnecessary details. They make the planner look unprofessional and annoy the people who fill it in and read it. Include only the information that is needed.

Include details in the table: Make a table for the important information. Add a column for the employee’s name, and list each employee in a separate row under it. Then add columns for the different types of leave an employee may take.

You can have columns for annual, sick, casual and other leave. Under each column, enter the number of days the employee took of that type. Add a total column as well, so the reader can see the total number of days the employee was on leave.

Importance of an employee leave planner

An employee leave planner helps a manager identify leave patterns. You can see whether absences rise at a particular time of the year. You can also see whether one type of leave is more popular than the others. When a company knows these patterns, it can improve its absence policies.

For instance, if absences increase as the holidays approach, you can offer employees extra paid time if they work during that period. The planner also helps you plan workloads and schedules. Deciding who will cover for absent colleagues is frustrating for a manager, and the planner shows who will be at work while another employee is on leave. You can then schedule and assign work accordingly.

Absenteeism can also raise costs, because the business may have to pay other workers to cover for absent employees. The planner helps the manager see which employees are on leave for many days, so the manager can speak to them if needed.

Employee leave calendar template

File: Excel (.xls)