Leave Management

The Leave Management module handles leave applications, approvals, balances, and history for all staff members.

flowchart LR
    A[Staff Applies] --> B[Pending Review]
    B --> C{Principal Reviews}
    C -->|Approve| D[Leave Granted]
    C -->|Reject| E[Rejected with Reason]

Leave Types

EduCore comes with standard leave types pre-configured. Your school administrator can add or modify these.

Configuring Leave Types

1. Navigate to Settings > Leave Types (School Admin only).
2. Click Add Leave Type or edit an existing one.
3. Set the name, annual allocation, and carry-forward rules.
4. Specify whether a medical certificate is required after a certain number of consecutive days.
5. Click Save.

Applying for Leave

As a Staff Member (Self-Service)

1. Navigate to Leaves > Apply for Leave from the sidebar.
2. Fill in the leave application:

3. The form shows your available balance for the selected leave type.
4. Click Submit Application.
5. The application is sent to your approver (typically the principal or admin).
6. You will receive a notification when it is approved or rejected.

Tip: Apply for planned leave at least 2-3 days in advance whenever possible. This gives the school time to arrange substitutes for your classes.

On Behalf of a Staff Member (Admin)

School administrators can apply for leave on behalf of any staff member:

1. Navigate to Leaves > Apply for Leave.
2. Select the staff member from the dropdown.
3. Fill in the leave details as above.
4. Click Submit.
5. The leave can be auto-approved or sent for approval depending on school settings.

Leave Approval Workflow

Approving Leave (Principal/Admin)

1. Navigate to Leaves > Pending Approvals.
2. A list of all pending leave applications appears.
3. Each application shows:
   • Staff member name and department
   • Leave type and dates
   • Number of days
   • Reason
   • Current leave balance
4. Click View to see the full application.
5. Click Approve to approve the leave, or Reject to deny it.
6. If rejecting, enter a reason for rejection (this is sent to the applicant).
7. The staff member receives a notification of the decision.

Pending Approvals on Dashboard

Pending leave requests appear in the Needs Attention section of the dashboard for users with approval permissions.

Leave Balance

Viewing Your Balance

1. Navigate to Leaves > My Leaves.
2. Your leave balance is shown in a summary card:
   • Leave type, total allocation, used, and remaining

Viewing All Staff Balances (Admin)

1. Navigate to Leaves > Leave Balances.
2. A table shows all staff members with their leave balances.
3. Filter by department or leave type.
4. Click Export CSV to download.

Leave History

Personal Leave History

1. Navigate to Leaves > My Leaves > History.
2. View all your past leave applications with:
   • Dates, leave type, number of days
   • Status (approved, rejected, cancelled)
   • Approver’s name
   • Any remarks

All Staff Leave History (Admin)

1. Navigate to Leaves > Leave History.
2. Filter by staff member, department, leave type, date range, or status.
3. Export to CSV for records.

Cancelling a Leave Application

If your plans change after submitting a leave application:

1. Navigate to Leaves > My Leaves.
2. Find the leave application you want to cancel.
3. Click Cancel (only available if the leave is still pending or has not started yet).
4. The leave balance is restored.

Tip: You cannot cancel a leave that is already in progress (i.e., the start date has passed). In that case, contact your administrator to modify the leave end date.

Leave and Attendance Integration

Leave management is integrated with the attendance system:

• When a staff member has an approved leave for a date, they are automatically marked as “On Leave” in staff attendance.
• This prevents the need to manually mark approved leaves in the attendance register.
• The timetable substitution system also checks approved leaves to identify absent teachers.

Leave Reports

All reports are available at Leaves > Reports and can be exported to CSV.

Best Practices

1. Submit leave applications through the system rather than verbal or paper requests. This maintains an accurate audit trail.
2. Approve or reject promptly. Pending applications delay substitute arrangements.
3. Monitor leave patterns. If a staff member takes frequent single-day leaves (especially Mondays/Fridays), the leave reports make this visible.
4. Set clear carry-forward rules. Decide at the beginning of the year whether unused casual leave carries forward to the next year, or lapses.
5. Require medical certificates for sick leave exceeding 2 consecutive days. This can be configured per leave type.