The leave settings live under Settings → Absence, and only the main user can reach them. There are four sections: Leave groups (whose rules), Absence policies (with which process), Balance bookings (how much balance) and Leave seasons & blackouts (over which period).
Kelomo calculates leave days and balances. Holiday pay is calculated by the payroll system.
Set up the leave groups
“A leave group determines a person’s leave rules: the calendar (Saturdays, public holidays, exception days), the accrual rule and the season model. A person belongs to one group at a time.”
The Saturdays consume a leave day field decides how many leave days a week of leave takes. It is on by default, in line with the Annual Holidays Act. The group also sets the Accrual rule, the Season model and exception days, such as a factory shutdown.
Define the absence policies
A policy tells you how one absence type behaves. Policies are versioned: a new version takes effect from the Effective from date.
- Process decides what the employee sees: Request (approval), Notification (no approval) or Employer assignment.
- Consumes balance and Requires approval steer what the request does to the balance and whether a decision is needed.
- Day type, Accrual category and Sick pay tell you how the absence day is classified.
- Sensitivity and Availability steer visibility and selectability.
Maintain the leave balances
Balance bookings is a per-person view. Member balance itemises the rows: Opening balance, Accrual, Consumption, Adjustment, Carryover and Expiry, so you can see what the figure is made of.
At rollout, old balances are brought in on the Balance import page. Saved leave (§27) is a section of its own, and it shows the statutory limit: “Only the part above the 24 statutory days can be saved.” The section also contains Close leave.
Manage seasons and blackouts
A leave season has an Accrual window and a Planning window, plus the status Draft, Confirmed or Locked. The season table shows Carried in, Accrued, Opening, Adjustment, Used, Available and Forecast.
Accrual and the year-end are run from the Run accrual and Run year-end buttons. The season’s limits are set on the same page: “Max simultaneously off (per unit)” warns but does not block, and “Allow advance leave (negative balance)” decides whether the balance may go negative. Blackout periods are defined here.
How annual leave accrues
The holiday credit year is fixed in law at 1 April – 31 March and cannot be moved.
Accrual is 2 or 2.5 days per month, depending on whether the employment has lasted at least a year by the end of the holiday credit year. The Accrual rule is chosen automatically: the 14-day rule if any month reaches 14 working days, otherwise the 35-hour rule.
The employment start date decides the accrual. If the start date is unknown, Kelomo calculates conservatively with two days per month. Fill in the start dates before you run the accrual, so that those who have completed a year get 2.5.
If something goes wrong
| Symptom | Likely cause | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| Accrual is too small | The employment start date is missing, so the calculation uses two | Fill in the start date and run Run accrual again |
| A week of leave takes the wrong number of days | Saturdays consume a leave day is set the wrong way | Fix the setting in the person’s leave group |
| An employee cannot find an absence type | The policy’s Availability or Effective from | Check the policy version |
| A request unexpectedly requires a decision | The policy’s Process is Request (approval) | Switch to Notification (no approval) if the type does not need a decision |
| The balance goes negative | “Allow advance leave (negative balance)” is on | Turn it off if advances are not allowed |
| The season cannot be changed | The season has the status Locked | Check the season status |
Balance accounts – flexitime, the working-time bank and working-time reductions – are not leave balances and do not appear in leave groups. See Balance accounts.