Leave Management System
Leave, absence, team coverage and payroll information managed through one production application.
One row per employee, one column per day.
A multi-site business was managing leave through a combination of Power Apps and a large payroll spreadsheet.
The spreadsheet held one row per employee and one column for every day of the year. Different absence types were represented by manually entered codes, with formulas used to calculate totals.
As the process became more complex, calculation errors, manual reconciliation and limited visibility made it increasingly difficult to manage. The replacement needed to support employees, managers, HR, administrators and payroll—including workers without Microsoft 365 accounts.
One controlled process from request to payroll.
A production leave-management application used across three operational locations by more than 100 employees.
The system handles employee requests, manager approvals, absence, team coverage, annual allowances and payroll-related holiday information within one controlled process.
What the application does day to day.
Leave requests
Employees can request:
- Full days
- Half days
- Quarter days
- Multiple-day periods
- Leave cancellations
- Holiday cash-in
Booking rules cover notice periods, maximum durations and available allowance.
Requests exceeding an employee’s allowance are routed for additional review rather than simply being blocked.
Manager approvals
Department managers see the requests assigned to them and can approve or reject them with a permanent record of each decision.
Administrators can also submit requests on behalf of employees who do not have Microsoft 365 accounts.
Team calendar
A shared calendar shows approved and pending leave across the relevant team.
Coverage warnings appear when approving a request would reduce a department below its agreed minimum staffing level.
Absence and TOIL
The system records:
- Sickness
- Maternity and paternity leave
- Compassionate leave
- Unpaid leave
- Jury service
- TOIL
- Training days
- Other authorised absence
Each absence type can be configured independently for payment and allowance calculations.
Shutdown periods
Company shutdowns and holiday breaks can generate pre-approved leave automatically according to each employee’s working pattern.
Allowances and leavers
Annual allowance, carry-over, service-based entitlement and accrued leave are calculated from structured records.
For leavers, the application calculates whether remaining leave should be paid or excess leave reclaimed.
Reporting
Reports cover:
- Leave utilisation
- Absence
- Sickness spells
- Bradford Factor scores
- Training days
- Team coverage
- Employee balances
Reports can also be exported for further analysis.
Payroll support
A dedicated payroll area supports:
- Holiday pay paid in advance
- The effect on subsequent pay runs
- Pay-run sheets
- Payment overrides
- Employee advances
- Final-pay calculations
- Weekly clocking exceptions
The application provides the operational information payroll needs while leaving final payment calculations within the established payroll process.
The application in use.
What the business gained.
- Leave and absence held as structured records
- Correct bank-holiday calculations
- Removal of fragile spreadsheet formulas
- Clear approval ownership
- Permanent approval history
- Better visibility of team coverage
- Consistent allowance and leaver calculations
- Support for employees without Microsoft 365 accounts
- Holiday-pay planning connected to subsequent pay runs
- One role and permission model across the application
A typed calculation engine on Microsoft 365.
Built with React and TypeScript using Vite, Fluent UI and Recharts. The application uses a typed calculation engine and integrates with Microsoft Entra ID, Microsoft Graph and SharePoint Online.
In production and supported.
The application is in production and continues to be supported as leave, payroll and reporting requirements evolve.
Has leave management outgrown your spreadsheet?
Innova Group can help turn a complicated operational process into a structured application built around the way your organisation works.
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