Blog
Guides, tips, and best practices for managing team leave and integrations.
Maximize Your 2026 Annual Leave with Bridge Days
Turn public holidays into long breaks: how "bridge days" let you use fewer leave days for more time off in 2026 — with examples and country holiday calendars.
sick leave Sick Leave Policy Template (Free)
A free sick leave policy template you can copy today — plus a plain-English guide to reporting absence, fit notes, paid vs unpaid, sick pay, and return-to-work chats.
FTE What Is Full-Time Equivalent (FTE)?
A plain-English guide to full-time equivalent (FTE): what it means, how to calculate it with worked examples, and why it matters for pro-rata leave and planning.
parental leave Maternity, Paternity & Parental Leave Explained
A plain-English overview of maternity, paternity, shared parental and adoption leave — how they differ, and how they interact with annual leave accrual.
annual leave How to Calculate Annual Leave Entitlement
Formulas and worked examples for calculating annual leave entitlement — full-time, part-time pro-rata, and mid-year starters — plus how public holidays factor in.
annual leave How Many Annual Leave Days Is Normal?
What's a "normal" amount of annual leave? Typical entitlements around the world, the holidays-on-top nuance, and how to set a fair allowance — with a country table.
unlimited PTO Unlimited PTO: Pros, Cons & How to Make It Work
An honest look at unlimited PTO — the paradox where people take less, where it works and where it fails, and why you still need to track it. Plus a checklist.
bereavement leave Compassionate & Bereavement Leave: A Simple Policy
What compassionate and bereavement leave is, typical durations, paid vs unpaid, a free sample policy template, and how to track it without eating into annual leave.
leave approval How to Approve Leave Requests Fairly
You can't say yes to everyone in the same week. Here's how to approve leave requests fairly — clear rules, coverage caps, approval chains, and an audit trail.
blackout periods Blackout Periods: Restricting Leave Fairly
What a leave blackout period is, when it's legitimate, how to communicate it fairly in advance, and how it differs from a "max people off at once" cap.
absenteeism How to Reduce Absenteeism at Work
How to measure workplace absenteeism fairly before acting, find the real root causes, and reduce it humanely — without punishing legitimate or protected absence.
leave year When Should Your Leave Year Start?
Calendar year, fiscal April, or hire-date anniversary? Compare the three ways to set your leave year, how each affects carry-over and accrual, and how to choose.
shared calendar Why Every Team Needs a Shared Leave Calendar
Visibility kills double-booking. Here's what a good shared team leave calendar shows — who's off, holidays, blackout dates, bridge days — and why "ask around" fails.
small business Leave Management Software for Small Businesses
What a small business actually needs from leave software, when to ditch the spreadsheet, what it should cost, and a no-nonsense buyer's checklist.
absence management Employee Absence Management: The Complete Guide
A complete, practical guide to employee absence management — leave types, entitlement, approvals, coverage, metrics, and choosing the right tool.
presenteeism Presenteeism: The Hidden Cost of Working While Sick
What presenteeism is, why working while sick can cost more than absence, how harsh absence policies cause it, and how to fix it with a real sick-leave policy.
migration How to Move Your Team Off a Spreadsheet (Without Losing Data)
A practical guide to migrating leave tracking off a spreadsheet — preparing your CSV, avoiding common pitfalls, and bringing mid-year balances across cleanly.
holiday cover Planning Holiday-Season Cover Without the Chaos
Everyone wants the same December weeks off. Here's how to plan peak-season cover fairly — caps vs blackouts, rotating popular dates, and visibility over panic.
remote teams Leave Management for Remote & Distributed Teams
Managing leave across timezones, countries, and public holidays is hard. Here's how remote and distributed teams track time off fairly — without the hallway.
Google Calendar How to Track Time Off in Google Calendar
Tracking leave by hand in Google Calendar means no balances, no approvals, no who's-out logic. Here's what good calendar sync looks like — and its limits.
Slack How to Track Time Off in Slack
Tired of "I'm off Friday" messages getting lost? Here's how to track time off in Slack — requests, one-click approvals, and a daily who's-out digest — without leaving chat.
holiday entitlement How to Calculate Pro-Rata Holiday Entitlement
How to calculate pro-rata holiday for part-time staff and mid-year starters, with simple formulas and worked examples — plus how to stop doing the maths by hand.
annual leave Annual Leave Policy Template (Free)
A free annual leave policy template you can copy today — plus what every leave policy must include: entitlement, accrual, carry-over, notice periods, and approvals.
TOIL TOIL Explained: Time Off in Lieu Rules
TOIL lets staff take paid time off instead of overtime pay. Learn how time off in lieu works, conversion rates, an example policy, expiry rules, and how to track it.
bradford factor What Is the Bradford Factor? Formula & Examples
The Bradford Factor scores absence by disruption, not just total days. Learn the formula (S² × D), worked examples, trigger bands, and where it falls short.
PTO tracking How to Track Employee PTO Without Spreadsheets
Spreadsheets break the moment your team grows. Here's how to track employee PTO accurately — balances, accruals, carry-over, and approvals — without the chaos.