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Incorrect time off balance

What to check for in your Sage HR settings if a time off balance for an employee is wrong.

Written by Oliver Cook

If an employee's time off balance doesn't look correct, there are multiple factors that affect a time off balance.

What can affect a time off balance?

General reasons

  • Manual changes were made to balance

  • Allowance set on the time off policy

  • Individual allowance set for the employee

  • Carry over

  • How the allowance is set to accrue in a time off policy's settings

  • Duplicate time off requests

  • Time off requests that are awaiting approval

  • Cancelled time off requests

  • Declined time off requests

  • Length of service allowance in a time off policy's settings

  • Termination recalculating remaining days, setting within a time off policy

  • Number of children allowance in a time off policy's settings

  • Start date if allowance is based on their start date

  • Probation period within a time off policy's settings

Reasons for a Calendar settings-based policy

  • Count weekends as workdays, setting within the time off policy

  • Count public holidays as work days, setting within the time off policy

  • An employee's Employment Status

  • Changes to an employee's Employment Status

  • Default working hours

  • Allowance count setting within an individual public holiday

Reasons for a working pattern-based policy

  • An employee's working pattern

  • Changes to an employee's working pattern

Troubleshooting incorrect time off balances

Which time off figure is wrong?

Days used

Is the time off policy based on calendar settings or working patterns?

Calendar settings


Check the employment status assigned to the relevant employee. Is their employment status correct?

Employment status is correct


Remove the employee from the time off policy, then re-add them. This should refresh the time off balance and update it to the correct figure.

Employment status is wrong


If the employment status is wrong, either correct it or add the employee to another employment status.

📎NOTE: Be aware that any changes you make to the employment status will affect any other employees assigned to that employment.

Once you've resolved the employment status, decline the previous time off requests and then rebook the time off requests and approve them.

Working pattern


The system will be using whatever working pattern was in place at the time the time off request was made. If it’s a future request, this indicates that the current working pattern is wrong, and you need to correct the working pattern.

If a past time off request, then this indicates the working pattern was wrong at the time. Add a historical working pattern with the correct working days/hours to recalculate it.

Manual transactions

Manually change the balance to correct the previous manual transaction.

Carried over

If the carryover is wrong, you can manually amend the existing carryover figure.

Accrual

Is the policy:

  • Standard accrual - For example, employees accrue their allowance annually, monthly, weekly, etc.

  • Labour-based - The employee's allowance is based on time worked

Standard accrual


Check Individual Allowances for the relevant employee. If they are wrong, correct them.

📎NOTE: The system may prorata the figure if the employee starts or leaves mid-year. Alternatively, if the probation has activated in the policy

Labour based


There will be an error within the employee's timesheets, working pattern or employment status

  • If the policy is based on Timesheets check the employees timesheets

  • If the policy is based on working patterns, check the employee's working pattern

  • If the policy is based on calendar settings, check the employee's employment status
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