Some businesses allow unused annual leave to roll over into the next year. You can set this up in Sage HR using a time off policy.
📎NOTE: These steps apply to all employees assigned to the policy. If you need carry over for one employee only, wait for the reset and use Change balance.
The policy reset date defines the next holiday period. For example, if the reset date is 1 April and today is 1 October 2025, the current holiday period ends on 31 March 2026.
When you enable carry over, you can:
Set the maximum number of days employees can carry over
Set an expiry period for using the carried‑over leave
📎NOTE: The carryover option doesn’t appear if the policy allocates time off only once.
Enable carry over within a time off policy
Select your name in the top-right corner.
Select Settings.
Select Time off.
Select Policies.
Select Settings next to the relevant policy.
In Unused time, select Carry over.
📎NOTE: The carryover option is unavailable for policies based on a Working pattern. Create a new policy to use carry over in this case.
Set the maximum number of days to carry over.
📌TIP: Sage HR calculates days using the policy’s default working hours.
For example, five days equal 35 hours on a seven-hour day.Set an expiry period if required. You can view more information about how the expiry works in the FAQ below.
Select Save.
📎NOTE: Approve or decline all pending time off requests before the holiday year ends.
View carryover
You can view carried‑over time off in two places:
Employee profile, then select the Time off tab
Reports, then Time off, then Time off status report
📌TIP: You can manually edit an employee’s carried‑over balance if needed.
FAQ
How does the carry over expiry work?
Carry over expiry controls how long carried‑over leave stays available, not when employees can take the leave.
The expiry date sets a deadline for creating a time off request that will use the carryover balance, not for the leave dates themselves.
After the expiry date:
Sage HR removes any unused carried‑over balance
The employee can’t use that balance in new requests
Employees must submit a time off request before the expiry date, even if the time off happens later.
EXAMPLE:
The holiday year resets on 1 January
The annual leave allowance is 25 days
Carry over allows up to five days, expiring after three months
At the start of the year, the employee has 30 days available.
In February, the employee requests four days off in July. Sage HR uses the carried‑over balance first. The remaining balance becomes 26 days.
If the employee submits no further requests before 31 March, the carry over expires on 1 April. Sage HR reduces the balance back to 25 days.
Can you choose to use the carry-over balance for a time off request?
The system automatically uses the available carryover balance first. You can't choose when to use the carryover balance.