Use this checklist to complete year‑end time off tasks and get ready for the new holiday period.
You can use these steps even if your holiday year doesn’t follow the calendar year.
📎NOTE: Join our upcoming webinar to learn how to prepare for your holiday year end Register now
Action all pending time off requests
Approve or decline all pending time off requests before the holiday period ends.
If approvers don’t do this, Sage HR carries the value forward. This makes the Time off status report inaccurate for that period.
You can quickly check and approve or decline outstanding requests using the Awaiting approval report.
See our guide here: Awaiting approval report | Sage HR Knowledge Base
Check used and unused time off
Review how much leave employees used and how much remains.
You can check this in:
The employee’s Time off summary
The Time off status report
The Unused days report
📎NOTE: We recommend exporting the Time off status report if you need long-term records of balances.
Once reviewed, remind employees to book remaining leave or confirm carry over plans.
📌TIP: Post an announcement and pin it to remind employees to book their remaining annual leave.
Manage carry over for the next holiday year
If your policy allows carry over, review your time off policy settings.
Confirm:
The maximum number of days employees can carry over
The expiry period for carried‑over leave
📎NOTE: Approve or decline all pending requests before the holiday year ends. Sage HR calculates carry over only after this step.
Prepare your calendar for the next holiday year
Set up your calendar for the next year.
This includes:
Importing public holidays for 2026/2027
Creating Blackout dates for 2026/2027 to block employees from taking leave on specific days
What actually happens when a time off policy resets?
See our guide on Time off policy reset dates: Time off policy reset dates | Sage HR Knowledge Base