Leave Categories (AU)

Overview

Leave categories are the items that you use to manage your employees' leave. They allow you to configure key settings such as the accrual methods and how an employee may apply for leave.

Leave categories are set up and managed in Config > Leave > Leave Categories.

The Leave Categories report will display each leave type that has been created in your portal, along with the accrual method. 

Once you have created a leave category, you will need to assign it to your employees. The can be done via some integrations on the creation of the employee. Otherwise, you will need to manually assign the relevant leave categories as you configure the employee profile. 

Note: This article outlines the process for configuring leave categories in Australian entities. For information relating to NZ entities, please see this article. 

Add a Leave Category

To add a leave category:

1. Go to Config > Leave > Add New Leave Category.

2. If prompted, select a Region > Create new Leave Category. The Region popup window won’t appear if you only have one region enabled in your portal.

3. Enter a Leave Category Name.

4. Set the other leave category details and accrual settings.

5. Click Save.

You can configure the below information for each leave category:

Leave Category Name	The name of the leave category as it will appear in your portal.
Common Name	An optional display name for the leave category that will appear on employee pay advices. If no Common Name is set, then the Leave Category Name will be used on pay advices. The Common Name can be used for leave categories which need to be specifically recorded on payslips under a different name (eg family and domestic violence leave should appear as 'Ordinary Hours of Work' or another kind of payment for performing work).
Outbound Alias	The name used when leave data is exported to your GL software.
Enabled	A checkbox to indicate if the leave category is available to assign to employees or use in a pay.
Accrual Method	How the leave category will accrue in payroll. Additional fields will appear for each Accrual Method.
Pay Item	The pay item that will be applied by default to any units in a pay using the leave category. If you need a different pay item to be used, you will need to create the pay item before it can be selected in the pay. For example, a pay item with a multiplier of 1.75 could be created to use for employees who are entitled to leave loading when they take annual leave.
Charge Item	The charge item that will be used to bill clients. Can be set as ‘Do not charge’ or ‘Use Pay Item’
Negative Threshold	Whether the leave category can go into a negative balance for an employee. Unlimited - leave requests can be submitted without restriction; when a leave request exceeds the available balance, the balance will become a negative value Unlimited with Warning - leave requests can be submitted without restriction; the employee and Leave Approver will receive a warning message to advise that the request will result in a negative balance Limited - a value to limit how much an employee’s leave balance can go into negative; employees can submit leave requests as long as the balance doesn’t exceed the limit Not Allowed - employees are unable to submit a leave request if it exceeds their current leave balance As leave categories can’t be configured at an employee level, you will need to set up separate categories if some employees are allowed a negative balance and others are not.
Invoice Item Type	The invoice item type created when the leave category is used
GL Account Codes	The GL Income Account Code and GL Expense Account Code associated with the leave category
Leave Submission Method	This section will appear once a leave category is created, letting you define the controls for each type of Leave Submission Method
Show Balance on Payslips	A checkbox to indicate if the balance for the leave category will show on employee pay advices.
Show Balance to Employee	A checkbox to indicate if the balance for the leave category will show in employee portals
Display Order	The order that the leave category will appear in Config > Leave > Leave Categories.
Allow Employee to Cancel Approved Leave	When this checkbox is ticked, employees can cancel their own leave requests if: the leave is future dated and in an Approved status the employee's timesheet for the period containing the leave is in Not Open, Pending Submission, or Pending Approval status.
Is a Liability	A checkbox to indicate if the leave category will be included in the Leave Liability report

Accrual Methods

There are six accrual methods available when setting up a leave category for an Australian entity.

Non-Accrued	A non-accrued, lump-sum Entitlement Amount can be set (eg Compassionate Leave)
Annual Lump Sum	For leave entitlement that is issued upfront at the start of a year.  Additional fields: Active Beginning On - the date that the leave is first active Reset Anniversary - the date that the entitlement resets to 0 each year, if required. No Reset - the entitlement will not reset Employment Anniversary - the entitlement will reset on the employee's Employment Start Date Calendar Year - the entitlement will reset each year on the date that the leave category is assigned to the employee (generally the Start Date on their profile with some exceptions) Financial Year - the entitlement will reset at the start of the new financial year Entitlement Amount - the total entitlement to be issued on each anniversary This leave accrual method can be set to calculate in hours or days. If you set Days as the Entitlement Type, you will be able to select which Pay and Leave Items are included in the accrual calculation.
Percent of Time Worked	Accrues based on time worked. A pro-rata value calculated by using the actual hours worked as a percentage of a full-time equivalent workload.  Additional fields: Active Beginning On - the date that the leave is first active Entitlement Percent - the percentage used in the accrual calculation Accrual - checkboxes to indicate which Pay and Leave Items should be included in the total hours that leave will accrue on
Days of Employment	Allows set up of lump-sum leave categories once employees meet a ‘days of employment’ criteria.  Additional fields: Days Worked Before Triggering - the number of days that the employee must have worked before the entitlement is applied Entitlement Amount - the total entitlement units to be issued
Per Paycycle	Accrues a fixed number of units each pay cycle Additional fields: Active Beginning On - the date that the leave is first active Reset Anniversary - the date that the entitlement resets each year, if applicable Entitlement Amount - the total entitlement units to be issued each pay cycle
Overtime	To assist with recording time in lieu.  Additional fields: Weekly Overtime Threshold (Hours) - the limit of hours that are considered as ordinary hours. Hours submitted which exceed this threshold can be held as time in lieu for employees to take at a later time Entitlement Multiplier - a decimal value that can be used to multiply the total value of the entitlement units

Pay Items for Paying Leave

The pay items that are paid for leave are reported to the ATO. Each of your leave categories must be configured with a unique Pay Item (eg Annual Leave is paid with a pay item called 'Annual Leave', rather than using a standard Base Hourly item).

You will also need to check that the Accrual Method set for each category reflects any updates that you make so that leave accrues correctly on the pay item. 

Percentage of Time Worked Accrual Items

For leave categories with an Accrual Method of Percentage of Time Worked, you will need to ensure that the Accrual section has the following items selected:

• All leave items that should be considered in leave accrual calculation;
• All pay items associated with these leave items; and,
• Any other pay items that should be considered in the leave accrual calculation.

In the above example, the leave items 'Annual Leave' and 'Personal Leave' are selected, as these should be included in the leave accrual calculation.

Their associated pay items ('Annual Leave Pay Item', 'Personal Leave Pay Item') must also be selected.

Base Hourly is also selected so that it is included in the accrual calculation. 

The leave item 'ZA Test Leave' and the pay item 'OT 1.5' should not be included in the leave accrual calculation, and so are not selected