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Act 3: Day-to-Day Operations

13. Leave Management

Story

Sarah now oversees how employees request and manage time away from work while ensuring company leave policies remain fair, transparent, and easy to manage across the organization.

As leave requests start flowing in, the system automatically checks balances, holidays, overlapping dates, and policy restrictions before approvals are completed, helping maintain attendance accuracy, staffing visibility, and payroll consistency.

Happy Path

Leave requests move smoothly through approval workflows, and once approved the system updates employee balances, calendars, and attendance records automatically.

  • Employees submit leave requests with leave type, dates, and reasons
  • System validates leave balances, policies, and scheduling conflicts automatically
  • Eligible leave requests may be auto-approved based on company policy
  • Managers or administrators approve or reject pending requests
  • Approved leave updates employee calendars and leave balances instantly
  • Rejected leave requests notify employees with updated request status

Failure Modes

FailureWhat the user seesWhat happens next
Employee does not have enough leave balance"Only X days remaining"Adjust requested leave duration or choose another leave type
Requested leave overlaps with an existing approved leaveValidation warning or rejection shownSelect a different leave date range
Requested leave exceeds maximum consecutive leave limitPolicy validation rejectionReduce leave duration within allowed policy limits
Partial-day leave requested for a leave type that does not allow itValidation rejects requestSubmit a full-day leave request instead
Leave request overlaps with company holiday datesHoliday dates excluded from leave count automaticallySystem recalculates leave duration
Leave requested during employee notice periodRequest rejected or converted according to policyFollow company notice-period leave rules

Edge Cases

ScenarioBehaviorWhy
Carry-forward leave balance exists alongside current-year balanceOlder carry-forward balance is consumed firstPrevents unused balance expiry conflicts
Administrator manually adjusts employee leave balanceBalance adjustment is recorded with audit historyMaintains accountability and compliance tracking
Employee cancels leave request before approvalRequest becomes immediately available for withdrawalAllows flexible leave management before approval
Employee cancels leave request after approvalCancellation requires administrator or manager approvalPrevents schedule disruption after approval
Sick leave policy requires medical documentationMedical certificate upload becomes mandatorySupports policy enforcement and compliance requirements
Unused annual leave is eligible for encashmentRemaining balance converts into payroll paymentSupports leave encashment policies
Negative leave balance policy enabledEmployees may request leave beyond available balanceSupports flexible company leave policies

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