# Chapter 1: Introduction to Leave Management
Discover the purpose of the **Leave Management** module, its key capabilities and how it streamlines leave administration for employees, managers and HR teams.
# Overview of Leave Management
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Effective leave management keeps records accurate, supports workforce planning, and ensures consistent policy application. The **Leave Management** module simplifies administration, entitlement setup, requests, transactions, and balance tracking within a structured framework.
The module lets administrators set **leave rules** to meet organisational requirements, including how leave accrues, carries over between cycles, and is deducted when taken. These settings define the entitlements and rules for employees in the relevant **leave groups**.
The module provides **employees, managers,** and **administrators** with tools to manage the following:
- **Leave requests:** Submit, review, and manage requests for time away from work.
- **Leave approvals:** Apply configured approval workflows to leave requests.
- **Leave balances:** View available leave entitlements and changes affecting an employee’s balance.
- **Leave configuration:** Define leave types, accrual rules, leave groups, and related settings.
- **Leave processing:** Process leave records, accruals, and adjustments according to the configured rules.
- **Leave records and history:** Maintain records of leave requests and transactions affecting employee leave balances.
**[](https://signature.signifyhr.co.za/uploads/images/gallery/2026-10/MJ3B0MuLoM3KX1AB-leave-roles-of-admin-managers-and-employees.png)**
This chapter provides an overview of the **Leave Management** module, highlighting its **key features**, **purpose,** and **role** in the broader human resources environment. Understanding the module’s core functionality helps users manage leave processes consistently, maintain accurate records, and apply configured leave rules effectively.
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# Purpose of Leave Management
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The **Leave Management** module helps make leave administration simpler by managing the processes and guidelines that support employee time off.
The module enables organisations to:
- Define and manage leave types and entitlements.
- Calculate leave accruals according to configured rules and employee work schedules.
- Allow employees to submit leave requests and monitor their leave balances.
- Enable managers to review and action requests according to configured approval workflows.
- Apply rules for negative balances, carry-over, and leave forfeiture.
- Maintain leave records, adjustments, accruals and historical transactions.
- Manage public holiday calendars for different locations.
- Provide administrators with tools to manage individual employee leave configurations.
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# Key features of Leave Management