A Time Off Policy defines the types and amounts of time off your employees are entitled to, and sets the rules for how that time can be used. It consolidates all your time off types—such as vacation, sick leave, lieu time, discretionary days, personal wellness days, etc—into a single, clear framework. Each policy specifies how much of each Time Off Type is allotted, how it accrues, when balances reset, and whether unused time can carry over.
Establishing a Time Off Policy helps ensure fairness and consistency across your organization, simplifies tracking and approvals, and provides employees with a clear understanding of their available time off.
First Step - Create Your Time Off Types
Before creating your Time Off Policies, it is recommended to first set up all the Time Off Types you want to include. For guidance on creating Time Off Types, please refer to the support article linked here.
Create a Time Off Policy
Once your Time Off Types are all set up and ready to go, you can begin creating a policy.
Navigate to Time Off
On the left-hand menu of your Collage homepage, select Time Off.
Select Policies/Add Time Off Policy
At the top and centre of the page, click the Policies tab, then select the blue Add Time Off Policy button.
Name Your Policy
Enter a descriptive name for your policy, such as “Salaried – Full Time,” then click Save.
Enter Policy Details
On the Policy Details screen:
Hours Per Workday: Enter the number of hours per workday for employees in this policy. This should reflect the number of hours a standard vacation day will deduct from their vacation balance.
Policy Start Date: Select the date when time off balances reset and new accruals begin annually. This is often January 1, but you may align it with your fiscal year, for example.
Work Week: Select which days of the week represent the standard work days for employees under this policy.
Once complete, click the Continue button in the bottom right corner.
Select Time Off Types
On the Time Off Types page, select all types you wish to include in this policy, then click the blue Continue button in the bottom right corner.
Set Time Off Rules
On the Time Off Rules tab, you will configure accrual settings for each Time Off Type included in your policy. The standard setup order is typically: vacation, sick leave, lieu time, followed by any other types you’ve created.
Accrual Settings
You can choose between Standard or Flexible accrual:
Standard:
Enter the specific number of days per year an employee is entitled to.
Set milestones for additional allotments after a certain number of years; Collage will calculate the entitlement based on the employee’s start date.
Select the Frequency dropdown to determine how often the employee receives a portion of their allocation.
Choose whether time off is earned at the start or end of that period.
Decide if the time off type should be prorated for employees starting mid-period.
Set the Carryover Type, selecting from the following options: annual reset, unlimited carryover, balance limit, capped carryover, or capped carryover with a deadline for use.
Select when the balance will reset: on the policy start date, or the employee’s anniversary.
Flexible:
Use this option for Time Off Types without a defined balance, where employees can request time off as needed (e.g., bereavement or work-from-home days).
Waiting Period
Specify if employees must work a minimum number of days before they are entitled to the specific Time Off Type being set up.
Approvals
Choose an approval process for the Time Off Type being set up:
Single Approval: Requests approved by an employee's manager or any specific individual you would like to assign to the employees in this policy.
Two-Step Approval: Requires a first approval, followed by a second approval. This can be a manager, then a manager's manager, or any two people you specify in the company.
Auto Approval: Requests are automatically approved.
After setting all of the Time Off Rules, click the Continue button pictured above to proceed to the rules for the next Time Off Type. Repeat the above steps for each Time Off Type included in the policy, adjusting and selecting the appropriate accrual settings for each.
Add Employees
On the Add Employees tab, move employees from the available column to the selected column using the arrows in the centre of the screen:
Single arrows move selected individual employees.
Double arrows move all available employees.
Once complete, click the blue Continue button in the bottom right corner.
Effective Date
A pop-up titled Changing Time Off Policy will appear with a dropdown for Effective Date:
Start of Policy Year: Select if you are setting a policy up for the first time and want it to be retroactive to the start of the year.
Today: Select if updating an existing policy, such as changing allocations or rules.
You will then see a preview showing a specified employee's balances before and after the changes. Review, then click Continue to proceed.
Review
On the Review page, verify all policy settings. When everything looks correct, click the blue Finish button in the bottom right corner.
Finished
Your time off policy has now been created. Navigate to the Summary tab in Time Off to view:
Employees included in the policy
Time off accrued, available, used, or scheduled
Next Steps: Adjusting Employee Time-Off Balances
Once you’ve created your Time Off Policies, you may want to update your employees’ balances to accurately reflect any leave they have already taken this year, as well as any upcoming approved time off.
To manually enter individual time-off requests on behalf of employees, please refer to this article.
If you prefer to adjust balances without recording individual requests, this article provides instructions for making one-time manual balance adjustments.