![Assign a policy](/files/help/shot-leave.png)

A **Leave Policy** says how time off is granted and whether requests need approval. **Policy Assignment** gives that policy to one employee for a date range. The list title is **Leave Policy Assignments**.

The employee can request the types listed on that policy. A type that is not on it is blocked with **This leave type is not included in the employee's assigned policy.**

## Assign one person

1. Open **Leaves**, then **Policy Assignment**.
2. Choose **New Leave Policy Assignment**.
3. Choose the **Employee** and the **Leave Policy**. Both are required.
4. Set **Assignment Based On** to **Leave Period** or **Joining Date**. When you use a leave period, choose **Leave Period**.
5. Enter **Effective From** and **Effective To**. Both are required.
6. Turn on **Carry Forward Unused Leaves** when unused days should carry into the next period. The policy’s **Carry-forward limit (days)** still caps how much can carry.
7. Choose **Create Leave Policy Assignment**.

You should see **Leave Policy Assignment created**. The list shows **Employee**, **Policy**, **From**, and **To**. Search says **Search policy assignments...**

An empty list says **No leave policy assignments yet** and **Map leave policies to employees or groups.**

## Assign several people

1. Open **Desktop**, then **Shift & Attendance**, then **HR Tools**, then **All bulk tools**. The page is **Bulk Actions**.
2. Choose the people under **Employees**. Selected people are filled in.
3. Open the **Assign Leave Policy** tab.
4. Choose **Leave Policy** and **Effective From**.
5. Turn on **Carry forward unused balance** when unused days should carry. The helper says **The policy carry-forward limit is applied at year end.**
6. Choose **Assign Leave Policy**.

You should see **Assigned policy to** and the number of people. **Assign Leave Policy** stays off until at least one person and a policy are selected.

If there are no employees, the page says **Add employees to use bulk tools.**

## If something looks wrong

A missing **Employee**, **Leave Policy**, **Effective From**, or **Effective To** on **Policy Assignment** keeps the assignment from being created. The notice is **Failed to save**, or it names the missing field.

On **Assign Leave Policy**, a failed run says **Policy assignment failed**. You may also see **Select at least one employee**, **Leave policy is required**, or **Leave policy not found**.

If the employee still cannot request time off, confirm the policy is **Active**, the type is on the policy’s **Leave Allocations** table, and the dates cover today.

## Next

Check the days that came from the assignment in [See a balance](/hrms/leaves/balances).