Time off is the days an employee asks to be away. Employees send a request from the portal. HR sets the types, the policy, and the balance from the **Leaves** section.

A request stays pending until someone approves it, unless the policy says requests do not need approval. Pending days stay on the balance until the request is approved.

## Where to go

| Who | Open | What it is for |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Employee | **Time off** in the employee portal, then **Leave** | Send a request and see days left |
| Manager | **Approvals** in the employee portal, then **Leave** | Decide requests that are waiting |
| HR | **Leaves** in the sidebar | Types, policies, assignments, balances, the ledger, and the PTO report |

The sidebar labels stay as they appear in the product:

- **Leave Application** is a time-off request.
- **Leave Policy**, **Policy Assignment**, and **Leave Type** define the rules. See [Time off policies](/hrms/leaves/leave-policy).
- **Leave Allocation**, **Leave Ledger**, and **PTO Report** show balances. See [Time off balances](/hrms/leaves/leave-allocation).

## Start here

1. Add a **Leave Type**, such as vacation or sick time.
2. Create a **Leave Policy**, add each type with its **Annual Allocation**, and choose **Create Leave Policy**.
3. Assign that policy on **Policy Assignment**, with **Effective From** and **Effective To**.
4. Confirm the person has an active balance on **Leave Allocation** or on **PTO Report**.
5. The employee opens **Time off**, chooses **Leave**, and chooses **Request time off**. See [Request time off](/hrms/leaves/leave-application).

## If the employee cannot request time off

The portal says **No leave balance yet** when nothing has been allocated. Choose a leave type and a **From** date before **Request time off** will send. A warning on the form keeps the button off, and the request is not saved.

If the policy requires approval and no manager or leave approver is assigned, the message is **Ask HR to assign your manager or leave approver before requesting time off**.