Leave and time off

Pilla helps you manage time off for yourself and your team. This guide covers requesting leave, adding leave for others, viewing leave balances, and exporting leave data.

How to request leave (for employees)

Employees can request time off directly in Pilla. The leave is added to your calendar, but your manager can review and modify it.

Submitting a leave request

1. Go to the Shifts tab
2. Tap the tab icon (when on the Shifts tab, it becomes a menu button)
3. Tap Add leave
4. The Add leave screen opens

Filling in the form

For each leave shift, fill in:

• Start Date — the date of your leave (required)
• Start Time — when your leave starts (required)
• End Time — when your leave ends (required)
• Unpaid Break (mins) — any unpaid break time

Note: As an employee, all your leave requests are submitted as "Holiday" type.

Selecting a manager

After entering your leave details:

1. Tap Select Manager to Notify
2. A modal appears with available managers
3. Tap the manager you want to notify

Adding a message

Enter a message explaining your leave request in the Message field. This helps your manager understand why you need time off.

Adding multiple leave shifts

To request leave for multiple days or times:

1. Fill in the first leave shift
2. Tap Add Shift at the bottom of the screen
3. Fill in the next shift
4. Repeat as needed

Removing a shift

To remove a shift you added by mistake:

1. Find the shift card
2. Tap the X button in the top-right corner

Note: You must have at least one shift in your request.

Submitting your request

When you're ready:

1. Tap Finish in the header
2. A notice appears: "Your shifts will be added to the planner but may be removed by your manager when reviewed."
3. Tap Continue to submit

Your leave shifts appear immediately in the calendar, but your manager can review and modify them.

Adding leave for team members (for managers)

Managers can add leave directly for their team members with more options than employees have.

How to add leave for others

1. Go to the Shifts tab
2. Tap the tab icon (when on the Shifts tab, it becomes a menu button)
3. Tap Add leave
4. The Add leave screen opens

Form fields for managers

For each leave shift, you can set:

• Employee — select the team member (required)
• Leave type — Holiday, Sickness, or Other Leave (required)
• Start Date — the date of the leave (required)
• Start Time — when the leave starts (required)
• End Time — when the leave ends (required)
• Unpaid Break (mins) — any unpaid break time

Leave types

Managers can choose from three leave categories:

• Holiday — planned time off, annual leave, vacations
• Sickness — illness, medical appointments, recovery
• Other Leave — any other type of absence

Adding multiple employees or dates

To add leave for multiple people or dates:

1. Fill in the first shift with employee and times
2. Tap Add Shift at the bottom
3. Select a different employee or date
4. Repeat as needed

Submitting

Tap Finish in the header to add the leave shifts. There is no confirmation notice for managers.

Leave categories

Holiday

Use Holiday for:

• Annual leave entitlement
• Bank holidays
• Planned vacations
• Requested time off

Sickness

Use Sickness for:

• Unexpected illness
• Medical appointments
• Recovery time
• Doctor visits

Other Leave

Use Other Leave for:

• Compassionate leave
• Jury duty
• Training days
• Any absence that doesn't fit Holiday or Sickness

Viewing leave balances

Managers can view leave balances for all team members.

How to access leave balances

1. Go to the Shifts tab
2. Tap the tab icon (menu)
3. Tap Export user leave
4. The User leave screen opens

What you see

Each user row shows:

• User name and profile picture
• Leave hours used (taken + booked) / entitled hours
• Average hourly rate

Viewing a user's leave history

Tap on any user to see their individual leave history on the user's leave screen.

The user leave screen

When viewing a user's leave:

• The AppBar shows the user's name
• The Holiday Year or 52-Week Period dates are displayed
• A list of all leave shifts for that user appears
• Each shift shows the leave category and date

Changing user

To view another user's leave:

1. Tap Change User at the bottom of the screen
2. Select a different user from the filter screen

Exporting leave data

You can export leave data to receive a detailed report by email.

Exporting all leave balances

1. Go to the User leave screen
2. Tap the download icon in the header
3. A confirmation appears: "Your leave export is being processed. You will receive an email with the download link shortly."
4. Tap OK

Exporting a single user's leave

1. Go to the User leave screen
2. Tap on a user to view their leave
3. Tap the download icon in the header
4. The export starts and you'll receive an email with the download link

How leave differs from regular shifts

Leave shifts work differently from regular work shifts.

Leave appearance on the calendar

Leave shifts display differently from regular shifts:

• Grey background instead of colour gradient
• Palm tree icon instead of calendar icon
• "Leave" text instead of time range
• The leave category (Holiday, Sickness, etc.) shown on the card

Leave and clocking in

You don't need to clock in for leave shifts. They are automatically considered complete.

Leave and gamification

Leave shifts:

• Don't earn points
• Don't affect your leaderboard position
• Don't break your streak

Tips

• Submit leave requests early to help with planning
• Include a clear reason in your message to managers
• Use the correct leave category for accurate reporting
• Check the leave balances screen to see your entitlement
• Export leave data regularly for payroll and HR records