When employees submit leave requests, you need to review and approve them before they're included in pay runs. You can approve or decline requests individually or in bulk, make adjustments, and manage the status of all leave requests.
Why leave approval matters
Only approved leave is included in pay runs. Before processing each pay run, you should check for any unapproved leave that should be included.
⚠️ Unapproved leave requests remain as "Pending" and won't be paid.
Viewing employee leave requests
To view an employee's leave requests:
Select Employees from the navigation menu
Select the employee from the list
Select Leave Requests
Quick view
The main Leave Requests page shows a summary of each request:
Leave type: The type of leave requested
Reason: Any notes the employee added
Date: The day of the month for the request
Note: Use the pagination arrows or numbers to view older requests, or change the number displayed using the dropdown.
Detailed view
Select any leave request to view its full details:
Leave type: Type of leave requested
Reason: Notes about the leave
Details: All dates and hours included in the request
Status breakdown: The approval status for each date in the request
Understanding leave request statuses
Each date within a leave request has one of the following statuses:
Pending: Submitted and waiting for your approval. You can approve, decline, or make changes.
Approved: You've approved this leave. It will be included in the pay run for this period. You must revert to "Pending" before making changes.
Declined: You've declined this leave. It won't be included in any pay run. You must revert to "Pending" before making changes.
Completed: The leave has been processed in a pay run. No changes can be made.
Approving leave
When viewing a leave request's detailed page, you have several options for approving leave:
Approve all pending
Select Approve all pending to approve all dates in the request that have a "Pending" status. This won't change any declined items to approved.
Approve individual dates
Select the thumbs up button next to a specific date to approve only that item.
Declining leave
If you need to decline a leave request:
Decline all pending
Select Decline all pending to decline all dates in the request that have a "Pending" status. This won't change any approved items to declined.
Decline individual dates
Select the thumbs down button next to a specific date to decline only that item.
Note: Consider communicating with the employee about why leave was declined so they understand and can make alternative arrangements.
Adjusting leave details
You can adjust any leave request that hasn't been processed in a completed pay run.
What you can adjust
Leave type
Reason/notes
Dates
Quantity of hours
Add additional leave days
How to adjust leave
Open the leave request
Make your changes
Select Save
⚠️ Changes aren't saved unless you select Save before leaving the page.
Changing previously approved or declined leave
If you need to change leave that's already been approved or declined (but hasn't been processed in a pay run)
Revert to pending first
You cannot directly change declined leave to approved, or approved leave to declined. You must first revert it to "Pending," then change the status.
Revert all items:
Select Revert all to pending to change all items in the request to pending
Then approve or decline each item as needed
Revert individual items:
Select the circular arrow button next to a specific date to revert only that item to pending
Then approve or decline that item
Deleting leave
You can delete leave requests that haven't been processed in a completed pay run.
Delete entire request
Select the red Delete button to remove the entire leave request. This only appears when all items in the request are pending.
Delete individual dates
Select the trash icon next to a specific date to remove only that item from the request.
Note: After deleting individual dates, you must select Save to save the changes. Leaving the page without saving means your changes won't persist.
Managing leave during pay runs
When processing a pay run, you can see which employees have pending leave requests:
Open the pay run
Select an employee
In the Leave Request section, you'll see any pending requests
Select Edit leave requests to approve, decline, or adjust leave
This workflow helps ensure all intended leave is approved before you process the pay run.
Common Questions
I approved leave but it's not in the pay run
I approved leave but it's not in the pay run
Check that:
The leave dates fall within the pay run period
The leave status shows as "Approved" (not just pending)
The employee is included in the pay run
I need to change leave that's already been paid
I need to change leave that's already been paid
Once leave is included in a completed pay run, it cannot be changed. If you need to make adjustments, you may need to create an adjustment pay or handle the correction in the next pay period. Contact PaySauce support for guidance.
The employee submitted leave for the wrong dates
The employee submitted leave for the wrong dates
If the leave hasn't been processed yet, you can either:
Ask the employee to adjust or delete their request and submit a new one
Adjust the dates yourself in the leave request details
I accidentally declined leave that should have been approved
I accidentally declined leave that should have been approved
Open the leave request, select the circular arrow button next to the declined date to revert it to pending, then approve it.
Multiple employees have pending leave requests
Multiple employees have pending leave requests
Review each employee's leave requests individually. There isn't currently a bulk approval feature across multiple employees, but you can use "Approve all pending" within each employee's individual requests.
Best practices
Review leave requests promptly
Respond to leave requests quickly so employees know whether their leave is approved and can plan accordingly.
Check before each pay run
Make it part of your pay run checklist to review and approve any pending leave that should be included.
Communicate declined leave
If you decline leave, let the employee know why so they can adjust their plans or provide additional information.
Keep leave balances in mind
When approving leave, check the employee's available balance to ensure they have sufficient leave accrued. PaySauce will allow you to approve leave even if the balance will become negative, so monitor this carefully.