The three leave situations that give HR the biggest headaches: unused leave from the previous year, employees requesting leave after running out, and unpaid leave. This article shows how to handle each of them in Tanca.
Leave carried over from the previous year
The carry-over policy is the company's decision, not the software's. Three common models:
| Model | How to configure it in Tanca |
|---|---|
| No carry-over — use it or lose it at year end | Grant a new balance at the start of the year, overwriting the old figure |
| Full carry-over | Add the previous year's remaining balance to the new year's balance when granting it |
| Limited carry-over — up to N days, to be used before date X | Create a separate leave type named Carried-over leave from previous year, grant exactly the number of days allowed to carry over, and set the expiry date in the description |
The third model is the cleanest in terms of data: carried-over leave sits in its own balance, the report immediately shows who still has unused old leave, and it doesn't get mixed up with the current year's leave.
Year-end leave closing process
- Export a leave balance report for all employees before the last day of the year.
- Cross-check against pending leave requests — unapproved requests have not yet been deducted from the balance.
- Finalize the number of days each person may carry over according to the policy.
- Grant the new year's balance, and grant the Carried-over leave from previous year balance if you use the third model.
- Send each employee a notification about their balance.
The last step is more important than it looks. Employees who know their carried-over balance in advance will plan their leave proactively; if they don't know, the whole company requests leave at once in the final month.
Employees who have run out of leave but still need time off
There are two ways to handle this; choose according to company policy:
- Unpaid leave — create a leave type named Unpaid leave, with no balance attached. The days off are recorded but not paid. This is the most common and safest approach.
- Advance leave — let employees use the next period's balance early. Configure it by adding to Total leave days, and note it clearly in the profile notes so it can be deducted next period.
Advance leave carries real risk: if an employee leaves while their leave balance is negative, the company has to recover it, and that is always difficult. If you use it, limit the number of days that can be advanced and put it in the company's labor regulations.
What unpaid leave affects
| Affected area | Effect |
|---|---|
| Timesheet | The day is recorded as leave and not counted as a working day |
| Payroll | That day is not paid — check that the salary formula handles it correctly (article B9) |
| Insurance | Extended unpaid leave affects insurance contributions — consult the team responsible for insurance at your company |
| Seniority | Depends on company policy; state it clearly in the company regulations |
Tanca records leave days and supports payroll calculation, but insurance and seniority rules are a legal matter for your company. Have your HR and legal departments finalize the policy first, then configure the system accordingly.
Monthly checks
- List of people with a negative leave balance — if any, it means advance leave is not being tracked.
- List of people who have used up all their leave — prepare a plan in advance for upcoming requests.
- List of approved leave requests whose dates haven't arrived yet — these are not yet deducted from Used, which can easily skew monthly figures.
