Odoo Time Off Module: Leave Management Guide

What Is Odoo Time Off?

Odoo Time Off (formerly called Leaves) manages all employee absences — vacation days, sick leave, personal time, parental leave, and more. It tracks allocations, handles approvals, and integrates with Payroll and Planning so schedules and pay calculations stay accurate.

Module Setup

Install the Time Off module from Apps. It appears under the main menu. The module requires the HR (Employees) module as a dependency.

Leave Types

Leave types define the categories of time off available to employees.

Common Leave Types

Leave Type Configuration

# Key settings per leave type:
# - Approval: No Validation / Team Leader / HR / Both
# - Allow Negative: Can employees go below 0 balance?
# - Allocation Request: Required / Not Required
# - Carry Over: Expire at year end or carry to next year
# - Company: Per-company or shared
# - Color: Display color in calendar view

Leave Allocations

Allocations define how many days of each leave type an employee receives.

Manual Allocation

1. Time Off → Managers → Allocations → Create
2. Select employee(s) or department
3. Choose leave type
4. Set number of days
5. Approve the allocation

Accrual Plans

Accrual plans automatically grant leave over time, common for PTO policies.

# Example Accrual Plan: US PTO Policy
# - Accrual Rate: 1.25 days per month
# - Start After: 90 days (probation)
# - Maximum Accrual: 15 days per year
# - Carry Over: Max 5 days to next year
# - Cap: 20 days maximum balance

# Example: Seniority-based accrual
# 0-2 years: 15 days/year
# 2-5 years: 20 days/year
# 5+ years: 25 days/year

Requesting Time Off

Employees request time off through their self-service portal:

1. My Time Off → New Request
2. Select leave type
3. Choose dates (full day or half day)
4. Add description (optional)
5. Submit — manager receives notification

Half-Day and Hourly Leave

Enable half-day support in leave type settings. For hourly leave (e.g., doctor appointments), enable the Time Off in Hours option on the leave type.

Approval Workflow

• No Validation — Request is auto-approved (useful for sick leave with doctor's note)
• Team Leader — Direct manager approves
• HR Officer — HR department approves
• Both — Sequential: manager first, then HR

Approvers receive email notifications and can approve or refuse from the email link, mobile app, or web interface.

Public Holidays

Go to Time Off → Configuration → Public Holidays. Define holidays by country or company. These days are automatically excluded when employees request time off, so a week-long vacation spanning a public holiday correctly shows fewer PTO days used.

Calendar View

The team calendar shows all approved time off in a visual format. Managers can see their team's availability at a glance, making it easy to spot conflicts before approving new requests.

Integration with Payroll

When Payroll is installed, approved time off automatically affects pay calculations:

• Paid leave — no salary deduction
• Unpaid leave — prorated salary deduction
• Sick leave — country-specific rules applied

Integration with Planning

Approved time off creates unavailability in the Planning module, preventing managers from scheduling shifts for employees who are on leave.

Dashboard and Reporting

• My Dashboard — Employee sees their leave balances and upcoming time off
• Leave Analysis — HR reporting on leave usage by department, type, and period
• Allocation Analysis — Track allocated vs. used days across the organization

Best Practices

• Configure accrual plans — Automate allocation instead of manual yearly grants
• Set carry-over policies — Prevent unlimited accumulation with caps
• Define public holidays early — Ensure accurate day counting from day one
• Train managers on approval — Quick approvals improve employee satisfaction
• Enable self-service — Let employees check balances and submit requests independently

DeployMonkey + Time Off

DeployMonkey's AI agent configures leave types, accrual plans, and public holidays based on your country and company policies. It sets up approval workflows and ensures proper integration with Payroll and Planning.