Annual leave
Annual leave is the yearly allocation of planned time off that people book in advance for rest and holidays. It is the type most often carried over, and most often encashable where a policy permits. It is the only one routinely scheduled months ahead.
Annual leave behaves unlike every other type because it is planned weeks or months out. That advance notice is what makes it manageable.
It brings its own failure modes. Clustering, where a whole team wants the same fortnight in summer. Hoarding, where somebody reaches November with everything unused. Both are visible months before the disruption, and both get ignored until they are not.
It is also the type most likely to carry a carry-over rule, an encashment rule and a booking notice period. That is why it generates most of the leave policy document.
Approving it well takes about a minute and saves a fortnight of trouble. Look at who else is booked, check the dates against team commitments, and answer quickly either way. A request sitting unanswered for three weeks is the commonest complaint about leave anywhere.
Where this shows up in PeopleMuster
In PeopleMuster's live leave configuration, Annual is a paid type with a ten-day quota and an encashable flag. Usage is reported per person against that allocation.
Questions people ask
How much annual leave should a person get?
The allocation varies widely by country, industry and contract. This page states no figure. Your own policy and local rules set it.
Should annual leave be booked in advance?
That is the point of the type. Notice is what allows cover to be arranged, which is why most policies attach a minimum notice period to it.
What happens to unused annual leave?
It lapses, carries over or becomes encashable, depending on your policy. Annual leave is usually the type all three rules were written for.