Leave cancellation letter
Cancelling approved leave leaves a trail behind it. Cover was arranged, a calendar was blocked and days came off a balance. All three need undoing, and only you know it is happening.
Send this when approved dates are no longer wanted — a trip fell through, a project moved, or you simply changed your mind. Send it as soon as you decide.
Subject: Cancelling approved leave — [original dates] Hello [manager's name], I had [leave type] approved for [original dates]. I no longer need those days and would like to cancel the request. [reason line] Could the [number] days go back to my balance? I will be working as normal that week. [cover line] [rebooking line] [your name]
What to put in each blank
- [reason line]
- Optional and brief. "Plans changed" is a complete answer.
- [cover line]
- Name whoever was covering and say you have told them the cover is not needed.
- [rebooking line]
- If you want the days later, say so now. Mentioning it early beats competing for a popular week.
Before you send it
- Tell the person who was covering. They may have rearranged their own week around yours.
- Delete the calendar block yourself. An out-of-office that nobody removed keeps answering your email.
- Confirm the balance went back up. Cancellations are the most common place for a day to quietly vanish.
Cancelling an approved request writes the change into the audit trail with the days restored
Questions people ask about this letter
Can approved leave be cancelled?
Usually yes, especially with notice. Employers set their own rules, and a cancellation close to the dates may be harder if cover is already booked.
Do the days return to my balance automatically?
Often they do, but check. A cancellation handled by email rather than in a system is the one that gets forgotten.
What if I cancel and then want the days back?
Submit a fresh request. Say in the note that these are the days you cancelled, so the history makes sense to whoever approves it.