PeopleMuster

Time-off request form template

A time-off request form puts every detail a manager needs on one page, so the decision takes a minute instead of an email thread. The form below has three parts: the employee fills in the first, the manager decides in the second, and HR records the days in the third.

Use it when your team requests time off on paper, in a shared document or through a form tool, and you want the same fields every time. It covers any leave type your policy lists, planned or at short notice. Hand it in before booking travel, and at least as far ahead as your policy's notice period.

TIME-OFF REQUEST FORM
[COMPANY NAME]

PART 1: EMPLOYEE (fill in and hand to your manager)

Name: [EMPLOYEE NAME]
Employee ID: [EMPLOYEE ID]
Department: [DEPARTMENT]
Manager: [MANAGER NAME]

Type of time off (tick one):
[ ] Annual   [ ] Casual   [ ] Sick   [ ] Unpaid   [ ] Other: [OTHER LEAVE TYPE]

First day off: [FIRST DAY]
Last day off: [LAST DAY]
Returning to work on: [RETURN DAY]
Half day?  [ ] No   [ ] Yes, morning   [ ] Yes, afternoon
Working days requested: [WORKING DAYS]

Balance for this leave type before this request: [CURRENT BALANCE] days

Who will cover my work: [COVER PERSON]
Handover notes are at: [HANDOVER LOCATION]
Reachable while away?  [ ] No   [ ] Yes, for urgent matters at [CONTACT METHOD]

Employee signature: ____________________   Date: [REQUEST DATE]


PART 2: MANAGER DECISION

[ ] Approved as requested
[ ] Approved with changes: [CHANGED DATES]
[ ] Not approved. Reason: [BUSINESS REASON]
    Other dates offered: [ALTERNATIVE DATES]

Manager signature: ____________________   Date: [DECISION DATE]


PART 3: HR RECORD

Received on: [RECEIVED DATE]
Leave type recorded: [LEAVE TYPE]    Paid or unpaid: [PAID OR UNPAID]
Days deducted: [DAYS DEDUCTED]
Balance after this request: [NEW BALANCE] days
Team calendar updated:  [ ] Yes
Recorded by: [HR NAME]

What to put in each blank

[WORKING DAYS]
Count working days between the first and last day, leaving out weekends and company holidays. Count a half day as 0.5.
[CURRENT BALANCE]
Ask the employee to write their balance before the request. The manager can see at once whether the days are there.
[HANDOVER LOCATION]
Point to a shared document or a named colleague. 'In my email' doesn't help anyone while the employee is away.
[BUSINESS REASON]
Write one clear reason, such as the dates clashing with a client launch. A refusal with no reason tends to come back as a complaint.
[DAYS DEDUCTED]
Record the days actually approved, which may differ from Part 1 if the manager changed the dates.
[PAID OR UNPAID]
Take this from the leave type in your policy, so pay matches the record at month-end.

Before you send it

  • Keep all three parts on one page. When the manager's decision and the HR record sit on a separate sheet, one of them goes missing.
  • Return a copy to the employee after Part 3 is filled in. The copy is their confirmation that the days are booked.
  • File sick leave forms after the absence, not before. The same form works; the manager's part simply records that the days are noted.
  • Use the leave type names from your policy exactly. A request filed as 'holiday' when the policy says 'annual' leads to the wrong balance being used.

PeopleMuster replaces the paper form with a request, an approval and a balance per leave type, paid or unpaid, updated on approval

Questions people ask about this letter

What should a time-off request form include?

Include the employee's name, the leave type, the first and last day, the return day, the working days requested, the current balance and who covers the work. Add a manager decision section and an HR record section, as the three-part form above does.

How far in advance should a time-off request form be submitted?

Submit it at least as far ahead as your leave policy's notice period, often two to four weeks for planned leave. Sick leave and emergencies are the exception, with the form completed on return.

Who signs a time-off request form?

The employee signs Part 1 and the manager signs Part 2 with the decision. HR, or whoever keeps leave records, completes Part 3 and records the new balance.

Can this form be used for half days?

Yes. Tick the half-day box, choose morning or afternoon, and count it as 0.5 in the working days field. HR then deducts half a day from the balance.

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