Time off management
The Account Owner and Admins can manage time off settings in Team settings > Time off.
Time off approvals
With time off approvals enabled, team members must request time off instead of booking it directly. Requests are sent to the assigned Manager, who can accept or decline them.
Learn about the time off approval process in the Time off approvals article.
Time off groups and types
Plan availability
The number of time off groups your team can set depends on your plan.
Starter
The Starter plan includes one default time off group with up to 30 active time off types. This group applies to the entire organization - all time off types from the company-wide group are automatically available to everyone on your team. When booking or requesting time off, each team member sees the company-wide time off types.
To create custom time off groups that better reflect different team needs, upgrade to a Pro or Enterprise plan.
Pro and Enterprise
Teams on the Pro and Enterprise plans can:
Create multiple time off groups to better match their team's structure and settings.
Assign different time off types to specific groups.
Customize access to time off types based on time off group membership.
💡 Here's a tip: Use custom time off groups to manage location-, department-, or contract-specific leave policies.
Time off groups
Company-wide default time off group
The time off groups feature was introduced in February 2026. All previously existing time off types have been migrated into a company-wide default group, so everyone on your team can still book time off the way they used to.
Any new team at Float gets the Company-wide default time off group added with seven time off types:
- Paid Time Off
- Sick Leave
- Annual Leave
- Parental Leave
- Compassionate Leave
- Unpaid Time Off
- Public Holiday
By default, each of the time off types' allowance is set to unlimited.
By default, all default time off types have their allowance set to unlimited. You can adjust these settings to fit your organization’s policies.
You can rename the Company-wide time off group to better match your team's naming conventions or style.
Custom time off groups
Teams on the Pro and Enterprise plans can create custom time off groups tailored to their team’s structure; for example, “EU Employees”, “Contractors”, "HQ Team", or "Part-Time Staff".
Creating time off groups allows you to:
Apply different time off types and policies based on region, role, or employment type.
Customize access to time off types for specific people.
Manage leave more effectively across diverse teams.
Adding a new time off group
To add a new time off group, click on +New group and enter its name.
Each time off group can have its own set of time off types. These can match or differ from those in the Company-wide group.
To add time off types to a group:
Click + Add time off type under the desired time off group
Enter the time off type name and its details, like allowance
Click Add time off type to save.
📝 Note: Each time off group can include up to 30 time off types.
Deleting a time off group
To remove a time off group, use the action menu next to the group name and select Delete group.
📝 Note: A group must be empty before it can be deleted. It cannot contain any time off types. To delete a group, remove all time off types from the group, or move them to another time off group.
Time off types
Time off types define the specific names, policies, and allowances associated with time off. Each time off type needs to be linked to a group.
Add a new time off type
To add a new time off type:
Go to Team settings > Time off.
Locate the appropriate time off group.
Click + Add time off type.
Enter the name, allowance settings, and other details.
Click Add time off type to save.
📝 Note: Each time off group can include up to 30 time off types.
Time off type settings
Each time off type has its own Settings tab where you can configure the following options:
Name - The label for the time off (e.g., Sick Leave, Annual Leave).
Time off group - The group this type belongs to.
Color - The color used to display this type on the Schedule.
Allowance - The number of days allowed.
Carry over days - The number of unused days that can roll over into the next period.
Effective date - The date the policy takes effect.
Assigning time off types to people
In each time off type’s People tab, you can choose who’s eligible to use that specific type of leave. You can assign individual people, entire department/s, or the whole team. Once people are associated with specific time-off types, when booking or requesting time off, each team member only sees the leave options available to them.
Time off types can also be assigned in bulk on the People page.
📝 Note: Each person can be assigned up to 30 active time off types.
Time off allowance
There are five time off allowance options to choose from.
Unlimited - No restrictions on the number of days your team can schedule.
Accrued per calendar year - A person's remaining balance is calculated based on the total number of work days in the year, minus any public or team holidays. For example, if there are 261 work days, each passing day adds 1/261 to the person’s accrued balance.
Accrued per work anniversary - A person's remaining balance is calculated based on the total number of workdays from their start date to one year from that date. By default, the start date is considered January 1, unless a specific date is set in the Availability tab within their profile.
Granted upfront per calendar year - A person's remaining balance is calculated as the total number of granted days minus the days already scheduled between January 1 and December 31.
Granted upfront per work anniversary - A person’s remaining balance is calculated as the total number of granted days minus the days already scheduled from their start date through one year from that date. By default, the start date is considered January 1, unless a specific date is set in the Availability tab within their profile.
Carry over days
If your time off type has a limited allowance under Options, you can choose whether any unused balance carries over to the next year. Check the Carry over unused days box and enter the number of days.
Effective date
The effective date determines when a time-off policy takes effect. It is useful when introducing a new policy.
Example: A team member joined on January 1, 2022. If you introduce a new "granted upfront per calendar year" policy in 2026, you should set the effective date to January 1, 2026. Otherwise, the balance calculation will include past years.
Remaining balance calculation
To calculate the balance at any given point in time, Float considers the time off's allowance and carry over settings, the person's start date, and the effective date of the time off policy.
A person’s balance is always zero before their start date or before the policy's effective date.
Time off is tracked on a yearly basis, either by calendar year or work anniversary:
If granted upfront, the configured number of days is used.
If accrued over time, Float calculates:
The number of working days that have already passed
The total number of working days in the current one-year period
While the start date determines when an individual begins accruing time off, the carryover policy and accrual method (anniversary vs. calendar year) influence the final balance.
Example scenario 1
The time off’s balance is set at 20 days accrued per calendar year. The effective date is set to 1 January 2025. Jon joined the company on 1 June 2025 (this has been set as his start date). He has already taken 10 days and wants to check his balance on 1 November. How many times has he left?
Time off type: Accrued per calendar year (so the start date doesn’t affect accrual)
Accrual type: 20 days accrued per calendar year
Effective date: 1 January 2025
Jon’s start date: 1 June 2025
Check date: 1 November 2025
Time off taken: 10 days
Remaining balance calculation:
1) Policy timing validation
Policy effective on 1 January 2025
Since accrual is per calendar year, accrual starts on 1 January 2025 regardless of Jon’s start date.
2) Determine the time period of accrual
Accrual window: 1 January 2025 – 31 December 2025
Accrual rate: 20 days over 12 months → 1.67 days/month
3) Working time until the check date
From 1 January to 1 November = 10 full months
Accrued time off = 1.67×10=16.67
4) Subtract time off used
Accrued: 16.67 days
Used: 10 days
Jon’s balance on 1 November 2025 is: 16.67 - 10 = 6.67 days.
Example scenario 2
The time off’s balance is set at 25 days accrued per work anniversary. The effective date is set to 1 January 2025. Alice joined the company on 1 August 2025 (this has been set as her start date). How many time off days does she have in 2025?
Time off type: Accrued per work anniversary
Time off policy: 25 days, accrued per work anniversary
Effective Date: 1 January 2025
Alice’s start date: 1 August 2025
Check Date: end of 2025
Remaining balance calculation:
1) Effective date check:
Policy is active from 1 January 2025
Alice joins on 1 August 2025, which is after the effective date
2) Work anniversary period: 1 August 2025 – 31 July 2026
3) Accrual calculation until the end of 2025:
Eligible months: Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec = 5 months (out of 12)
Pro-rated accrual: 5/12×25=10.42
4) No time off used yet.
Alice’s balance at the end of 2025 is 10.42 days.
Example scenario 3
The time off’s balance is set at 10 days granted upfront per calendar year. The effective date is set to 1 July 2025. Tom joined the company on 1 September 2025 (this has been set as his start date). What is his time off balance on 1 September?
Time off type: Granted upfront per calendar year
Time off policy: 10 days, granted upfront per calendar year
Effective Date: 1 July 2025
Tom’s start date: 1 September 2025
Check date: 1 September 2025
Remaining balance calculation:
Granted upfront policy means that all days are available at the start, thus Tom’s balance on 1 September is 10 days.
Example scenario 4
The time off’s balance is set at 10 days granted upfront per work anniversary. The effective date is set to 1 March 2025. Julie joined the company on 1 October 2025 (this has been set as her start date). She has already taken 5 days in November and wants to check her time off balance on 1 December. What is her time off balance?
Time off type: Granted upfront per work anniversary
Time off policy: 10 days, granted upfront per work anniversary
Effective Date: 1 March 2025
Julie’s start date: 1 October 2025
Check date: 1 December 2025
Time off taken: 5 days in November
Remaining balance calculation:
1) Effective date: 1 March 2025
2) Work anniversary period: 1 October 2025 – 30 September 2026
3) Granted upfront policy: 10 days granted on 1 October 2025
4) Time off used: 5 days in November
Julie’s balance on 1 December is 5 days.
Edit time off type
To edit an existing time off type, click on Edit next to its name, make necessary changes, and save them with Update time off type.
Archive time off type
To archive a time off type no longer in use, select it from the list and click Archive.
Archiving a time off type removes it from active use on your team. Any time off scheduled for that time off type will remain on the Schedule as read-only. Team members will no longer see this time off type as an option when requesting or scheduling new time off. This is useful when you update time off policies and want to prevent time off from being scheduled for time off types you are no longer using.
Restore time off type
To restore an archived time off type, navigate to the Archived tab, select the time off type, and click Move to active.
Delete time off type
Only archived time off types can be deleted. To remove archived time off type, navigate to the Archived tab, select the time off type, and click Delete.
Deleting a time off type will permanently remove it from your Schedule and from all assigned people. All past and future time off entries of that type will be removed. This action is irreversible and requires double confirmation.
Scheduling time off
Once time off groups and types are set, each user with permission to edit the Schedule can book or request time off.
To learn more, check the Schedule time off article.