Free annual leave form template for Word (+ a better method)

If you’re looking for a free annual leave form template that you can easily make a copy of and print, here you go:

Sample Annual Leave Request Form

This is a pretty boiler-plate employee leave request form. You can use it for holidays, medical leave, and any other type of leave. It has most of what you need for your team to put in a new leave request, including their name, what type of leave they’re requesting (holiday, sick leave, etc.), what dates they want, and how much time they’re requesting.

But before you make your own copy, we want to tell you that we don’t think this form will make your life that much easier.

• Forms like this aren’t easy to modify. What happens when someone’s holiday dates change? They need to follow up with you over text, email, or another form.
• Forms like this aren’t easy to track. They can get misplaced on your desk or buried in your inbox, and it can be hard to tell who submitted their request first, which is important when it comes to prioritising one request over another.
• Forms don’t update your holiday calendar. You need to take the info in the request form and update whatever calendar your team uses to track days off.
• Forms don't help you track individual annual leave balances. When someone takes two weeks off, you have to deduct it from their annual leave balance. A form doesn't help with this, so you’ll need to go to where you keep their balance (an Excel spreadsheet, a desk calendar, another MS Word doc) and deduct their request.

Below, we look at a better method than using outdated and limited-in-functionality paper forms — using Timetastic’s leave management app.

Note: We show you how Timetastic works in detail below. But if you want to see for yourself how to handle new leave requests (and automatically update your team’s annual leave balances and shared time off calendar), then start your free one-month trial.

Timetastic: A better way to manage leave requests

Timetastic has both a web app and a mobile app (that works with iOS and Android devices) that you can use to manage new leave requests.

You can also use Timetastic for a lot more, such as sharing time off calendars, getting insights into absence trends, and seeing who on your team needs a holiday. But let’s start with how your team can use Timetastic’s leave application form.

How your team can request time off

To request time off, your employee will open their Timetastic mobile app or log in via their web browser.

The first thing they see is their Wallchart.

The Wallchart is an always up-to-date shared time off calendar that everyone can see. This lets them know what dates are available.

And they can also see how much leave they have to take for the year by looking at the number next to their name.

A quick FYI: These images are showing you the manager’s view. When other people log in, they can only see their individual annual leave balance. And while they can see when someone else is off, they don’t see the reason why. For example, everyone on the team would see Julie Hartman is off on Thursday, November 9th — but they wouldn’t see that she’s taking a compassionate day (as shown by the colour-coded icon).

Here’s a quick visual of how fast and easy it is to make a new leave request.

They just pick the dates they want, mark what type of leave they’re taking (such as sick leave or holiday pay), and add any notes or medical documentation if necessary. Then they send off their request. That simple.

Once they submit their request, it gets routed to who’s responsible for approving or declining all new requests.

Here are the benefits of using this method instead of a physical form.

• It’s easy to do from anywhere. Your team can make a new request while at home, during lunch, from their phone, or on their computer.
• It’s easy to make changes. After submitting a request, you can always log back in and make changes if your holiday plans change.
• Your team has all the info they need on one screen. They can see how much leave they have to take and also the updated time off calendar, which makes it easier to make their own plans.
• You won’t lose track of pending requests. You’ll get a message for each new request (more on this below), and when you log into Timetastic you’ll see any pending requests.

How you can quickly approve or decline new leave requests

You can get new leave requests sent directly to you via email, Slack, or MS Teams.

You get all the information you need to approve or decline the request so that you can respond quickly without having to log back into Timetastic.

Avoiding conflicting holiday requests

Companies often want to use annual leave forms because they want to create a structured, organised process that helps them eliminate giving too many people the same day off.

But the truth is forms are imperfect for handling that. With a form, it’s easy to forget what dates you already approved, and it’s easy to overlook someone’s request.

With Timetastic, you always see any potential scheduling clashes and any pending requests.

And you can limit how many people can take a holiday at one time. This is called setting a maximum absent level, and you can set it up across a specific department or the entire company.

For example, the image above shows that the Customer Service department has a maximum absent level of two. That means after a second person gets a day approved off, Timetastic won’t let another person request that same date.

This makes it easier on you and your team because now your staff isn’t just waiting to hear back from you that their request won’t be approved. This lets them adjust their request.

You can also lock specific dates. When you lock a date, Timetastic now knows not to let someone request it off. You can lock dates by the individual, by department, or for the entire company. For example, if you’re doing annual inventory in your department store, you might lock that date for the entire company so everyone can be available to assist.

Finally, you can let Timetastic approve/decline holiday requests for you

There’s another huge benefit to using Timetastic instead of a physical leave of absence form  — Timetastic can approve or decline requests for you.

By knowing how many people can have a day off and knowing which dates are locked, Timetastic can handle the approval process on its own. This is what we do at Timetastic HQ. It not only saves us time as managers, but it’s also better for our staff, as they don’t have to wait to see if their holiday is approved or not. They know immediately and can make plans.

Other benefits of using Timetastic instead of holiday forms

We discussed how Timetastic is a huge step up from using a physical holiday form that you can find for free online because it’s easier for your team to put in requests and for you to respond to them.

But there are other benefits too.

When you use Timetastic, you’ll

• Get a clear breakdown of when someone on your team has taken leave throughout the year, including updated annual leave balances for each employee.
• Be able to integrate your Timetastic account with Slack and MS Teams, as well as with shared calendars like Outlook, Google, iCal, and more.
• See who needs a break, i.e., who hasn’t taken a holiday recently and may be at risk of burnout

Know how much holiday your team has taken for the year

As a manager, from your Wallchart, you can see everyone’s individual leave balance next to their employee name.

When you click on their name, you get an even more detailed breakdown, telling you all the leave they’ve taken over the year.

Always be kept up to date on upcoming leave

Timetastic can send you daily updates (called Absence Summaries) to your email or to you via Slack or MS Teams. These updates tell you who is off for the day and who has time off coming up in the week.

You can also sync your Timetastic account to calendars like your Outlook Calendar, Apple Calendar, Google Calendar, or any calendar that uses an iCal/WebCal feed.

With these two features, you’ll never be caught off guard when someone is out on holiday.

Avoid burnout

You can also see who on your team needs a break with our Burnout Board.

Your Burnout Board will tell you who on the team hasn’t had a holiday recently, doesn’t have one coming up, and who still has a good amount of annual leave left to use. That is, people who may need a break.

You can always check your Burnout Board, but we also send this information — which can help you nip problems in the bud like burnout and overworking — directly to your email at the end of every quarter.

Next steps: Tear up the paper forms and try Timetastic free for 30 days

When you think about it, a holiday request form is really limited in what it does for you. All it does is tell your team what information they need to give you for them to take a holiday. So yes, a proper form is better than a scrap of paper — but barely.

That’s why we recommend companies use Timetastic to handle new requests, along with the rest of their leave management process.

Timetastic will:

• Give your team a quick and easy way to submit new requests.
• Let you create an automatic approval process to help free up your time
• Give you detailed records on everyone’s annual leave balance and history
• Give you an updated time off calendar, that you can share with work calendars
• Send you updates (over email, Slack, or MS Teams) on who is off for the day and who has time off coming up in the week.

• And show you who on your team is overdue for taking a holiday.

To see how all these features work together, start your free one-month Timetastic trial.