Leave management that doesn't require a spreadsheet and a prayer.
Leave managed by email creates approval delays, policy inconsistencies and absence patterns you never see coming. Treegarden's leave module gives HR a single policy engine, employees a self-service request portal, and managers real-time visibility — without any spreadsheets.
How leave is managed at most companies — before Treegarden
The problems below are not edge cases. They are the default state of leave management without a proper system.
Leave requests by email and WhatsApp
An employee messages their manager on WhatsApp to say they're sick. The manager forgets to tell HR. Three weeks later the payroll is wrong and nobody knows what days were actually taken. This is how leave is managed at most companies.
No policy enforcement
Your handbook says employees accrue 1.5 days per month. But nobody tracks accrual. Requests get approved based on manager judgment, not entitlement. By November, three employees have taken 30 days and one has taken 10.
Medical certificates manually filed
An employee brings in a medical certificate. Someone scans it and emails it to HR. HR saves it to a shared drive. Two years later, when the employee disputes a warning, the certificate cannot be found.
Absence patterns invisible until it's too late
An employee takes a sick day every Monday for four months. Their manager approves each request individually without seeing the pattern. HR only discovers it during the annual review — by which point it has become a conduct issue.
A leave module built for how HR actually works
Six capabilities that replace the spreadsheet, the email chain and the manual certificate folder in one connected system.
Custom leave policy engine
Define any combination of leave types — annual, sick, parental, study, unpaid, time-off-in-lieu. Set accrual rules, carryover limits, approval workflows and notice requirements per leave type. Policy changes apply immediately, with full version history.
Employee self-service leave requests
Employees submit leave requests through the self-service portal. Managers approve with one click. Leave balances update automatically. No email thread, no spreadsheet, no manual HR intervention for routine requests.
Digital medical certificate management
Employees upload medical certificates directly into the system. Certificates are linked to the corresponding sick leave record, stored securely and searchable by date, employee and duration.
Absence pattern detection
Treegarden analyses absence frequency, timing and duration to surface patterns that warrant HR attention. Monday clustering, post-holiday extensions and recurring short-term absence cycles are detected automatically and flagged for HR review.
Holiday and bank holiday management
Configure regional public holiday calendars. Treegarden automatically excludes public holidays from leave day calculations and flags requests that span holiday periods.
Leave analytics and reporting
Dashboard views of leave utilisation by department, absence rates by team, medical leave frequency and accrual balance distribution. Monthly leave reporting in minutes.
Everything your HR team needs to manage leave properly.
Every item below comes included. No module unlocks, no add-on fees.
Get your first leave policy live in under an hour.
Treegarden's leave module is configured through a policy builder, not a spreadsheet. Define your leave types, set your accrual rules, and invite your team. Most HR teams complete the initial configuration in 45 minutes. The first leave requests can be submitted the same day.
Book a demoCommon questions about leave management
Answers to what HR teams ask before switching from spreadsheets to Treegarden.
Can we configure different leave types for different employee groups?
Yes. Leave policies in Treegarden can be configured per employment type, department or seniority level. Full-time, part-time and contract employees can have different accrual rates and entitlements, with the system calculating balances according to the applicable policy automatically.
How does the approval workflow work?
By default, leave requests go to the employee's direct manager for approval. Treegarden supports multi-level approval chains for specific leave types, automatic approval for requests below a configurable duration threshold, and HR override capability for all leave decisions. Approvals can be actioned from email notification or from the manager dashboard.
Can employees see their leave balance without contacting HR?
Yes. The employee self-service portal shows each employee their current leave balance for each leave type, their pending requests, their approved leave history and their upcoming leave calendar. Employees can submit new requests and track approval status without any HR involvement.
How are medical certificates handled for GDPR compliance?
Medical data is classified as special category data under GDPR. Treegarden stores medical certificates in an access-controlled repository separate from general HR files. Access is logged, retention periods are configurable per your HR data retention policy, and certificates can be purged automatically when retention periods expire.
Does Treegarden integrate with payroll for leave deductions?
Treegarden exports leave data in formats compatible with major payroll systems. Approved and taken leave records — including leave type, dates, duration and whether the leave was paid or unpaid — can be exported on a regular cycle or on demand for payroll processing.
How does absence pattern detection work?
Treegarden analyses absence frequency, timing and duration across configurable time windows. The system detects patterns — Monday clustering, post-holiday extensions, recurring short-term absences — flags employees whose absence frequency exceeds configurable thresholds, and presents HR with a prioritised list of cases for review. Alerts are generated in real time when thresholds are crossed, not at the end of the month.
Leave management should take minutes, not manage you.
Stop spending Friday afternoons reconciling leave spreadsheets. Treegarden automates approvals, tracks balances, manages medical certificates and surfaces absence patterns — so your HR team can focus on work that actually requires human judgment.