Sync leave requests with my calendar FAQ

Available for the following plan: Employment Unlimited
Available for the following HR classic plan: Platinum
Available for the following user access levels: Employee    , Manager    , Admin    

You sync leave requests with your calendar simply by approving a setting in your Employment Hero platform.

If you have the Employee user access level, you sync leave requests by accessing your Notifications Settings page, referring to the Leave (Employees) module, and approving the Send calendar event for leave setting.

On the other hand, if you have the Manager user access level, rather than approving Leave (Employees) in your Notification Settings page, you instead use that same page to approve the Send calendar event for leave for the Leave (Managers) module.

To learn the specifics of how to do this, you can click the following links to jump straight to our step-by-step interactive learning guide and written instructions. Plus, you can visit our benefits and privacy measures section to read why the syncing of leave requests can ensure both your day-to-day operations and your employees' data are well-managed and secure.

You can also learn more by checking out this article's Tips section. This includes information that is specific to whether you are using Google Calendar or Outlook Calendar.

  Interactive learning

Click here for an interactive demo

Watch a video

Written instructions

Enable the syncing of leave requests
  1. Click the   Settings menu. 
  2. Under Notifications, click the Notification Settings submenu.

    You will now see the Notification Settings page, which has a table consisting of three columns entitled Module, Event, and Email Notifications.

  3. On the row that begins with the term Leave (Employees), click Yes.
  4. (Providing your user access allows this) On the row that begins with the term Leave (Managers), click Yes. screenshot of the notification settings page, highlighting the yes buttons for leave employees and leave managers

The benefits and privacy measures

The benefits of syncing leave requests with calendars

Approving your relevant leave setting allows Employment Hero to sync email notifications with attached ICS (Internet Calendaring and Scheduling) files. These notifications detail new, updated, or cancelled leave requests. They will automatically appear on your calendar, where you​ will be marked as busy throughout the entirety of your leave.

Having standard Leave Calendar events is especially useful for direct (primary) managers who want to track employee absences and availability. Employees' leave requests trigger real-time notifications that sync to the Leave Calendar, so managers have a single, clear overview of their team's goings-on.

It is important to remember, however, that this function is only for primary managers. Users who only have the Employee user access level cannot use this feature.

The protection of employees' privacy
As the platform exchanges and synchronises employees' calendar information, the question is raised: what if an emailed calendar file is related to sensitive information, such as Domestic Violence Leave?


Employment Hero is designed to send a standard Leave Calendar event to managers to avoid having automated emails that reveal sensitive information. This is so that employees' privacy is protected even if managers accidentally leave their inbox open around other people.

The primary manager can decide if they wish to learn more about the leave request. They can only do this by using the Leave Calendar feature in Employment Hero or their Swag app.

Tips

Configure your external calendars

There may be times when your email provider will need you to respond to an event before it even reaches your calendar. To ensure these events appear automatically, you may need to check and configure your external calendar settings accordingly.

Use Google Calendar

Google will show the event automatically in your calendar. However, be aware that a notification in your inbox may ask whether the email is spam.

We therefore recommend you carry out the following steps:

  • In the email, click a button in your inbox that confirms you trust the sender (for example, there may be an I know the Sender button).
  • Add no-reply@employmenthero.com to your contact list.
  • Reply to the email to check if everything is working as it should.

After you complete these steps, calendar events should show normally in your calendar without the need to respond to the event anymore.

Use Outlook Calendar

When viewing calendar events in Outlook, you may notice the dates sometimes appear differently to what you would expect. To combat this, click on the event tile in Outlook. When you then click and accept the invite, the event should present the correct dates.

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  • Hello, I would like to check if there is a possibility to not have WFH leave on the people's calendar? Otherwise it blocks the calendar for the whole day and other team members cannot book the mtgs with this person thinking they might be on a leave.

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  • Hi Evelina Senyavina, thank you for your comment.

    Currently, the calendar cannot distinguish between different types of leave. Whilst this is not current functionality, this is definitely something that is on our radar for the future and I have let the team know it is something your organisation would love to see introduced.

    0
  • Hi, is there a way to sync leave requests to a centralised Outlook calendar, rather than individual calendars? Thank you 

    0
  • HI Claire Haywood

    Thanks for reaching out. I have created a support ticket for you so you can discuss your question with the support team, who are positioned to be able to assist with support requests. Your ticket number is  Request # 1131376  and you will receive an email from the support team confirming that they have received your question and will be back in touch with you ASAP.

    0

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