How-to
4 August 2026
4 min read

How to Set Up an Approval Workflow for Leave Requests

Step-by-step guide to configuring multi-level leave approval chains in HR Instance — with screenshots and best practices.

P
Priya Patel
HR Operations Lead

Why Approval Hierarchies Matter

A structured leave approval workflow prevents scheduling conflicts, ensures adequate team coverage, and maintains transparent audit records.

Step 1: Define Role Hierarchies Ensure that every employee has an assigned **Reporting Manager** in their employee profile.

Step 2: Configure Leave Policies in Admin Settings 1. Navigate to **Admin -> Configuration -> Leave Policies**. 2. Set yearly quotas, accrual behavior (**Monthly** vs **One-Time**), and maximum balance caps.

Step 3: Establish Approval Sequence Set the approval trigger: * Standard Leave (1–2 days): Handled by Reporting Manager. * Extended Leave (> 3 days): Auto-escalated to Department Head / HR.

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Pro-Rata Accrual Best Practices When employees join mid-year or mid-month, leverage automated pro-rata calculations (e.g., joined by 15th receives current month credit) to ensure fair balance allocation.

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#Leave Management#Workflows#Configuration