How to manage employee holidays without operational chaos
Guide to managing holidays: policies, balances, approvals, overlaps, team calendar and payroll communication.
DG
Daniel García
Co-founder · CTO @ Orquiva · Upd. 12 Jun 2026
Managing holidays is not just approving days off. It is protecting coverage, calculating balances correctly and avoiding HR becoming the middleman for every request.
Define policy before requests arrive
You need clarity on entitlement, accrual, half-days and overlap limits.
Centralise requests and approvals
Email and chat work until someone asks who approved what. A clear workflow prevents disputes.
Control overlaps
- By team
- By site
- By critical role
- By peak season
- By payroll close
Connect holidays with payroll
Approved absences should reach monthly close to avoid last-minute manual adjustments.