Help / Time-off policies

Time-off policy settings explained: every block, box and dropdown

A plain-words guide to the StartEase time-off policy editor: what each block, box and dropdown choice means, with a screenshot of every block, so you can set up PTO, sick leave or any leave policy with confidence.

EmployersReference10 min

What is a time-off policy?

A time-off policy is your company's rule for one kind of leave: its name, whether it is paid, how the balance grows, the limits, and who it covers. In StartEase you set one up under Time › Time off, in the Policies card. Each block of the editor has a How to fill this in link back to the matching part of this page.

Add a policy: the kinds of leave

Open Time › Time off and scroll to Policies.
Under Add a policy, choose a kind of leave from the dropdown.
Select Add policy. The editor opens with the policy turned off.
Fill in each block below, then select Turn on this policy.

The Policies card: each policy with its rules, status and a How this policy works link. Add a policy is at the bottom.

The table lists each policy's Rules in one line and its Status: On (employees can use it), Off (hidden from employees) or Not confirmed (a sick policy waiting for a payroll admin). Two rows can appear by themselves: PTO, when PTO is set up under Company details, and Paid sick leave (state rule), when an employee works in a state whose paid sick leave rule StartEase tracks. These are kept by payroll, so they have no Edit button.

Each kind has its own guide, with what it is, why companies offer it, what the law says and a worked example:

Kind of leave	What it is for	Full guide
PTO or vacation	Rest and holidays the employee chooses.	PTO or vacation policy
Sick	Illness or care. Needs a payroll admin to confirm it before anyone can use it.	Sick policy
Floating holiday	A holiday the employee picks.	Floating holiday policy
Personal day	A day for anything personal, no reason needed.	Personal day policy
Bereavement	Time after a family member dies.	Bereavement policy
Jury duty	Time on jury service.	Jury duty policy
Learning and development	Time for a course, exam or training.	Learning and development policy
Parental	Time after a birth, adoption or foster placement.	Parental policy
Volunteer	Time to help a charity or the community.	Volunteer policy
Weather or emergency	When the workplace closes.	Weather or emergency policy
Custom	Anything else, with your own name.	Custom policy

Basics

The name, the kind of leave, whether it is paid, and what employees read about it.

Box	What it means and every choice
Policy name	The name employees see when they ask for time off and on their balances. Required.
Kind of leave	What the leave is for. It picks the help link and the extra checks. It does not change how the balance is counted. Required. PTO or vacation: Rest and holidays the employee chooses. Sick: Illness or care. Needs a payroll admin to confirm it before anyone can use it. Floating holiday: A holiday the employee picks. Personal day: A day for anything personal, no reason needed. Bereavement: Time after a family member dies. Jury duty: Time on jury service. Learning and development: Time for a course, exam or training. Parental: Time after a birth, adoption or foster placement. Volunteer: Time to help a charity or the community. Weather or emergency: When the workplace closes. Custom: Anything else, with your own name.
Pay	Whether the hours are paid. Required. Paid: The employee is paid for the hours, at their usual rate. Unpaid: The hours are recorded but not paid. Unpaid leave reduces pay only where the pay rules allow it, so it does not cut an exempt salary when the rules forbid that.
Description for employees	Up to 600 characters on My time off: who qualifies and what the leave covers. Keep medical details out.

Earning

How the balance grows. Nothing is earned until a payroll is approved.

Earning by hours worked: 1 hour for every 30 hours worked.

Unlimited: no balance, so the year and cap boxes disappear.

Box	What it means and every choice
How it is earned	How the balance grows. Required. By hours worked: The employee earns leave as they work, for example 1 hour for every 30 hours worked. Part-time staff earn less, full-time staff more. A fixed amount each year: Everyone covered gets the same number of hours a year, for example 80. Unlimited (no balance kept): No balance is kept. Each request is still approved and recorded. Use it when the need decides the time, as with jury duty.
Hours earned	Only for "By hours worked". The hours of leave earned, for example 1.
For every this many hours worked	Only for "By hours worked". For example 30: 1 hour of leave for every 30 hours worked.
Count overtime hours	Only for "By hours worked". Ticked: overtime hours also earn leave. Unticked: only regular hours do.
Count paid leave hours	Only for "By hours worked". Ticked: paid PTO and sick hours in the payroll also earn leave.
Hours a year	Only for "A fixed amount each year". For example 80 for two weeks.
When it is added	Only for "A fixed amount each year". Spread over each paycheck: A share is added with every approved payroll: 80 hours on a biweekly schedule adds about 3.08 hours a payroll (80 ÷ 26). All at once on the reset date: The whole year is added on the first day of the policy year.
More hours with years of service	Only for "A fixed amount each year". Select Add a step, then type the years and the new hours a year, for example 3 years: 120 hours a year. Remove deletes a step.
Policy year starts	When caps and carryover are counted again. Not shown for unlimited policies. On the same date for everyone: Every employee's policy year starts on the Month and Day you choose, for example January 1. On each employee's hire date: Each employee's policy year starts on the anniversary of their hire date.
Month	Only for "On the same date for everyone". January to December.
Day	Only for "On the same date for everyone". 1 to 31. A day past the end of the month uses the last day.

Rules

Waiting periods, negative balances, a yearly use limit and payout at exit.

Box	What it means and every choice
Waiting periods are counted in	The unit for the two waiting periods below. Days from the hire date: For example 90 means 90 calendar days after the hire date. Hours worked: For example 80 means after 80 hours worked in approved payrolls.
Before earning starts	Not shown for unlimited policies. Nothing is earned before this. Blank for none.
Before it can be used	Leave can be earned but not taken before this. Blank for none.
Allow a negative balance	Not shown for unlimited policies. Ticked: an employee may borrow ahead of what they have earned.
Lowest balance allowed (hours below zero)	Only when a negative balance is allowed. For example 16 lets the balance go down to −16.
Most hours that can be used in a policy year	A yearly limit on hours taken. Blank for no limit.
Pay unused hours in the final paycheck	Not shown for unlimited policies. Ticked: unused hours are paid when someone leaves. Where the work state's rule requires payout, payroll pays it whatever you choose.

Caps

Limits on the balance. Not shown for unlimited policies.

Box	What it means and every choice
Most hours earned in a policy year	Earning stops for the year at this number. Blank for no cap.
Most hours the balance can hold	Earning pauses while the balance is at the cap and starts again when leave is used. Blank for no cap.
Most hours carried into the next policy year	Hours above this are dropped when a new policy year starts. 0 means nothing carries over. Blank carries everything.

Requests

How employee requests are handled.

Box	What it means and every choice
Approve employee requests automatically	Ticked: a request that follows the rules is approved at once. Unticked: the Employer or payroll team approves each one.
Most calendar days in one request	For example 10. Blank for no limit.
Days of notice an employee must give	For example 3 means the first day must be at least 3 days away. Leave you record yourself is not checked. Blank for none.

Employees

Who the policy covers and where each balance starts.

Box	What it means and every choice
All employees, including people added later	Ticked: everyone is covered, now and later. Unticked: tick each employee in the table.
Starting balance (hours)	Hours the employee already has, for example from your old system. Blank starts at 0.
As of	The date that starting balance is correct. Earning counts from this date, or from the policy's start date if blank.

Review and turn on

The last check before employees can use the policy.

A sick policy waits for a payroll admin to check the rules for each work location.

Box	What it means and every choice
Ready, or "N to finish"	Ready means every required box is filled. "2 to finish" means two boxes marked Required are empty.
Check the rules for this work location	Shown for sick, jury duty, parental, weather and custom policies. Local law can set rules for these.
I checked this policy against the rules for these work locations	Sick policies only, payroll team only. Records who checked it and when. Until then employees cannot use it. Changing a rule clears it.
The summary sentence	The policy in one line, for example "Paid. 80 hours a year, spread over each paycheck". Read it before you turn the policy on.
Turn on this policy / Turn off	Turns the policy on for the employees covered, or off. A new policy starts turned off.
Delete this policy	Only while no leave has been recorded on it. After that you can turn it off but not delete it.

Tip. Leave is earned only when a payroll is approved. If a balance looks low, check whether the last payroll has been approved.

Note. This article explains how StartEase Payroll works and what the federal pages linked below say. It is not legal advice. State and city laws can add rules. Check them for each place your employees work.

Next: PTO and vacation policy: what it is, why offer it, and how to set it up