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Backdate, Modify, or Reopen an Approved Leave

Three ways to handle past-dated or already-approved leave: enable backdated applications, let HR add leave on behalf with Skip Validation, or modify/reopen an approved request.

 Audience & Scope
  • Audience: HR Admin
  • Module: Leave (Leave Types & Policies, Leave Management)
  • When to use this article: An employee needs to apply for leave on past dates (e.g. last month) and the system refuses ("The leave cannot be taken in the past days"); you need to change the dates of an approved leave; a leave was approved by mistake and must be reopened or cancelled.
Option 1 — Let employees apply for past dates themselves
  1. Go to HR Lounge > Leave > Leave Types & Policies, choose the leave type, click View Details.
  2. Choose the specific Leave Policy, the scroll to Leave Advanced Settings.
  3. Toggle ON "Allow employee to apply leave in the past", then Save Settings.
  4. The employee (assigned to the policy you changed) can then submit the past-dated request through the normal approval workflow.
Option 2 — HR applies on the employee's behalf (no policy change)
  1. Go to HR Lounge > Leave > Leave Management, click +Add Leave On Behalf.
  2. Fill in the Year, Leave Type, Employee, and the dates.
  3. Tick Skip Validation to bypass the past-date restriction (tick Skip Approval too if it should be auto-approved).
  4. Click Create.
Modify an approved leave (change dates)
  1. Go to HR Lounge > Leave > Leave Management, open the employee's leave request.
  2. Click Modify Leave, update the dates, submit — it goes through the approval workflow again.
  • If Modify Leave is not visible: check your permissions, and for past dates check that "Allow employee to modify leave in the past" is enabled in the policy's Leave Advanced Settings.
Reopen or cancel an accidentally approved leave
  1. Go to HR Lounge > Leave > Leave Management.
  2. Search for the approved leave and select it (tick box).
  3. Use Re-open to move it back to the Pending stage (needs approval) — or cancel/delete it and have the employee re-apply. Available actions depend on your access and the leave status.
Common Issues / FAQ
  • Q: The policy allows backdated leave but employees still can't apply in the past?
    A: Check the minimum number of days in advance setting — if set, it overrides the backdated-leave allowance.
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