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Let Shift Employees Apply Leave on Weekends and Public Holidays

Two valid ways to let shift teams apply paid leave on weekends and public holidays: a work schedule that treats those days as working days, or a leave policy that counts calendar days ("Use Working Days" off).

 Audience & Scope
  • Audience: HR Admin
  • Module: Time & Attendance (Work Schedules) and Leave (Leave Policies)
  • When to use this article: Your shift staff (e.g. 12-hour shifts) need to apply paid leave on weekends or public holidays; the system rejects leave on those days.
Method 1 — Work Schedule (weekends/PH become working days)
  1. Go to Settings > Schedules & Shifts > Work Schedules and click + Create Schedule.
  2. Enable Work on Public Holiday.
  3. Configure the work pattern so weekends are Working Days instead of Rest Days/Day off.
  4. Save the schedule.
  5. Click Assign Schedule, select the employees, choose the new schedule, and click Apply. With this arrangement, every day will be considered a working day, unless there is a roster change.
Method 2 — Leave policy counts calendar days
  1. Go to HR Lounge > Leave > Leave Types & Policies and open View Details for the leave type (e.g. Annual Leave).
  2. Open the policy used by these employees (or duplicate one for them and restrict it in Policy Availability).
  3. In Leave Advanced Settings, turn Use Working Days OFF, then Save Settings — leave can then be applied on any calendar day, including weekends and public holidays.
Which method to choose?

Method 1 changes the employees' working pattern (attendance side); Use it if you manage attendance from the Time Attendance module.

Method 2 makes the leave count calendar days for everyone on that policy. Use it if you do not use Office Schedules or Rosters (Time Attendance) to track Off/Rest Days.

Common Issues / FAQ
  • Q: Do I need a new leave policy for these employees?
    A: Only if they need different leave rules (approval flow, advance notice, or a policy-level calendar-days setting that shouldn't apply to everyone else — use a duplicated policy scoped to them). They keep their existing Annual Leave balance in both methods.
  • Q: An employee wants leave on a public holiday but the system rejects it?
    A: With Method 1, check the assigned schedule marks that day as working. With Method 2, check the policy's "Use Working Days" setting.
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