What's covered in this guide?
Before you begin
Workforce can automatically create leave requests on public holidays based on your leave type configuration.
You can configure this using any leave type that applies on public holidays.
Depending on your organisation's policies, you may:
Create a dedicated Public/ Bank Holiday (Paid/Not Worked) leave type.
Configure an existing leave type (Annual Leave, Holiday Leave) to apply on public/ bank holidays.
To use automatic public holiday leave, the leave type must:
Apply on public/ bank holidays.
Have automatic public holiday application enabled.
Important: Public holidays are determined by the holiday region configured on your account and locations. Ensure your public holiday regions are configured correctly before enabling automatic public holiday leave.
Configure public holiday regions
Public holidays are determined by the holiday region configured for your account and locations.
Set an account-wide public holiday region
Navigate to Settings > All Settings > General.
Select your Public Holiday Region.
Click Show Pre-Built Holidays to view included holiday dates.
Set a location-specific public holiday region
Navigate to Workforce > Teams
Click Edit on the location.
Expand Advanced Options.
Under Holiday Regions, select the appropriate region.
Click Update location details.
Important: If a location does not have its own holiday region configured, the account-wide region will be used.
Add custom public holidays
If your organisation observes a holiday on a different date than the standard public holiday calendar:
Navigate to Settings > All Settings > General.
Add the custom holiday date.
Add location-specific public holidays
For local show days or region-specific holidays:
Navigate to Workforce > Teams
Edit the location.
Open Advanced Options.
Add the additional public holiday date.
Configure automatic Public/Bank Annual leave
To enable automatic Public/Bank Annual leave:
Navigate to Time & Attendance > Compliance > Manage Leave Types.
Click Edit next to Annual (Paid/Not Worked).
Under Leave applies on, tick Automatically apply this leave type on public holidays.
(Optional) Tick Applies on specific holidays if you only want the leave type to apply to selected public holidays.
Under Advanced Settings:
Tick Automatically approve this type of leave request.
Recommended: Tick Prevent leave requests for this leave type to avoid manual requests conflicting with automatically generated leave.
Click Update leave type.
How automatic Public Holiday leave works
When configured, Workforce automatically creates and approves a leave request for each eligible employee at 11:00 PM on the public holiday.
A leave request won't be created if:
The employee clocked in or out on the public holiday.
The leave type does not apply to the employee.
Automatic Public Holiday leave has not been configured.
The duration of the leave request is determined by the employee's leave autofill settings, configured under Settings > All Settings > Leave.
For example, if a part-time employee normally works 9:00 AM–12:00 PM on Fridays, they will receive a 3-hour leave request when a Friday public holiday occurs.
💡 Tip: Review your leave autofill settings before upcoming public holidays to ensure employees receive the correct leave duration.
FAQs
Do I need to use a Public Holiday leave type?
Do I need to use a Public Holiday leave type?
No. This guide only applies to organisations using the Public Holiday (Paid/Not Worked) leave type to manage paid public holiday absences. Some organisations may manage public holiday entitlements through award interpretation and pay conditions instead.
Why wasn't a Public Holiday leave request created for an employee?
Why wasn't a Public Holiday leave request created for an employee?
A leave request will not be created if:
The employee clocked in or out on the public holiday.
The leave type does not apply to the employee.
Automatic Public Holiday leave has not been configured.
Can I limit automatic leave to specific public holidays?
Can I limit automatic leave to specific public holidays?
Yes. Enable Applies on specific holidays within the leave type settings and select the public holidays you want the leave type to apply to.
How are the leave hours calculated?
How are the leave hours calculated?
Leave hours are calculated using the employee's leave autofill settings found under Settings > All Settings > Leave.