Planning leave around your busiest weeks

Planning leave is easier when requests and busy periods are visible together. A shared calendar helps you see where cover may be needed before you approve time off.

You do not need a complicated process. Start with the work already planned, check who will be available and make sure everyone knows how to request leave.

Check leave alongside your work calendar

Look at upcoming deadlines, events and other busy periods alongside approved leave. Check the people needed for each piece of work, rather than relying only on the total number of people available.

For example, two people being off may be easy to cover across a whole company but harder if both work in the same small department. Looking at the team affected helps you spot where a handover or change of plan may be useful.

Before deciding on a request, check:

• who is already off
• what work is planned for those dates
• whether a handover or cover is needed

Agree the rules once

Make the request process easy to find. Explain who approves leave, where requests should be sent and how the team plans cover.

Keep those instructions with your leave policy so people can check them when they need to. If plans change, tell the people affected and update the calendar rather than leaving the latest decision in an email thread.

Make the busy weeks visible

Review the coming weeks with the people responsible for the work. A deadline may be clear to one manager and invisible to everyone else.

In Vacaydiary, the team calendar shows approved leave and pending requests. The coverage card highlights departments that may need attention over the next seven days. Use it as a prompt to discuss cover and check the work planned.

Calendar links can also show approved leave in Google Calendar, Outlook or Apple Calendar. Requests and approvals still happen in Vacaydiary.

What to do next

Check one upcoming busy week. Compare planned work with approved leave, identify any gaps and agree who will arrange cover or a handover.

Keep the calendar up to date as requests are approved. That gives the team a shared view of the plan and makes the next leave decision easier to explain.