This article explains how to automatically recalculate a team member's leave entitlement when their regular working hours change. Use this feature if your leave policy accrues leave based on regular working hours and you want Deputy to automatically update leave entitlements when a team member's contracted hours change.

Before you read

• Target audience: This article is for users with System Administrator access.
• Plan restrictions: This feature is available on selected Deputy plans in the US and UK only.
• BETA: This feature is currently being rolled out in BETA and is not compatible with accounts that have opted into the "Date Effective Regular Working Hours" BETA.

This article covers:

• When should I use automatic leave recalculation?
• How do I turn on/off automatic recalculation for a leave policy?
• How does automatic recalculation work?
• How are leave entitlements recalculated?
• View recalculations in the leave audit log
• FAQs

When should I use automatic leave recalculation?

Use this feature when your business has leave policies that accrue leave based on regular working hours and a team member's contracted hours change during a leave year.

For example, you might:

• Increase a part-time team member from three to four working days per week.
• Reduce a team member's contracted weekly hours.
• Update regular working hours after a permanent change to a team member's contract.

When automatic recalculation is turned on, Deputy recalculates the team member's leave entitlement based on both their previous and new regular working hours. This removes the need to manually adjust leave balances after every contract change.

This feature only applies to leave policies that accrue leave based on regular working hours.

How do I turn on/off automatic recalculation for a leave policy?

To enable or disable this setting:

1. Click your name in the top-right corner of Deputy and select Business Settings.

   

2. Open the Leave tab and select Edit on the leave policy you want to update.

   

3. Under Accrual options, select Based on regular working hours and turn on/off Automatically recalculate leave when regular working hours change.

   

4. If you are turning it on, you can select your preferred recalculation settings. When done, make sure to click Save.

Once turned on and saved, Deputy will automatically recalculate leave balances whenever a team member's regular working hours change.

How does automatic recalculation work?

When you update a team member's regular working hours, Deputy identifies any assigned leave policies that are configured to recalculate leave automatically.

After you save the change, Deputy recalculates the leave entitlement in the background using:

• the team member's previous regular working hours
• their updated regular working hours
• the portion of the leave cycle worked under each arrangement
• any leave already taken during the current leave cycle.

The updated leave balance is then displayed on the team member's Leave tab.

If multiple regular working hours changes occur during the same leave cycle, Deputy recalculates the entitlement across each period before applying the final result.

Confirmation

When you edit:

• A single team member's regular working hours from their profile: Deputy displays a confirmation message showing which leave policies will be recalculated before you save the change.

  

• Multiple team members' regular working hours using the bulk update tool: Deputy displays a confirmation message listing the leave policies that will be recalculated for the selected team members.

  

How are leave entitlements recalculated?

Deputy recalculates the leave entitlement by applying the appropriate entitlement to each period of the leave cycle based on the regular working hours that applied during that period.

For example, if a team member increases from three working days per week to four working days per week halfway through the leave year, Deputy:

• calculates entitlement earned while working three days per week
• calculates entitlement earned while working four days per week
• adds both values together
• applies the configured rounding settings
• subtracts any leave already taken during the leave cycle.

If manual leave balance adjustments have previously been made, Deputy preserves those adjustments and applies them after the recalculated entitlement is calculated.

View recalculations in the leave audit log

Every automatic recalculation is recorded in the leave audit log.

To view a recalculation:

1. Open the People tab and select the team member.

2. On the Leave tab, select View details of the relevant leave entitlement.

   

3. View the audit history to see the recalculation entry and calculation details.

   

The audit log shows when the recalculation occurred and provides a breakdown of the calculation used to determine the updated leave entitlement.

FAQs

Why didn't a team member's leave balance update?

The most common reasons that a team member's leave balance hasn't updated are:

• The leave policy isn't using the Based on regular working hours accrual option.
• The automatic recalculation is not turned on for the policy.
• The team member is not assigned to the leave policy.
• The team member did not already have regular working hours recorded before the change.

If the leave balance still doesn't update, check the leave audit log for a recalculation entry before contacting Deputy Support.

What happens if regular working hours change more than once?

Deputy recalculates the leave entitlement each time regular working hours are updated. The final leave balance reflects the most recently saved regular working hours while preserving entitlement earned during each earlier period of the leave cycle.

Does this affect leave that has already been taken?

Leave already taken during the current leave cycle is included when calculating the updated available leave balance.

Can I manually adjust the leave balance afterwards?

Yes. You can manually adjust a team member's leave balance at any time if required.