Employee Time Off Request Form

An employee time off request form puts a request for vacation, PTO or other leave in writing, with the dates, the hours and the manager’s decision. This free time off request form fits on one page. The employee fills in the top half. You check their balance, record your decision and sign, and payroll gets an accurate record.

What you get

A three-page PDF and a Word file you can edit, sized for US Letter paper:

• Page 1: the blank time off request form, ready to print.
• Page 2: the same form filled in for a fictional landscaping company.
• Page 3: notes on handling requests, and a summary of leave that’s protected by law, with links to the sources.

The Word file has the form and the notes, so you can add your company name or change the leave types to match your policy.

What a good time off request form includes

• The type of leave. Vacation or PTO, sick, personal, bereavement, jury duty, unpaid or other. One form per type keeps balances clean.
• Exact dates and hours. One row per day or block of full days, with part days shown by time.
• The balance. Hours available before the request and what’s left after, checked against payroll.
• Coverage, if any. Useful for planned vacation, but never a condition for sick leave or other protected leave.
• A clear decision. Approved, approved with changes or denied, with the reason written down.
• Signatures and dates, plus a line to show the hours went into payroll.

How to handle a time off request

1. Ask employees to submit planned requests by the deadline in your policy.
2. Check the dates against the schedule and any other requests for the same days. First come, first served is a simple, fair rule.
3. Check the balance in payroll and fill in the before and after figures.
4. If you’re thinking of saying no, first check whether the leave is protected by law.
5. Decide quickly, so the employee can plan. Write the reason for any denial or change.
6. Sign, give the employee a copy, record the hours in payroll and file the form.

Completed example

The example is a vacation request from a crew lead at a fictional landscaping company. He asks for three full days and a half day before a holiday, 28 hours in all. His balance is 52 hours of PTO before the request and 24 hours after. He notes who will lead his crew, and the operations manager approves the request two days later and records it in payroll.

PTO, vacation and leave request forms

PTO request forms, vacation request forms and leave request forms are the same thing under different names. If you give one pool of paid time off, tick “Vacation or PTO” for planned time and “Sick” for illness, so you can see the pattern. If you keep separate vacation and sick balances, use one form per type, so each balance stays right.

Sick days, emergencies and clashing requests

Not every absence can be requested ahead of time. When someone calls in sick or has a family emergency, let them tell you by phone or text, then fill in the form together when they’re back, ticking the right type of leave. Don’t treat a late form as a reason to refuse sick leave that the law protects.

When two people want the same days, decide on a rule before it happens and write it in your policy. First come, first served is simple. Some businesses rotate popular holidays from year to year instead. Whichever you choose, apply it the same way to everyone and note the reason on the form.

Writing a simple PTO policy

The form works best with a short written policy. Your PTO policy should say:

• How time is earned, for example per hour worked or per pay period, and any cap.
• How to ask, how far ahead, and who approves.
• Busy periods when time off may be limited.
• Whether unused time carries over, and what happens to it when someone leaves. State law can decide this. California, for example, treats vested vacation as wages that must be paid out at termination (Labor Code 227.3).
• How sick leave works, including any state or local paid sick leave law that applies to you.

Leave that’s protected by law

Some leave isn’t yours to refuse. The FMLA covers employers with 50 or more employees in 20 or more workweeks this year or last. Eligible employees can take up to 12 workweeks of job-protected leave in a 12-month period (29 CFR 825.200). You can ask for notice and ask employees to schedule planned treatment to avoid unduly disrupting work (29 CFR 825.302). You can’t interfere with leave they’re entitled to.

State and local paid sick leave laws can bar you from denying sick days or requiring the employee to find cover. California is one example (Labor Code 246.5). Federal law protects employees serving on a federal jury (28 U.S.C. 1875). USERRA protects employees who serve in the military, at employers of every size (20 CFR 1002.34).

When to get advice

Get advice before you deny or count against someone any leave for their own or a family member’s health, a disability, jury service or military duty. Do the same if an employee has recently complained or asked for an accommodation.

Not sure what your state requires for sick leave or PTO payout? hrsupport.io gives HR answers for your state, with the law behind every answer.