> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.hitaji360.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Leave Periods

> A leave period is the window of time your leave entitlements run against — most often a single calendar or financial year, such as "2026 Leave Period"…

A leave period is the window of time your leave entitlements run against — most often a single calendar or financial year, such as "2026 Leave Period" running 1 January to 31 December. It is the frame that gives meaning to phrases like "this year's allocation" or "days carried forward at year-end". In Hitaji 360 the leave period is a light record (a name, a start date, an end date, and a business), but it quietly anchors several other parts of the leave module: bulk allocations, where compensatory days are credited, and the cut-off for encashment calculations.

This page covers creating a leave period, the one-active-period rule, and the places the period is used elsewhere.

**You'll find this at:** `/settings/erp/people/leave` — open the **Leave Periods** tab.

> A leave period belongs to a specific **business** — it is always business-scoped. Each business runs its own periods, so confirm the business switcher before you create one.

> 📷 *Screenshot: the Leave Periods tab with the list of periods and the "Add Period" button — to be added.*

***

## What a leave period is

| Property       | Notes                                                                 |
| -------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Name**       | A label, e.g. "2026 Leave Period".                                    |
| **Start date** | The first day of the period.                                          |
| **End date**   | The last day. Must be on or after the start date.                     |
| **Business**   | The business this period applies to (taken from the active business). |
| **Status**     | Active or inactive.                                                   |

***

## Creating a leave period

On the **Leave Periods** tab, choose **Add Period**.

> 📷 *Screenshot: the Add Period form — name, start date, end date — to be added.*

| Field          | Required | Notes                                                                 |
| -------------- | -------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Name**       | Yes      | e.g. "2026 Leave Period".                                             |
| **Start Date** | Yes      | First day of the period.                                              |
| **End Date**   | Yes      | Last day. The system refuses an end date earlier than the start date. |

The business is taken from your active business automatically — if no business is selected the form is disabled, so set the business switcher first.

**One active period at a time.** A business may not have two **active** periods whose dates overlap — Hitaji refuses a new period that overlaps an existing active one, naming the period it clashes with. You can, however, have past (inactive) periods on record alongside the current one.

***

## How leave periods are used

The period is referenced quietly by several other features:

* **Allocations.** When you allocate entitlements in bulk through the leave control panel, the allocation can be tied to a leave period, so the days are clearly "for 2026" and reporting can be sliced by period.
* **Compensatory leave.** When comp-off is earned right at the boundary of a period, Hitaji credits the **next** active period — so work on the last day of one year earns leave in the next, rather than into a period about to close. (See [Compensatory leave](/hr/user/leave/compensatory-leave).)
* **Encashment.** When you cash out leave, the period's end date acts as the cut-off for deciding which ledger entries count toward the balance, and — for non-carry-forward leave types — for the reverse-of-expiry handling. If you don't name a period on an encashment, Hitaji resolves the active period for the payroll date. (See [Leave encashment](/hr/user/leave/leave-encashment).)

***

## Closing a period

Removing a period **deactivates** it (sets it inactive) rather than deleting it outright, so its history is kept. There is no edit-in-place — to change a period's dates, deactivate it and create a new one. To roll into a new year, simply create the next period; the old one can be left inactive as a record.

***

## Permissions

| Action                         | Permission                                     |
| ------------------------------ | ---------------------------------------------- |
| View leave periods             | (open to any signed-in user with leave access) |
| Create or close a leave period | `hr-leave:config`                              |

***

## Related

* [Leave overview](/hr/user/leave/overview) — the end-to-end leave model
* [Leave allocations (control panel)](/hr/user/leave/leave-allocations) — allocate entitlements against a period
* [Compensatory leave](/hr/user/leave/compensatory-leave) — period-aware crediting
* [Leave encashment](/hr/user/leave/leave-encashment) — period as the encashment cut-off
* [Holiday lists](/hr/user/leave/holiday-lists) — public holidays within the period