Using Staff Leave Mobile - Frequently Asked Questions

Getting Started

Where can I download the StaffLeave mobile app?

You can download the StaffLeave app for free from the Apple App Store for iOS devices or Google Play Store for Android devices. Simply search for "StaffLeave" or visit www.staffleave.com/app to get the download links.

Is the mobile app really free?

Yes, the StaffLeave mobile app is completely free to use with no user limits. You can manage your team's holiday requests, approvals, and leave tracking without any cost. We offer an optional paid upgrade called Plus Pack which provides desktop access and advanced features like extended historical lookback and future-year booking capabilities.

What devices are supported?

StaffLeave works on both iOS (iPhone and iPad) and Android smartphones and tablets. The app requires a working internet connection to sync data across all your devices in real-time.

Account Setup & Access

How do I create a StaffLeave account?

You can open an account in just 5 minutes. All you need is your email address, password, and your business/company name. Download the app from www.staffleave.com/app and follow the registration steps.

How do I join my company's existing team?

If your administrator has invited you, you'll receive an email invitation. If you didn't receive the email, you can navigate directly to www.staffleave.com/app, download the app for your device, and join your team using the same email address you were invited with. Your email will be automatically recognized, and you'll gain access to your team.

I tried to invite a colleague but it says they're already registered. What do I do?

This happens when your colleague has been registered with another employer using StaffLeave. If their previous employer hasn't deactivated their account, our support team can help transfer the email address to a new employee profile within your team. Contact support for assistance.

I tried to invite a colleague but it says their email domain is not supported.

If you receive an error about an email domain you believe you have the right to use, especially from a public email provider, please contact our support team for assistance.

Login & Password Issues

How do I reset my password?

You can reset your password from the app login screen by tapping on the "Reset Password" option and entering your email address. An email will be sent with a link to choose a new password.

I didn't receive my temporary access password. What do I do?

First, check your spam folder. If you still cannot find your temporary access password, please raise a support request with our team.  Make sure you've onboarded and joined an existing team prior to contacting us.

I can no longer log into my account, even after resetting my password.

If your password reset attempts fail, your administrator may have deactivated your account. When an account is deactivated, you can no longer log in and password resets will not work. If you believe your account should still be active and you haven't left your employment, please contact support.

Booking & Managing Leave

How do I book a holiday?

To request leave, tap on the calendar in your booking screen and select the dates you need. You can book single days, multiple days, or half days. Once selected, tap the "Request" button to submit your booking for approval. For detailed instructions, see Holidays - Requesting and Managing Leave.

How do I book a half day?

When making a booking, you can toggle any day between Full Day, Half Day (AM), or Half Day (PM). Simply hold down on a day in your booking calendar and choose from the three options. This works for both single day and multiple day bookings.

Can I book leave in hours?

No, StaffLeave currently only supports bookings in full days and half days (AM/PM). We're actively working on a solution to support hourly leave tracking, but this feature is not yet available.

Why can't I book leave beyond 12 months?

The mobile app's booking screen currently shows only the next 12 months by design. This ensures a focused booking experience. If you need to book further ahead, you can upgrade to Plus Pack, which allows future-year bookings.

How do I cancel a holiday request?

To cancel or delete a request, goto your booking screen, locate the request you want to delete, or use the filter to scroll to the Past tab. Next, simply swipe left and tap (Delete) on the leave entry you wish to cancel.  

If a request hasn't yet been approved, it will be deleted instantly.  If you're cancelling an approved request, you'll need to wait for an administrator or manager/approver to agree to the cancellation.

When an administrator deletes they own approved request, it will be deleted instantly without approval from anyone else.

Note, you'll need to delete the entire request and resubmit a new one for any days you wish to keep.

I'm getting an error when trying to book non-deductible leave.

There's currently a known issue on iOS where the app checks your deductible balance when booking non-deductible leave and may refuse the booking if your deductible balance is low.

Managing Departments & Teams

How do I change my department or an employee's department?

If you have administrative access, you can change your own department:

1. Navigate to People or More and select My Profile.
2. Tap on your profile to edit your details.
3. Find the Department field and select the correct department.
4. Save your changes.

To change another employee's department (administrators only):

1. Navigate to People and select the employee.
2. Tap on their profile to edit their details.
3. Update the Department field.
4. Save your changes.

How do I track regular days off without deducting from holiday allowance?

For part-time employees or those with regular non-working days, you can use non-deductible leave types:

1. Navigate to More > Holiday Settings (administrators only).
2. Create a new leave type (e.g., "Working From Home," "Regular Day Off").
3. Ensure the leave type is set as non-deductible.
4. Employees can now book these days without affecting their annual leave balance.

Alternative approach: Calculate the employee's annual leave allowance pro-rata based on their actual working days instead of tracking non-working days separately.

How do I deactivate a user?

1. Navigate to People > Select a Profile (administrators only).
2. Once in a profile, navigate to the top right menu
3. Tap on the Deactivate option and confirm

Viewing Leave & the Planner

Why doesn't the planner show a full year or future dates?

The shared planner automatically expands as more leave is added to your team. This prevents you from scrolling through lots of empty months. As employees book leave further into the future, the planner extends to show those dates.

How it works:

• The planner shows the current month and any future months where leave has been booked.
• If no leave is booked beyond a certain point, the planner stops at the last booked date.
• As more leave is added, the planner auto-expands to include those dates.

The leave you can see depends on your privacy settings—by default, you can only see leave for users in your department. Administrators can see leave across the entire team and can change privacy settings via Plus Pack.

How do I view an employee's previous holiday history?

For individual employees: You can view your own leave history for the past 12 months:

1. Navigate to your Booking screen.
2. Scroll down to "My Previous Requests".
3. All approved, pending, and rejected requests from the last 12 months are listed here.

For administrators and managers: To view another employee's history:

1. Navigate to People.
2. Select the employee.
3. Tap on their profile to access their Booking screen.
4. Scroll through their requests from the last 12 months.

On the shared planner: The planner shows the last 3 months of bookings on the main screen. Older requests move to the "Past" filter tab (swipe left on the top menu to access).

I cannot see leave for other members of my team on the holiday planner.

By default, StaffLeave uses the following privacy settings:

• Staff members can only see leave for others in their department
• Administrators can see leave for all team members
• Managers can see all leave for staff in their own department

If you would like to see all leave for the entire team, you either need an administrator account, or your administrator can modify the team-wide privacy settings by subscribing to Plus Pack.

I cannot see anything on my app—all sections are blank.

If all sections of your app are completely blank or you keep seeing the loading animation, first check your internet connection. If the problem persists, wait about an hour and try again in case there's a wider system issue. You can check the Staff Leave App Status & Known Issues page for current service status.

Notifications

Why didn't my leave request reach my manager or approver?

If your manager says they didn't receive your request, check these common causes:

1. The request was accidentally deleted:

• Check your booking screen to see if the request still exists.
• If it's not there, you may have accidentally swiped left and deleted it.
• You'll need to submit a new request for the same dates.

2. Notification delays or issues:

• Notifications are intentionally delayed by up to 20 minutes to allow employees to make corrections.
• Ask your approver to check their spam/junk folder.
• Verify push notifications are enabled on their device.
• Check the App Status page for known notification issues.

3. Wrong approver assigned:

• Verify your approver is correctly assigned in your profile.
• Ask your administrator to update it if incorrect.

Why are my notifications delayed?

Some notifications are intentionally delayed by up to 20 minutes to give staff the opportunity to cancel or modify requests if they made an error, preventing approvers from being bombarded with multiple notifications. All other notifications are delayed by around 5 minutes as they're queued in our notification system for managed delivery. For more details, see Notifications - Learn when Staff Leave sends them.

I'm not receiving push notifications on my phone.

Check the following:

• Ensure notifications are enabled in your device settings for the StaffLeave app
• Check your privacy settings within StaffLeave—users can opt out of notifications
• Verify you have a stable internet connection
• Check the App Status page for any known notification issues

Allowances & Settings

Why can't I set next year's allowance?

The mobile app currently only lets you set the current year's allowance for a team member. When you update the current year, it automatically sets next year's allowance to the same value (if not previously set). To set next year's allowance to a different value before the leave year starts, you'll need to subscribe to Plus Pack.

How do I update an employee's holiday allowance?

When you update a user's allowance, it automatically updates the following calendar year allowance to match. However, you cannot change the next year's allowance independently via the mobile app until the first day of the new leave year. For independent control of current and future year allowances, upgrade to Plus Pack.

How do I block UK public holidays or bank holidays from being booked?

StaffLeave supports blocking UK public holidays and weekends to prevent staff from booking leave on those days.  

Platform Support:

• iOS (iPhone and iPad): Supported
• Android: Supported
• Plus Pack Desktop: Fully supported with user-level controls

For UK accounts:

1. Subscribe to StaffLeave PlusPack to enable support.
2. Once enabled, UK bank holidays will be automatically blocked for all iOS users.

For advanced control: Login to Plus Pack to:

• Control public holiday blocking at the individual user level
• Override blocking for specific employees who work on bank holidays
• Block weekends in addition to public holidays

Example: If your allowance is 28 days (20 annual leave + 8 bank holidays) and you block the 8 bank holidays, reduce allowances to 20 days.

Integrations & Data

Can I export my leave data to my calendar?

Yes! StaffLeave allows you to export holidays to third-party calendars like Google Calendar, Outlook, and Apple Calendar using iCal feeds. For detailed instructions, see Holidays - Exporting via a Live Calendar Feed.

How do I import existing holiday data?

You can import holiday data for your employees using one of our Excel templates. Once you've populated the file, upload it directly in the app from More > Company & App Settings > Import Data. Learn more at More - Importing Holiday Data & Users.

Can I integrate StaffLeave with third-party software?

StaffLeave is developing a powerful API for future paid accounts that will allow integration with payroll, accounting platforms, and other software providers. As StaffLeave grows, an App Store with pre-built integrations and plugins is planned to help you quickly link your account to other providers.

Known Issues

What are the current known issues with the mobile app?

For the latest information on known issues and system status, please refer to our Staff Leave App Status & Known Issues page, which includes:

• User deactivation and reactivation limitations
• Holidays spanning several months display issues
• Hourly leave booking limitations
• Non-deductible leave booking when deductible allowance is low

My holiday request spanning multiple months isn't displaying correctly.

There's a known issue with holidays not displaying on the calendar if they form part of one request spanning several months. As a temporary workaround, we advise placing separate holiday requests if there are large gaps between dates. Our team is working on a fix.

Account Deletion & Data Removal

How do I delete my user account?

You can request to delete your user account or remove your personal data in two ways:

• Via the mobile app: Navigate to the account deletion section within the app settings
• Via the website: Visit www.staffleave.com/support/contact/data-removal to submit a removal request

When submitting your request, you'll need to provide your name and account email address. You can specify whether you want to delete your entire account, keep certain data, or remove specific information like your phone number or email address.

How do I delete my entire team account?

If you're an administrator and want to close your entire team account, you can submit a deletion request through:

• The mobile app's account deletion section
• The website at www.staffleave.com/support/contact/data-removal

Our support team will process your request and confirm the deletion within 48 hours. This will permanently remove all team data in accordance with GDPR and local data protection laws.

What happens to my data when I delete my account?

When you request account deletion:

• If you're still employed: Your personally identifiable information will be anonymized or removed while retaining essential leave-related information your employer needs for processing
• If you're no longer employed: We will facilitate the complete removal of your data in accordance with GDPR and local laws

For complete details on how we handle your data, please review our Data Deletion Policy and Privacy Policy.

Support & Privacy

How do I get support?

The easiest way to get help is to contact us via our online form. Your message will go straight to our helpdesk where a team member will respond. You can also contact support directly through either the iOS or Android app.

Is StaffLeave GDPR-compliant?

Yes, StaffLeave is fully GDPR-compliant. You can review our privacy policy here. If you require a GDPR processing agreement, this is available for custom account users.

How many users can I have on the free mobile app?

There is no limit to the number of users you can have on the free mobile app. However, we recommend keeping each team size to 100 unless you can organize staff into specific departments. If you have multiple regional offices, we advise creating one team account per office for better organization.