As the year winds down, managing leave effectively becomes a pressing task for teams and organizations alike. Vacation Tracker’s Brought Forward Policy, often called rollover or carryover, is designed to make sure unused leave days don’t go to waste. It’s a practical way to balance employee flexibility with business needs. 

Let’s explore how you can set it up and make the most of it before the new year kicks off.

Why the Brought Forward Policy Is Important

Unused leave can cause headaches for both employees and employers. Without a clear policy, you might face operational hiccups, budget surprises, or unhappy team members. The Brought Forward Policy tackles these issues by allowing unused leave days to roll over into the new year for specific leave types.

As the year wraps up, now’s the perfect time to double-check your settings to ensure everything is ready for a smooth transition into the next leave cycle.

Setting Up the Brought Forward Policy

Admins are the ones who can enable this policy, which applies across specific locations. Everyone in a location follows the same rules, but you can decide which leave types qualify for carryover.

Here’s how to set it up:

• Open the “Locations” page in the Vacation Tracker Dashboard.

• Go to the “Leave Policies” tab.

• Adjust the Brought Forward settings for the leave types you want.

How Different Policies Work

The Brought Forward Policy is flexible enough to meet various organizational needs. Here are three common approaches:

1. No Brought Forward

Unused leave expires at the end of the year. It’s simple, straightforward, and prevents leave buildup.

Tip: Disable the Brought Forward option if this is your preferred setup. Remember, changes won’t retroactively affect unused days from the current year.

2. Full Brought Forward

All unused leave transfers to the next year.

Example:
Maria has 10 vacation days but only uses 7. Her 3 unused days carry over, giving her 13 days next year.

This approach is employee-friendly but requires some monitoring to avoid excessive leave accumulation.

3. Limited Brought Forward

A middle-ground approach where only a set number of days roll over.

Example:
Alex has 12 annual leave days but finishes the year with 5 unused. His company allows up to 3 days to carry over, so he starts the new year with 15 days (12 new + 3 carried over). The remaining 2 days expire.

Managing Expiry Dates

One challenge with carryover is preventing excessive leave stockpiling. To address this, you can set expiry dates for rolled-over days. For instance, you might require unused days to be used by March 31.

What happens after the expiry date?
Any unused carried-over days are removed on April 1. This helps employees plan their time off while keeping things flexible for your organization.

Managing Overused Leave with Negative Brought Forward

Vacation Tracker also supports Negative Brought Forward, allowing businesses to track overused leave by carrying it forward as a negative balance. When employees exceed their leave entitlement within a year or period, the system automatically adjusts their future leave quotas, ensuring transparency and accuracy.

Example:
James has 15 vacation days annually but takes 18 days this year, exceeding his entitlement by 3 days. With Negative Brought Forward enabled:

• These 3 overused days are carried into the new year as a negative balance.
• At the start of the next year, James’s entitlement of 15 days is reduced to 12 days (15 - 3 = 12).

Plan for a Smooth Start to the New Year

The Brought Forward Policy is a powerful tool to make leave management easier, but its success depends on careful planning and clear communication. Take the time now to review your settings, align your policies with your goals, and make sure everyone’s hard-earned days off are accounted for.

Looking for more details? Check out:

• How Do I Set a Brought Forward Policy?
• Can I Set Expiry Dates for Brought Forward Days?
• How Can I Apply the Brought Forward Policy Retroactively?

Because every day off counts—let’s make the most of them!

Aleksandra Cvetkovic

Aleksandra has been with the team since day one, bringing her passion for all things marketing.