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Guide: TOIL (Time Off in Lieu) / Comp Time (Compensatory Time)

Last updated on October 21, 2025

Guide: TOIL (Time Off in Lieu) and Comp Time (Compensatory Time)

Time off given for overtime worked, tracked alongside regular leave.

3-minute read

TOIL (Time Off in Lieu), also called Comp Time, is a way to compensate employees for overtime with equivalent time off instead of overtime pay. Vacation Tracker tracks it alongside regular leave so those hours don't get lost in a spreadsheet.

Plan availability: TOIL is part of the Complete plan.

Why TOIL exists

Overtime happens. When the company pays for it in dollars, payroll handles it. When the company gives back time instead, someone has to track those hours, decide when they were earned, and make sure the employee actually gets to use them. Without a system, TOIL usually lives in a spreadsheet or a manager's head, where it gets forgotten, disputed, or lost when the person moves teams. Tracking TOIL inside Vacation Tracker gives you a single source of truth that sits next to regular leave, so those hours are visible, taken, and closed out cleanly.

How it works

  • A User submits TOIL for a day they already worked overtime (today or a past day; not the future)
  • Once approved, those hours are added on top of the User's regular quota
  • TOIL can be requested in full days, half-days, or hourly increments (down to 1 hour)
  • Balances appear on the User's profile next to their other leave types, so there's no side ledger
  • Requests flow through the same Approver as regular leave, so nothing new to learn for approvals

Who can request TOIL

Admins pick one of two models when enabling TOIL. There's no wrong answer; the choice depends on how overtime is verified in your company.

Self-service

Users request their own TOIL.

  • Faster, lower overhead
  • Approver still reviews before it lands in the balance
  • Best when overtime is generally known to the Approver or when the company runs on trust

Admin and Approver only

Users can't submit TOIL themselves.

  • Admins or Approvers add TOIL on the User's behalf
  • More control over what qualifies
  • Best when overtime is verified centrally (time-tracking, payroll, or manager sign-off) before it's converted to time off

What this means for each role

  • Administrator: turns TOIL on, picks the self-service model, and decides which leave types it applies to. Owns the policy.
  • Approver: approves TOIL requests like any other leave, with visibility into who's earned what and when.
  • User: sees their TOIL balance alongside other quotas. If self-service is on, they submit TOIL for past dates they actually worked overtime.

Common Questions

No. TOIL is granted for overtime already worked, so the request has to cover today or a past day. Future-dated TOIL doesn't make sense because the system has no way to know whether the overtime will actually happen.

Yes. TOIL supports hourly increments even if your other leave types are tracked in days. The two coexist; the User's profile shows TOIL in hours and other leave in days.

It can if your policy says so. Admins configure whether TOIL accumulates indefinitely, expires after a set window, or follows a custom rule. Set it the way your labor laws and company policy expect.

What's Next?

How Do I Enable / Configure TOIL? How Do I Request TOIL (Time Off in Lieu) / Comp Time? How Do I Add TOIL for a User?
Need help?
Contact our Support team via email or chat, Monday to Friday, 9 AM – 5 PM EST.

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