SOURCE:    Vacation Tracker
TITLE:     What is the Difference between Entitlement by Role and Seniority Based Entitlement (SBE)?
URL:       https://vacationtracker.io/knowledge-base/what-is-the-difference-between-entitlement-by-role-and-seniority-based-entitlement-sbe/
LANG:      en
PUBLISHED: 2024-02-01
UPDATED:   2026-10-28
READING:   2 min
SUMMARY:   Seniority Based Entitlement rewards years of service; Entitlement by Role rewards a user's role. How each adds leave days and which one to use.
What is the Difference between Entitlement by Role and Seniority Based Entitlement (SBE)?
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Last updated on October 28, 2026

What is the Difference between Entitlement by Role and Seniority Based Entitlement (SBE)?

Both automations award Users additional days of leave beyond their base quota, but they target different criteria. SBE rewards length of service. Entitlement by Role rewards a User's role or position, identified by a label. Knowing which one fits your policy is the first step.

Where to Find These Automations

Both live under Add-ons in the left menu of the web app (app.vacationtracker.io/app/add-ons), as Seniority Entitlement and Entitlement By Role. Only Admins can create or configure them.

Why Both Exist

To reduce manual work and simplify leave management, Vacation Tracker offers Seniority-Based Entitlement and Role-Based Entitlement automations. With these two automations, Vacation Tracker automatically awards Users additional days, with no Admin intervention required after the initial setup.

Seniority Based Entitlement (SBE)

SBE is a system where employees earn more paid time off (PTO) based on their length of service with the company.

  • Can be applied to all Users or to a specific Location.
  • Admins can create multiple automations for different Leave Types.
  • Once a User reaches a milestone (anniversary date based on their employee start date), Vacation Tracker automatically adds the configured days to their base quota.
  • Requires the Complete plan.Complete
Example: Admin sets a policy for 2 days to be added to a User's base quota on their 2nd anniversary, 2 days on their 4th-year anniversary, and 2 days on their 6th-year anniversary, until they hit a maximum of 6 additional days earned. On each anniversary, the system automatically awards the two additional days on top of their base quota.

For detailed setup steps: How Do I Set Up Seniority Based Entitlement (SBE) Automation?

Entitlement by Role

Entitlement by Role awards Users additional days based on their label/role in a company.

  • Requires the Complete plan. Entitlement by Role uses the Labels feature to assign roles, and Labels are Complete-only.Complete
  • Labels must exist before setting up the automation. See How Can I Categorize Users (Adding Labels)?
  • Admins can create multiple automations for different roles.
  • The entitlement applies starting from the current year and the moment the label is applied to the User.
Example: An Admin creates a label called "Manager" and assigns all managers in their company with this label. Then they create the Entitlement by Role with a rule to award 2 additional "Vacation" days to all employees with the "Manager" label. All Users with the label are awarded 2 additional days on top of their base quota (starting from the current year). Any Users that receive the "Manager" label later will also automatically be awarded the 2 additional days once the label is added to their User profile.

For detailed setup steps: How Do I Set Entitlement by Role?

Quick Comparison

  • SBE: based on tenure (start date). Complete plan only.
  • Entitlement by Role: based on labels. Complete plan only.
  • Both can run alongside each other and against any Leave Type.
  • Both award days on top of the base quota. They don't replace existing entitlements.
Want the full Automations overview?
For an overview of every automation Vacation Tracker offers, see Guide: What Automations does Vacation Tracker offer?

What's Next?

Set Up SBE Automation Set Entitlement by Role Customize for Individual Users
Need help?
Regular Users: If you have any questions, email us anytime at hello@vacationtracker.io.
Admins and Approvers: You can reach us via live chat Monday to Friday, 9 AM – 5 PM EST, or email us anytime at hello@vacationtracker.io.

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