Assign a Time Off Policy

The article provides a comprehensive guide on assigning time off policies to employees within BambooHR. It outlines the process for assigning an employee's first policy, adding additional policies, and verifying policy assignments. Users can access an interactive guide and a video tutorial for hands-on learning. The article details steps to add policies, set effective dates, and preview accruals. It emphasizes the importance of selecting appropriate policies based on employee status and provides guidance on managing policy changes. Additionally, it addresses potential access issues for employees regarding their time off balances. Overall, the article serves as a resource for effectively managing time off policies in a systematic manner.

Jul 2, 2026
Knowledge

Title

Article Text

How do I assign a time off policy to an employee?

Purpose: To learn how to assign a time off policy to an employee so they can start receiving automatic accruals.

Table of Contents

Would you like to watch a video about this topic?
Assigning an employee's first policy
Assigning additional policies to an employee
Verifying time off policies
Assign policies from Time Off settings

Would you like to watch a video about this topic?

Do you prefer hands-on learning? Our interactive guides will guide you through different aspects of your BambooHR experience. We have an interactive guide specifically designed to show you how to assign a time off policy to an employee. You can use the link below to access this guide. All you need to do is modify the "REPLACEME" with your BambooHR subdomain, and you can get started!

https://REPLACEME.bamboohr.com/home?pendo=mHeNnJqSeuPndZOR__d3NHhQ1ZY&step=AtfLUlktQS3j6ETrclLEZPaga_E

Assigning an employee's first policy

Once you have created your time off policies, you are ready to assign them to your employees. Employees will only begin receiving automatic accruals when you assign them to a time off policy. If you have not assigned an employee to a time off policy before, you will see the message below on their Time Off tab.

Simply click Add Time Off Policy and complete the modal to assign them to the proper policies.

Screenshot of the Add Time Off Policies modal. Sections include: Vacation, Sick, FMLA, and Flexible Time. Each section has radio buttons for selecting a policy or choosing “Don’t assign a policy.” At the bottom right, a green Add Policies button is highlighted.

When you are finished, click Add Policies and (if necessary) determine the accrual start date.

Screenshot of the Effective Date modal. Title reads: “When should these policies become effective?” Options include Hire Date and Specific Date (entered as 01/01/2024). The note below says: “Any accruals will begin on this date.” At the bottom, a green button labeled Set Effective Date is highlighted.

Once you've selected Set Effective Date, you're finished!

Assigning additional policies to an employee

Screenshot of the Time Off tab. Three policy cards are displayed: FMLA Available – 0 Hours, Flexible Time Available – 0 Days, and Paid Time Off Available – 96 Hours. A dropdown menu on the Paid Time Off card is open with the option Add Time Off Policy outlined in orange.

If you have already assigned the employee a policy, or if they were previously employed with the company, click on the dropdown menu and select the Add Time Off Policy button.

Screenshot of the Add Time Off Policy modal. Sections include: (1) dropdown for selecting policy, (2) radio buttons for Hire Date or Specific Date, and (3) Accrual Preview table showing four rows of dates, actions, hours, and balances. At the bottom, a green Save button is highlighted.

Add [Employee] to: Select the applicable policy. You can only select policies that the employee is not currently assigned to. If you need to update policy information for the employee's current policy (such as the accrual start date), click the Change Policy button under the category box on the Time Off tab.
Policy Becomes Effective On: You have the option to choose the accrual start date based on either the employee's Hire Date or a Specific Date. Keep in mind that if you choose the Specific Date option, the date must be on or after the employee hire date.
Accrual Preview: Preview accrual details will display for any non- flexible policies.

*To learn more about other accrual options besides policies, click on the question mark icon next to Accrual Policy or click here.

Sometimes, you may need to remove a current policy and assign a new policy as of a past date. For example, an employee may qualify for a new time off policy when changing their employment status. It is possible to miss these changes, so you need to go in and backdate the policy change. When you remove the previous policy as of today and assign the new policy as of the previously dated status change, the system will automatically recalculate the accruals to ensure accuracy.

Verifying time off policies

Screenshot of Time Off tab. The action menu (gear icon) shows options: Add Time Off Policy and Pause Accruals.

The image shows the Time Off tab. The action menu (gear icon) for a time off category shows options: Adjust Effective Date, Move to Another Policy, Remove From This Policy, and View History.

The time off preview will appear when you assign an employee to a policy, when you change the accrual start date, or when you move them to a different policy. If the employee has not been added to the policy yet, select the Add Time Off Policy button. If you have not yet added the employee to the policy, select the gear menu and select an option.

Move Employee to Another Policy modal. Sections: current vacation policy, dropdown for new vacation policy, radio buttons for Hire Date or Specific Date (10/21/2024), and an Accrual Preview table showing resumed accruals, carryover loss, and future accruals. At the bottom, a green Save button is highlighted.

Once you have chosen a time off policy and entered the accrual start date, the accrual preview will display.* This preview shows the timing and method of accruals and indicates when the employee will move to their next accrual level (if applicable). Specifically, you will find:

The date and the amount of the employee's first accrual.
Any carryover loss and accruals that happen between the accrual start date and the current date.
The dates of the employee's transition from one milestone to the next (if applicable).

Scroll in the preview box to see the above information.

*Please keep in mind that you will only see an accrual preview if you have assigned an accrual policy to an employee. For the flexible or manually updated policy, you will not see an accrual preview but will still be required to select a policy effective date.

You can view future accruals and any level changes in a policy when using the Calculate Balance button. If your policy does not work as expected, review the instructions for creating time off policies here.

The Time Off tab shows the Time Off History tab. Screenshot showing a History table for Paid Time Off. Three rows list: used hours, earned hours, and balances for specific dates in 2024. Above the table is a dropdown filter for year (2024).

Verify that the policy assignment provided all accruals that should have already occurred. You can do this by viewing the Balance History for the specific time off category.

Screenshot of the View History modal. It lists the Current Paid Time Off Policy – Company Time Off and shows assignment and effective dates. At the bottom is a green Close button.

If you have changed an employee's time off policy, you can see the policy history. To view, click the gear icon and select View History from the dropdown menu.

The employee's time off policy history will display details such as when the policy was edited and its effective date.

Only Account Owner(s), Full Admin(s), and custom access users with permissions to manage Time Off can access this view.

When you add employees to time off policies, and their access doesn't allow them to view their time off balance, request time off from the policy, or both, a pop-up window will alert you that you need to update their access levels to enable viewing or requesting.

If you add multiple employees to a policy at once, any employees with potential access level issues will appear in a modal highlighting missing permissions for each user. Click Save and Go to Access Levels to save the policies you added and then adjust the employee settings.

Assign policies from Time Off settings

Navigate to Time Off in Settings and click on the policy name. The system will display a list of employees assigned to the policy. Clicking on a name will bring you to the employee's Time Off tab. Clicking the gear icon by the employee allows you to move them to a different policy or simply remove them from the existing policy.

To assign new employees to the policy, click Add Employees in the left corner, and a modal will display a list of employees not assigned to the current policy. If an employee is already assigned to a policy or to a category that is manually updated or flexible, it will be indicated next to their name. Select the employees you want to assign and move them over by using the arrows in the middle section. The policy will then reflect the number of employees assigned to the policy. Once you select the employees you want to assign to the policy, you will also need to select their accrual start date.

If you have created a time off policy that is not yet assigned to any employees, you will see a prompt that says 'There's nobody on this policy right now. Should there be? Start adding employees below.' Click the Add Employee button below to begin assigning employees the same way as mentioned above.

URL Name

587386