# Leave Policies

Add a leave type, set what it grants, and use the criteria and exception lists to decide exactly who receives it.

Every column on the leave balance grid is a policy on this screen. There is no per-person allowance, so a policy is both what somebody gets and who gets it.

![The Leave Policies screen, headed Leave Policies above the line Configure leave types, rules, and eligibility, with a blue Policy button at the right. The Annual Leave card below carries a dark AL chip and shows Days / Year 25.0, Carry Forward Up to 5.0 days, Applies To All locations, Gender All, Employment All, Departments All, Encashable No and Probation Pro-rata during probation.](https://www.sorviai.com/help/worklink/settings/leave-policy-card.png)

*One card per policy, with the code chip that matches the balance grid's column.*

## Add a policy

- Go to **Worklink Settings > Leave Policies**, then select **+ Policy** at the top right.

  ![The New Leave Policy slide panel, with the breadcrumb Worklink, Settings, New Leave Policy. A Policy Details group holds Leave Type and Code, both required, then Days / Year and Carry Forward (max days) set to 0. An Applicable To group explains This leave applies to employees who match ALL of the criteria below. Leave a criterion empty to apply to everyone for that dimension, above pickers for Gender, Employment Type, Departments, Designations and Applies To (Locations). Cancel and Save sit at the foot.](https://www.sorviai.com/help/worklink/settings/leave-policy-panel.png)
- Under **Policy Details**, enter the **Leave Type** name and a **Code**. The code labels the column on the balance grid, so `AL` reads as annual leave wherever it appears.
- Set **Days / Year**, and **Carry Forward (max days)** if unused days should survive into next year. Leave carry forward at 0 where they should not.
- Work down **Applicable To** to say who qualifies, leaving any criterion empty to mean everyone.
- Add anybody who needs handling individually under **Exceptions**, then select **Save**.

## Applicable To is an AND, not an OR

A policy applies to employees who match **every** criterion you set, not any of them. Gender female plus department Operations grants the days to women in Operations and to nobody else.

*Criteria on a leave policy*

> **Tip:**
>
> **An empty criterion is the answer more often than you think**
>
> Leaving a dimension empty says "everyone, on this axis". Filling in all six because the fields are there is how a policy ends up granting days to four people.

## Exceptions, for the people the criteria miss

- **Also include these employees** (an addition): Grants the policy to somebody the criteria would not have matched, without loosening the criteria for everybody else.
- **Never apply to these employees** (a removal): Excludes somebody the criteria did match. The exclusion wins.
- **Probation Period** (free text): What somebody gets before they pass probation, such as a pro-rata share. It shows on the card as Probation.

> **Note:**
>
> **Two policies for one leave type is normal**
>
> A location-specific policy and a general one can exist side by side, which is why two people can hold different totals in the same column. That is the intended way to vary an entitlement, and it is why there is no per-person override.

> **Warning:**
>
> **Editing a policy moves everyone it matches**
>
> Balances rebuild against the policy, so a change to Days / Year changes every matching employee's entitlement at once. Where only one group should move, add a policy scoped to that group instead of editing the shared one.