Staff holiday planner
Staff Holiday Planner Software for Easy Team Leave Planning
See who is off and when, approve holiday requests with the full team picture in front of you, and catch clashes before they become staffing problems. Start free for up to 8 users, with no credit card required.
Plan Employee Holidays in One Place
Holiday Ocean 360 is staff holiday planner software that gives HR teams, managers and business owners one place to plan and manage employee holidays. Employees request time off, managers approve it, and everyone can see who is away and when. Requests, approvals, allowances and team availability sit in the same system, so planning no longer depends on a shared spreadsheet or an inbox full of date requests.
It covers annual leave, sick leave and any other leave type you set up, with holiday calendars that reflect your regions and working weeks.
Give Employees an Easy Way to Request Holiday
Employees should be able to ask for time off without training, and without having to check with HR first.
Submit a holiday request
Pick a leave type and dates, and submit in under 20 seconds from any device.
See your allowance as you choose dates
The request form shows the remaining balance, team clashes and policy hints while the employee is choosing dates, so they can avoid requests that are likely to be declined.
Check request status
Each request has a visual status timeline from submission to final decision, and employees can review their request history at any time.
Understand the decision
Every approval or rejection includes a structured explanation, so employees know the outcome and the reason.
Simplify Holiday Approvals for Managers
Managers approve faster when the information they need is on one screen.
One inbox for team requests
Pending holiday requests from the team arrive in a central inbox, so nothing is lost in email or chat.
Decision cards
Each request opens as a one-screen decision card showing the employee, the remaining allowance, team coverage after approval and the result of the policy check.
Approve or reject, in the app or by email
Managers can decide from the app, or directly from their inbox without logging in. Email approvals are available on the Professional plan and above. Requests can also be escalated to the next approver.
Notifications
Decisions trigger instant notifications, and administrators choose which events send emails and in-app notifications.
See Who Is Off and When
Knowing who is away is the core of holiday planning. Holiday Ocean 360 shows managers the team picture before they decide, not after.
Team calendar
The team calendar shows requested leave, clashes and today's date, so overlapping requests are easy to spot.
Upcoming leave
Managers can see who is off, who has a request pending and who will be available in the coming weeks.
Availability after approval
The decision card shows how many team members will be available if the request is approved, so managers can weigh coverage against the request.
Planning ahead
With holiday calendars and approved leave in one view, managers can plan cover for busy periods and public holidays well in advance.
Prevent Holiday Scheduling Conflicts
When several people ask for the same week, a team can quickly end up short-staffed. Spotting this usually means checking a spreadsheet by hand, and that check is easy to miss.
Holiday Ocean 360 checks coverage against the team for each day. Employees see clashes while they choose their dates. Managers see the impact on team coverage on the decision card before they approve. This helps managers identify and manage conflicts early, so they can approve, decline or discuss dates with the employee. The final call on staffing always stays with the manager.
Manage Holiday Policies and Allowances
Holiday planning works best when everyone is working from the same rules.
Leave policies and allowances
HR defines leave types, entitlements, accrual rules, carryover and notice periods from a visual interface, with no code required.
Policy assignments and overrides
Assign policies to departments or directly to individual employees. A department can override the company policy with its own allowance and notice period while the company standard stays in place.
Public holiday calendars
Define public holidays and assign holiday calendars to departments. Calendars adjust working-day calculations and balances automatically.
Working weeks and regional settings
The working week is configurable, including Sunday to Thursday, and policies can be set per country, which suits teams working across different countries and regions.
Keep Your Holiday Calendar Organized
Centralized records
Requests, decisions and balances are stored in one system rather than spread across files and inboxes.
Decision history
An append-only audit ledger records who decided each request, when and why, and entries are never rewritten.
Exports
Export leave data with date range filters for review, payroll checks or planning. Exports and audit trail retention depend on your plan.
Calendar and structure
Departments, department heads and organization structure keep calendars and approvals aligned with how your teams are organized.
Replace Spreadsheet-Based Holiday Planning
Spreadsheets are a common starting point for holiday planning, but they struggle as soon as more than a few people are involved.
Spreadsheet approach
- Manual updates every time someone books time off
- Version confusion when several copies circulate
- Approvals handled by email or chat
- Limited visibility for employees and managers
- Manual conflict checking
Holiday Ocean 360
- Centralized holiday requests
- Structured approvals with escalation
- Configurable policy rules
- Team visibility for employees and managers
- Organized records and audit history
Why Choose Holiday Ocean 360 as Your Staff Holiday Planner?
Some holiday planners focus on a simple visual calendar. Holiday Ocean 360 combines calendar visibility with a full leave management workflow, so planning, rules and approvals sit together.
Planning and approvals in one workflow
Holiday calendars, requests and approvals work together.
Team-aware decisions
Managers can see pending leave, coverage and clashes before deciding.
Policy-driven management
Leave rules, allowances and regional calendars are configured centrally.
More than a holiday calendar
Attendance, other leave types, administration and audit records are available in the same platform.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a staff holiday planner?
A staff holiday planner is a tool for organizing when employees take time off. It brings together holiday requests, approvals, allowances and team availability so managers can plan cover.
What is staff holiday planner software?
It is software that replaces spreadsheets and email for holiday planning. Holiday Ocean 360 adds policy rules, approval workflows, holiday calendars and audit records.
How does an employee holiday planner work?
Employees request time off, the system checks their balance, notice period and team clashes, and the manager reviews and decides. Approved leave then appears in team visibility and records.
Can employees request holidays online?
Yes. Employees choose a leave type and dates and submit in under 20 seconds from any device, then track the request until a decision is made.
Can managers approve holiday requests?
Yes. Managers review requests in a central inbox and decide with decision cards. On Professional plans and above, they can also decide by email.
Can employees see their holiday allowance?
Yes. Employees see remaining balances and used days for each leave type on their dashboard and in the request form.
Can a holiday planner prevent conflicting leave?
Holiday Ocean 360 checks team coverage per day and flags clashes to employees and managers, so conflicts can be managed before approval. Managers keep control of the final decision.
Is holiday planner software better than Excel?
For most teams, yes. Excel stores dates but does not apply policies, route approvals or check for clashes. Holiday Ocean 360 does all three.
What is the difference between a holiday planner and leave management software?
A holiday planner focuses on scheduling and coordinating time off. Leave management software also covers policies, balances, approvals, attendance and records. Holiday Ocean 360 includes both.
Start Planning Employee Holidays Today
Start free for up to 8 users. Upgrade as your team grows.