{"id":1436,"date":"2026-04-29T11:17:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T11:17:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/?p=1436"},"modified":"2026-04-29T13:34:43","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T13:34:43","slug":"approving-holiday-requests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/2026\/04\/29\/approving-holiday-requests\/","title":{"rendered":"Why managing staff leave feels harder than it should"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/All-on-you.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1438\" srcset=\"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/All-on-you.webp 1200w, https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/All-on-you-300x150.webp 300w, https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/All-on-you-1024x512.webp 1024w, https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/All-on-you-768x384.webp 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Approving holiday requests sounds simple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Until you\u2019re the one who has to decide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Because it\u2019s rarely just about the request.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What you\u2019ll learn<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Why approving annual leave requests can feel more difficult than expected<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What actually creates pressure when managing staff leave<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The common situations that make decisions harder<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Why things sometimes go wrong, even when you\u2019ve checked everything<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What helps you feel more confident when approving requests<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What makes managing staff leave feel harder<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The difficulty usually starts before you\u2019ve even made the decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s the moment where you stop and think:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Who\u2019s already off that week?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What does the team actually look like?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Has anything else already been agreed?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Is this going to leave you short?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>And those questions don\u2019t always have quick answers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You might have a rough idea of who\u2019s off, or remember something that was mentioned earlier. But you\u2019re not completely sure you\u2019re seeing everything you need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So before you can even decide, you\u2019re trying to build that picture for yourself, checking what you can, filling in what\u2019s missing, and trying to make sure nothing important has been overlooked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That matters because you\u2019re making a decision without being completely sure what the outcome will be. That\u2019s where the hesitation, the second-guessing, and the pressure tend to come from.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The situations that make it more difficult<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Certain situations tend to make approving staff leave harder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Two people ask for the same week off.<\/strong><br>You can\u2019t approve both without leaving the team short, but there\u2019s no clear reason to prioritise one over the other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>A request comes in during a busy period.<\/strong><br>You know the team will be stretched, but it\u2019s not always clear what the team can manage. Some teams use simple approaches like first-come, first-served, or set rules around busy periods. But even then, the decision still depends on what the team looks like at that point in time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Someone asks at the last minute.<\/strong><br>There isn\u2019t time to check everything properly, so you\u2019re relying on what you can see in that moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>A request looks fine when it comes in.<\/strong><br>But once you realise who else is off that week, it\u2019s not as straightforward as it first seemed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That\u2019s usually where it becomes uncomfortable. Not because the decision is complicated on its own, but because you\u2019re trying to judge the knock-on effect of saying yes. And you don\u2019t always know what that will look like until later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So you make the best call you can with what you know at the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What people often do instead<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>When you don\u2019t have a clear way of seeing everything together, you rely on what\u2019s easiest in the moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You check a couple of places, just to be sure. Maybe you try to remember what\u2019s already been agreed, or ask someone else to sense-check it. And if everything looks fine, you approve it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Most of the time, that works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But it\u2019s also how small issues start to build. Plans overlap in ways you didn\u2019t expect, a week turns out to be tighter than it first looked, or you find yourself revisiting decisions after you\u2019ve already made them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is usually where things start to go wrong. Not because the decision itself was unreasonable, but because it was made without everything being visible at the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Why it often ends up this way<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In most teams, managing staff leave doesn\u2019t start with a clear system. It tends to build up over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Something simple gets put in place to start with. Then something else is added when it\u2019s needed. And over time, different ways of tracking things build up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Each part works well enough on its own, but they\u2019re not designed to work together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Over time, this creates a setup where no single place shows you what you need to see. So every decision depends on you pulling things together yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That\u2019s why it can feel manageable on the surface, but harder in practice. Because the system relies on you to connect everything, and that\u2019s where the pressure builds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What actually makes managing staff leave easier<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>What helps isn\u2019t changing how you decide; it\u2019s changing what you can see before you decide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When the information you need is already visible, the decision changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You\u2019re not pausing to check multiple places, trying to remember what was said last week, or filling in gaps before you can even begin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can see, straight away:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Who\u2019s already off<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What the team looks like that week<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What\u2019s already been agreed<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>And that changes how the decision feels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You\u2019re not weighing up unknowns. You\u2019re making a call based on what\u2019s actually there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So instead of second-guessing or double-checking, you can decide and move on with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And that has a knock-on effect:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>You spend less time checking things<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>There are fewer interruptions during the day<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You\u2019re not going back over decisions once they\u2019ve been made<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The process feels calmer and more predictable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Where The Holiday Tracker fits in<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theholidaytracker.co.uk\/?utm_source=blog\">The Holiday Tracker<\/a> is built to give you that clear, shared view when you need it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For most teams, that starts with the team calendar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s often the part <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theholidaytracker.co.uk\/blog\/powered-by-the-holiday-tracker-salisbury-foodbank\/?utm_source=blog\">customers mention<\/a> first, because it shows exactly who\u2019s off and when, all in one place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So instead of building that picture for yourself each time, you can open the calendar and see the team before you make the decision. That alone removes a lot of the uncertainty around approving requests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Another feature many customers mention is the weekly \u201cWho\u2019s Off\u201d email. It gives a simple heads-up on who\u2019s off in the week ahead and the following week, so you\u2019re not having to keep checking or trying to remember.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But it\u2019s not just about seeing who\u2019s off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Staff can request their own leave, and managers can approve it from anywhere, so you\u2019re not chasing emails or keeping track manually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And because everything sits in one place, staff can see their own leave clearly. They can see what they\u2019re entitled to, what they\u2019ve already used, and what they have left.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So instead of checking with you or asking questions, they already have that information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For managers, it means you\u2019re not having to double-check figures or work things out before responding. It also makes it easier to stay consistent, because you can see what\u2019s been agreed rather than relying on memory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It doesn\u2019t change the types of requests you get. It just makes them easier to manage when they come in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If that\u2019s the part that currently feels harder than it should, it\u2019s worth taking a look.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Start your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theholidaytracker.co.uk\/freetrial\/?utm_source=blog\">free trial<\/a> today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Approving holiday requests sounds simple. Until you\u2019re the one who has to decide. Because it\u2019s rarely just about the request.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1436","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-holidays"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Why managing staff leave feels harder than it should - The Holiday Tracker<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Approving holiday requests should be straightforward, but often takes longer than expected. Here\u2019s why it happens and what makes it easier.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/2026\/04\/29\/approving-holiday-requests\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why managing staff leave feels harder than it should - The Holiday Tracker\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Approving holiday requests should be straightforward, but often takes longer than expected. Here\u2019s why it happens and what makes it easier.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/2026\/04\/29\/approving-holiday-requests\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Holiday Tracker\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TheHolidayTracker\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-29T11:17:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-29T13:34:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/All-on-you.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Helen Burns\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@TheHolTracker\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@TheHolTracker\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Helen Burns\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/2026\/04\/29\/approving-holiday-requests\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/2026\/04\/29\/approving-holiday-requests\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Helen Burns\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c3e186716613199716aa9232cf4b18da\"},\"headline\":\"Why managing staff leave feels harder than it should\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-29T11:17:12+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-29T13:34:43+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/2026\/04\/29\/approving-holiday-requests\/\"},\"wordCount\":1162,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/2026\/04\/29\/approving-holiday-requests\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/All-on-you.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Holidays\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/2026\/04\/29\/approving-holiday-requests\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/2026\/04\/29\/approving-holiday-requests\/\",\"name\":\"Why managing staff leave feels harder than it should - The Holiday Tracker\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/2026\/04\/29\/approving-holiday-requests\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/2026\/04\/29\/approving-holiday-requests\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/All-on-you.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-29T11:17:12+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-29T13:34:43+00:00\",\"description\":\"Approving holiday requests should be straightforward, but often takes longer than expected. Here\u2019s why it happens and what makes it easier.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/2026\/04\/29\/approving-holiday-requests\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/2026\/04\/29\/approving-holiday-requests\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/2026\/04\/29\/approving-holiday-requests\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/All-on-you.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/All-on-you.webp\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":600},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/2026\/04\/29\/approving-holiday-requests\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Why managing staff leave feels harder than it should\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/\",\"name\":\"The Holiday Tracker\",\"description\":\"The Holiday Tracker\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"The Holiday Tracker\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Logo.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Logo.webp\",\"width\":496,\"height\":496,\"caption\":\"The Holiday Tracker\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TheHolidayTracker\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/TheHolTracker\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company-beta\/17923766\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c3e186716613199716aa9232cf4b18da\",\"name\":\"Helen Burns\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9bfc6723fed1f747b31a5a22bfa9271e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9bfc6723fed1f747b31a5a22bfa9271e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Helen Burns\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Why managing staff leave feels harder than it should - The Holiday Tracker","description":"Approving holiday requests should be straightforward, but often takes longer than expected. Here\u2019s why it happens and what makes it easier.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/2026\/04\/29\/approving-holiday-requests\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Why managing staff leave feels harder than it should - The Holiday Tracker","og_description":"Approving holiday requests should be straightforward, but often takes longer than expected. Here\u2019s why it happens and what makes it easier.","og_url":"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/2026\/04\/29\/approving-holiday-requests\/","og_site_name":"The Holiday Tracker","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TheHolidayTracker\/","article_published_time":"2026-04-29T11:17:12+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-04-29T13:34:43+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":600,"url":"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/All-on-you.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"author":"Helen Burns","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@TheHolTracker","twitter_site":"@TheHolTracker","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Helen Burns","Estimated reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/2026\/04\/29\/approving-holiday-requests\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/2026\/04\/29\/approving-holiday-requests\/"},"author":{"name":"Helen Burns","@id":"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c3e186716613199716aa9232cf4b18da"},"headline":"Why managing staff leave feels harder than it should","datePublished":"2026-04-29T11:17:12+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-29T13:34:43+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/2026\/04\/29\/approving-holiday-requests\/"},"wordCount":1162,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/2026\/04\/29\/approving-holiday-requests\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/All-on-you.webp","articleSection":["Holidays"],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/2026\/04\/29\/approving-holiday-requests\/","url":"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/2026\/04\/29\/approving-holiday-requests\/","name":"Why managing staff leave feels harder than it should - The Holiday Tracker","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/2026\/04\/29\/approving-holiday-requests\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/2026\/04\/29\/approving-holiday-requests\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/All-on-you.webp","datePublished":"2026-04-29T11:17:12+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-29T13:34:43+00:00","description":"Approving holiday requests should be straightforward, but often takes longer than expected. Here\u2019s why it happens and what makes it easier.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/2026\/04\/29\/approving-holiday-requests\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/2026\/04\/29\/approving-holiday-requests\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/2026\/04\/29\/approving-holiday-requests\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/All-on-you.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/All-on-you.webp","width":1200,"height":600},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/2026\/04\/29\/approving-holiday-requests\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Why managing staff leave feels harder than it should"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/","name":"The Holiday Tracker","description":"The Holiday Tracker","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/#organization","name":"The Holiday Tracker","url":"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Logo.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Logo.webp","width":496,"height":496,"caption":"The Holiday Tracker"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TheHolidayTracker\/","https:\/\/x.com\/TheHolTracker","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company-beta\/17923766\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c3e186716613199716aa9232cf4b18da","name":"Helen Burns","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9bfc6723fed1f747b31a5a22bfa9271e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9bfc6723fed1f747b31a5a22bfa9271e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Helen Burns"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1436","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1436"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1436\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1443,"href":"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1436\/revisions\/1443"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theholidaytracke-4xhy3odrd6.live-website.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}