This article guides HR administrators and employees on how to troubleshoot and resolve instances where leave requests are incorrectly categorized as "Without Pay," even when the employee appears to have leave credits.
Scenario
An employee has remaining Vacation Leave (VL) credits based on their current balance, yet their leave application for specific dates (e.g., July 27–28) reflects as Without Pay in Sprout HR.
Root Cause
This issue typically occurs when an employee has pending or resubmitted leave applications in the approval pipeline.
- Credit Reservation: The system automatically reserves leave credits for all pending applications, temporarily deducting them from the employee's Available Balance (even prior to manager approval).
- When a new request is filed, the system checks Available Credits rather than Current Credits:
- Zero or Insufficient Balance: The request defaults entirely to Without Pay.
- Partial Balance: Paid days are applied up to the available balance; any remaining days default to Without Pay.
💡 For more details, see our guide on What Is the Difference between Available and Current Leave Credits?
How to Resolve the Issue
Review and Cancel Unnecessary Pending Applications
- Advise the employee to log in to Sprout HR.
- Navigate to Leave Applications → Pending Requests.
- Identify any outdated or invalid pending/resubmitted leave applications.
- Have the employee cancel these requests to release the reserved leave credits back into their available balance.
Handling Valid Pending / Resubmitted Applications
If the pending or resubmitted leave requests are valid, the employee can take the following steps depending on what they need to accomplish:
- Updating Existing Requests: The employee can update/edit the existing pending or resubmitted request and submit it again for the approver’s review and approval, as long as it falls within the filing policy
- Filing New Applications: When filing a new leave application, the employee can only apply for up to the total Available Credits remaining in their leave plan.
- Note: Because the system reserves credits for all active pending applications, the Available Credits reflect only what remains after deducting those pending requests. If the remaining available balance is insufficient for the new application's duration, the excess days will automatically default to Without Pay
Related KBs
- How to Cancel a Filed Leave Application
- How to Edit an Approved Leave Application
- Why Can't an Employee File for a Leave? I Received a Prompt That Says "You Should Apply for X Leave X Days Before."
Want real-time responses? Explore Sidekick, your 24/7 guide for product inquiries!