Available for the following plans: Standard, Premium, Platinum, Unlimited
Available for the following User Access levels: Manager, Admin
Syncing your time off requests with your external calendar ensures that approved time off is automatically reflected in your schedule. This integration helps both employees and managers maintain visibility over availability and team absences through automated calendar events.
Manage data
- Click the Settings menu.
- Under Notifications, click My Notifications.
You will now see the My Notifications page with various notification options organized by category. - Expand the Time Off section and enable the checkbox for Send calendar event for leave (Employees).
- If you are a manager with reporting employees, you can enable the checkbox for Send calendar event for leave (Managers).
Further information
Enabling leave settings allows Employment Hero to send you email notifications with calendar (ICS) files. These files automatically add leave requests to your calendar and mark you as "busy" during those dates.
Why use it?
For Managers: It provides a real-time, central view of your team's availability.
Automatic Updates: Notifications sync instantly when leave is booked, changed, or cancelled.
Note: This feature is only available to Primary Managers. It is not accessible to users with standard Employee-level access.
When handling sensitive leave (such as Domestic Violence Leave), the platform prioritizes privacy. Instead of sending detailed emails, Employment Hero sends a standardized calendar event that hides specific details. This prevents sensitive information from being seen by others if a manager's inbox is left open.
Key Privacy Details
Privacy Protection: Automated emails are generic to ensure employee confidentiality.
Manager Access: To view the specific details of a request, managers must log in directly to the Employment Hero platform or the Work app.
Troubleshooting and tips
If your Outlook calendar shows the wrong date for an approved leave request, try opening the calendar invite. Clicking the event often triggers Outlook to refresh and display the correct information.
If the date still doesn't match, the issue is likely due to how Outlook processes calendar (.ics) files. In this case, we recommend contacting Outlook Support for further help.
Some email providers require you to "Accept" an invite before it shows up on your calendar. To have leave requests appear automatically, check your calendar settings and enable the option to automatically add invitations.
To ensure your leave requests sync automatically to Google Calendar, you may need to confirm that you trust the sender. If you see a spam warning in your inbox, follow these steps:
Confirm the sender: Click "I know the sender" or "Trust this sender" in the email.
Update your contacts: Add
no-reply@employmenthero.comto your contact list.Test it: Reply to the email to ensure the connection is active.
Once finished, your leave events should appear on your calendar automatically without any extra steps.
Explore related content
- View leave requests as a manager, employee, and contractor
- How do I enable a company leave calendar view?