Time Off in Odoo 17 gives every employee a balance per leave type, a request form, and an approval route that ends with their manager, a time off officer, or both. Approved leave appears on the team calendar, reduces the balance and marks the person unavailable elsewhere in Odoo. The Time Off app is part of Odoo 17 Community.
Activating the Time Off Module
To begin managing leave requests in Odoo 17:
Apps → Install "Time Off"
This adds leave management features for HR and gives employees access to request, track, and manage their time off.
Defining Leave Types (Vacation, Sick Leave, etc.)
Configure your company's leave types under:
Time Off → Configuration → Time Off Types
Examples include:
- 🏝️ Paid Time Off (PTO)
- 🤒 Sick Leave
- 🍼 Maternity or Paternity Leave
- 📅 Compensatory Off
You can define:
- 💰 Whether it's paid or unpaid
- 📊 Allocation method (fixed, accrual, or manual)
- 🔁 Carryover rules and validity periods
Requesting Time Off
Employees can request time off via:
Time Off → My Time Off → New Request
They simply select the leave type, dates, and add a note. The request is routed to the appropriate manager based on department or role.
Each request shows status: Pending, Approved, or Refused.
Approval Workflows and Notifications
Managers and HR can approve or reject requests with one click. You can customize:
- ✔️ One-step or multi-step approvals
- 📩 Email or in-app notifications
- 🧾 Audit trail of approvals and comments
This ensures consistent handling and avoids miscommunication during peak periods.
Time Off Calendars and Team Visibility
Odoo provides a shared calendar view:
- 📅 Visualize who's off by day, week, or month
- 👥 Filter by department, employee, or location
- 📌 Sync time off with project planning and availability
This helps avoid scheduling conflicts and improves transparency across teams.
Tracking Leave Balances Automatically
Odoo calculates time off balances automatically:
- 🎯 See current balance and accruals per leave type
- 🧾 Carryover unused leave (or expire it based on rules)
- 🔍 Managers can view balances before approving requests
No more spreadsheets — everything is centralized and real-time.
Setting Up Public Holidays
Configure country- or region-specific holidays under:
Time Off → Configuration → Public Holidays
Assign holidays to specific employee groups, locations, or companies. Odoo ensures holidays don't count against PTO — and blocks scheduling on those days if required.
Conclusion
Odoo 17 streamlines leave management with intuitive workflows, real-time balances, and clear approvals. It saves HR time, avoids conflicts, and gives employees the transparency they expect.
Need help setting up leave types, approval flows, or holiday calendars? Let our HR tech experts configure your Time Off module.
Questions we get asked
Is Time Off included in Odoo 17 Community?
Yes. Leave types, allocations, accrual plans, approval rules, public holidays, mandatory days and the shared calendar are all in the Odoo 17 Community Time Off app, alongside Employees and Attendances. Enterprise adds the Gantt and Planning views that show leave beside scheduled shifts, and the Payroll app that turns approved leave into payslip lines.
How does Odoo 17 accrue leave automatically?
With an accrual plan. Each plan holds one or more levels, and a level adds a set amount of days or hours at a chosen frequency, optionally only after a waiting period from the start of the allocation. Attach the plan to the employee's allocation and Odoo tops the balance up on schedule. The level also decides how much unused leave carries over.
Can a leave request need two approvals in Odoo 17?
Yes. Every leave type carries a validation setting: no validation, by the time off officer, by the employee's approver, or by both. Choosing both means the manager approves first and HR confirms afterwards, and each step is stamped on the request. Teams often give short absences a single approval and reserve the two-step route for long or unpaid leave.
How do public holidays work in Odoo 17?
They are entered under Time Off Configuration as dated entries on a working schedule, and can be limited to one company or one location's calendar. Odoo then treats those dates as non-working, so they are not deducted from anyone's balance and a request spanning them counts fewer days. Mandatory Days are the opposite: dates on which requests are refused.