Google Calendar is excellent for visibility, but it is not a leave management system.
Google Calendar can show who is away, but high-volume leave tracking needs more than coloured events. Leavely gives UK teams request forms, manager approvals, automatic balances, sickness records, TOIL, Bradford Factor monitoring, restricted dates, audit trails, and iCal sync back into Google Calendar when visibility still matters.
Leavely
£8/user/mo
All features included. No tiers.
Google Calendar
Included with Google Workspace
Pricing at time of writing
Based on Google Calendar product capabilities and publicly available Google Workspace information as of July 2026. Google Calendar is a calendar product, not a dedicated leave management system. Features and packaging may change. Google Calendar and Google Workspace are trademarks of Google LLC.
| Feature | Leavely | Google Calendar |
|---|---|---|
| Shared team absence calendar | ||
| Google Calendar visibility | Via iCal sync | |
| Employee leave requests | ||
| One-click manager approvals | ||
| Automatic leave balance tracking | ||
| UK bank holidays built in | Manual setup | |
| Custom leave types and policies | Manual event labels | |
| Sickness absence records | ||
| Bradford Factor monitoring | ||
| TOIL tracking | ||
| Return-to-work forms | ||
| Department clash detection | ||
| Blackout and restricted dates | ||
| Approval delegation | ||
| Role-based access control | Calendar sharing only | |
| Employee self-service | ||
| Audit trail for HR records | ||
| All leave features in one plan | ||
| No credit card for trial | Workspace dependent |
Approvals stop living in email and chat. Employees request leave in Leavely and managers approve from one workflow.
Balances update automatically, so managers are not checking Google Calendar events against spreadsheets before approving time off.
Sickness, TOIL, Bradford Factor records, and return-to-work notes sit beside holiday requests instead of being tracked in separate documents.
Department clash detection and restricted dates help high-volume teams avoid approving too many people off at once.
Audit trails show who requested, approved, changed, or cancelled leave, which a shared calendar was never designed to evidence.
Teams can still subscribe to iCal feeds in Google Calendar, keeping familiar calendar visibility while Leavely handles the HR workflow.
Yes. Leavely is a strong alternative to Google Calendar for UK teams that want straightforward leave management, transparent pricing, employee self-service, approvals, absence tracking, TOIL, Bradford Factor monitoring, and audit history in one product.
Leavely costs £8/user/mo with all core features included. Google Calendar pricing is listed here as Included with Google Workspace, based on the comparison information available at the time of writing.
Yes. Most small teams can set up Leavely quickly by adding employees, choosing leave policies, and inviting managers and staff. The goal is to replace manual follow-up with live balances, one-click approvals, and a shared team calendar.
Yes. Leavely includes a 14-day free trial with no credit card required, so you can test the leave calendar, approvals, absence tracking, and reporting before choosing a paid plan.
Explore how Leavely compares to other leave management software for UK teams.