Holiday planning tools

Staff Holiday Planners
for UK Businesses

Looking for the right holiday planning tool for your team? Leavely is one of the simplest staff holiday planners available. See who is off, spot clashes before they happen, and protect busy periods with blackout dates. Keep your team running smoothly all year.

Free 14-day trial. No credit card required. £8/user/month.

Holiday planning without the right tools is chaos

These problems are completely avoidable with a proper holiday planner.

Too many people off at once

Two people from the same team book the same week. Nobody notices until Monday morning when the team is half-staffed.

No visibility of who is off when

Holiday approvals happen over email or Slack. There is no central calendar, so managers cannot see the full picture before approving.

Peak periods left unprotected

Critical trading periods, month-end close, or busy seasons get booked up because there is no mechanism to block dates.

What the best holiday planning tools offer

Every feature included at £8 per user per month. No tiers, no hidden costs.

Visual team calendars

See every approved and pending holiday on a colour-coded calendar. Filter by team, department, or the whole company. Spot gaps and clashes at a glance.

Clash detection

Leavely warns managers when a new request would overlap with existing approved leave. Configure maximum simultaneous absences per team to prevent coverage gaps.

Blackout dates

Block specific dates where no leave can be requested. Useful for busy periods, product launches, or month-end close. Employees see blocked dates on their calendar.

Department views

Each manager sees only their team. Department heads see their department. Owners see the whole company. The right people see the right information.

Calendar sync

Sync approved leave to Google Calendar, Outlook, or any iCal-compatible calendar. Managers see team absences alongside their own meetings.

One-click approvals

Managers receive an email notification when someone requests leave. One click to approve, one click to decline. The employee is notified immediately.

Your team calendar, at a glance

One view shows you who is off, who has pending requests, and where the gaps are.

July 2026

Marketing team
SM

Sarah M.

7-11 Jul

Approved
JT

James T.

7-9 Jul

Clash warning
ER

Emily R.

21-25 Jul

Approved
DK

David K.

28-30 Jul

Pending

Why businesses choose Leavely over other holiday planners

Built for teams, not individuals

Leavely is designed around team visibility. Every feature focuses on helping managers plan across their team, not just track individual requests.

Prevents problems, not just records them

Clash detection and blackout dates stop problems before they happen. You do not find out about overlapping holidays on Monday morning.

Simple enough for everyone

Employees submit requests in seconds. Managers approve in one click. There is no training needed and nothing to install.

Affordable for growing teams

£8 per user per month, all features included. No tiers, no contracts, no hidden charges. Scale up or down as your team changes.

Plan your team's holidays properly

Start your free 14-day trial. No credit card, no sales calls, no commitment.

Frequently asked questions

What features should staff holiday planners include?
The best staff holiday planners offer a visual team calendar, clash detection when too many people request the same dates, blackout dates for busy periods, and role-based views so managers only see their team. Leavely includes all of these features at £8 per user per month.
Can holiday planners block certain dates from being booked?
Yes. Good holiday planning tools support blackout dates where no leave can be requested. This is useful for peak trading periods, month-end close, or any dates where you need full staffing. With Leavely, employees see blackout dates on their calendar and cannot submit requests for those dates.
Can different managers see different teams in holiday planners?
Yes. Leavely uses role-based access control. Managers only see leave requests and calendars for their direct reports. Department heads see their whole department. Owners and admins see everyone. Employees see only their own requests.
How much do staff holiday planners cost?
Staff holiday planners range from free basic tools to enterprise platforms costing over £15 per user. Leavely costs £8 per user per month with all features included. There are no tiers, no setup fees, and no annual contracts. Every account starts with a free 14-day trial and no credit card is required.