How to build a leave request workflow with approval logic

Turn every leave request into a smart approval flow

In this guide, you’ll build a complete leave management workflow in Formaloo, starting from a request form that automatically identifies the right approver based on the employee’s department + role. You’ll add conditional logic, workflow automations, notifications, and HR dashboards.
Learn more: What is Formaloo?

Why this helps HR teams

A department- and role-based approval workflow gives your team predictable and error-free processing:

• Approvals get routed to the correct manager automatically.
• HR no longer manually forwards requests.
• Employees receive faster decisions with fewer bottlenecks.
• A real client using this setup reduced approval time from 3 days to less than 24 hours.
• Formaloo logic guarantees routing consistency even as your org structure changes.
  Learn more: Build personalized and time-saving flows with logic and automation

Step 1 – Create your leave request form

In Formaloo, go to your workspace and click + New → Form. Pick a template like Leave Request Form or use Magic Create with a prompt such as:
“Create a leave request form with department, role, dates, reason, and approval status.”

Include these key fields:

• Employee name
• Department (dropdown)
• Role (dropdown)
• Leave type
• Start date and end date
• Reason for leave
• Status (default: “New”)
• Employee email

This form becomes the source of all logic and workflow triggers.
Learn more: Create your first form, app, or portal in a flash

Step 2 – Add conditional logic for automatic approver assignment

Open Settings → Advanced logic → Field logic in your form.

Here you will build routing rules using combinations of Department and Role. Instead of a table, here are the rules written clearly in natural language:

• If the department is Marketing and the role is Staff, assign the request to marketing.manager@company.com.
• If the department is Marketing and the role is Team Lead, assign the request to marketing.director@company.com.
• If the department is Sales and the role is Staff, assign the request to sales.manager@company.com.
• If the department is Sales and the role is Team Lead, assign the request to sales.director@company.com.
• If the department is HR (any role), assign the request to hr.head@company.com.
• If the department is Engineering and the role is Staff, assign the request to eng.manager@company.com.
• If the department is Engineering and the role is Team Lead, assign the request to cto@company.com.

Tip: Write one clean logic rule per scenario to keep your workflow easy to maintain.
Learn more: How to add advanced logic to your form

Step 3 – Build workflow automation

Now open Settings → Advanced logic → On Submit/on update

Add automations such as:

• When the form is submitted → apply your assignment logic to send the request to the correct approver
• When the request gets assigned → automatically update the Status field to “Under review”
• When an approver updates the status to “Approved” → send an approval email to the employee
• When the status becomes “Rejected” → notify HR and the employee

If you want dynamic messages, you can insert field IDs like @field_department or @field_role.
Learn more: What is “On Submit” logic and how it works

Step 4 – Automate communications

Go to Apps & Integrations → Email templates to set up email notifications.

Automations you might configure:

• A submission receipt for employees
• A “New request to review” message for the approver
• Approval and rejection notifications
• A “More information needed” note if status changes

Personalized messages using employee names and dates improve engagement, for some teams this reduced review delays by more than 40%.
Learn more: How to send and receive email notifications

Step 5 – Visualize data in HR dashboards

Open your form → Results → Responses page and add dashboards.

Useful dashboard components:

• A Table view filtered to show “Under review” requests
• A Kanban board grouped by Status (New → Under review → Approved → Rejected)
• Charts that show leaves by department, monthly volumes, and approval rates

This gives HR a real-time, zero-spreadsheet workflow.
Learn more: Customize your form/app layout and design

Step 6 – Share, publish, or build an employee portal

Choose how employees access the form:

• Use a public link
• Embed the form in your intranet
• Or create an employee portal so users log in to track their own requests

In Settings, customize colors, fonts, and logos to match your company identity.
Learn more: How to create a portal and manage users’ access

Pro tips

• Use the Status field in more logic rules to handle escalations like: “If status = Approved AND leave type = Parental → notify HR Head.”
  Learn more: What is On Update logic and how it works
• Add a second approval layer using additional On Submit routing steps.
  Learn more: How to set up multiple ending pages with redirect logic
• Use variable fields to calculate leave balances inside the form.
  Learn more: How to calculate multiple scores using variable fields

Real-world example

A 70-employee consulting company previously relied on HR manually forwarding leave requests to department managers. Using Formaloo’s Department + Role logic:

• HR eliminated manual routing
• Managers received instant email alerts
• Employees could see their request history inside a portal
• Approval time dropped from 3.2 days to under 24 hours

Learn more: Formaloo use cases

FAQ

1. How do I prevent employees from editing their department or role?

Move the form into a portal and prefill department + role from the user profile. Hide those fields in the form.
Learn more: How to add and edit fields in the user base form of your portal

2. Can I add multiple approvers?

Yes. Add second-level logic such as “If manager approves → Assign to HR Head.”
Learn more: Advanced logic in Formaloo

3. Can employees track their leave history?

Yes, use a portal.
Learn more: Create a client portal with personalized dashboards

4. Can this trigger Slack notifications?

Absolutely. Use “On Submit → Send Slack message” for instant alerts.
Learn more: Send Slack notifications with logic

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Build a smarter, scalable leave approval system

You now have a complete leave request workflow in Formaloo that automatically assigns approvers based on department and role, automates communication, and keeps HR in full control through dashboards.
Learn more: Expand your workflow automations

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