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How to Set Up Company Holidays in Zoho People

Simplify Time-Off Management with Zoho People

Managing employee holidays can be a small detail that creates big headaches if not handled properly. Between tracking paid holidays, managing leave requests, and ensuring consistency across departments, HR teams often spend unnecessary time fixing calendar conflicts and adjusting leave balances.

In this tutorial, Carol DenHartog from Amazing Business Results walks you through how to set up holidays inside Zoho People — the right way. Whether your company has just started using Zoho People or you’re refining your HR processes, this guide will help you build a simple, automated system that keeps your team informed and your HR data clean.

Understanding Holidays in Zoho People

Zoho People includes a holiday management feature that lets organizations define which days employees can take off without using any of their paid time off (PTO) or other leave types.

Unlike personal leave requests that need approval, holidays are preset days off where employees are automatically given paid leave. This ensures every team member’s calendar is updated and payroll remains accurate — without anyone having to manually adjust time-off balances.

Since Zoho doesn’t provide predefined holidays, you’ll create your own company-specific list. This allows full flexibility for local, regional, or company-only holidays.

Step 1: Navigate to the Time Off Section

To get started, log into your Zoho People account.

  • On the left-hand side or main navigation menu, click “Time Off.”

  • You’ll see the Holidays section at the top.

  • If your organization has no holidays yet, this list will be empty.

From here, you can add new holidays to create your company’s annual holiday calendar.

Step 2: Add a New Holiday

Click the “Add” button in the upper right corner. This opens the holiday setup form, where you can enter details such as:

  • Holiday Name: Enter the holiday’s title (for example, “Thanksgiving”).

  • Date: Select the specific day on the calendar.

  • Duration: Choose whether the day off applies to the full day, first half, or second half.

  • Applicable Shifts or Locations: If the holiday only applies to specific shifts or regions, you can customize who receives it.

  • Classification: If it is supposed to be a standard holiday or a restricted holiday.

  • Description (optional): Add notes or internal details about the holiday.

This flexibility is especially useful for companies that operate across multiple regions or have varying policies for certain teams.

Step 3: Set Up Reminder Emails

Zoho People makes it easy to keep employees informed before holidays arrive.

You can set a reminder email to be sent out automatically — for example, seven days before the holiday.

So, if Thanksgiving is on November 27, employees might receive a friendly reminder on November 20 saying, “Thanksgiving is coming up — no work on this day!”

This small automation helps reduce confusion and ensures everyone knows about upcoming office closures well in advance.

Step 4: Reprocess Leave Applications Automatically

One of the most convenient features in Zoho People’s holiday setup is the “Reprocess Leave Applications” option.

When you enable this feature, Zoho People will automatically adjust existing PTO requests that overlap with the new holiday.

For example:
If an employee requested PTO from November 25–29, and Thanksgiving (November 27) is added as a holiday, Zoho People will automatically reprocess that request and return the day of Thanksgiving to the employee’s leave balance.

This ensures employees don’t lose any of their earned time off for official company holidays — and HR teams don’t need to manually correct leave requests.

Step 5: Save and Publish Your Holiday List

Once you’ve entered the details and set your preferences, simply click “Save”

Your new holiday is now added to the system, visible to employees, and automatically considered paid time off without the need for individual approval.

Employees don’t need to submit a holiday request; these days are already approved and built into the organization’s leave policy.

Why Setting Up Holidays Matters

Creating and maintaining a proper holiday calendar might sound like a simple task, but it plays a vital role in employee satisfaction, transparency, and payroll accuracy.

A few reasons to get this right:

  • Eliminates manual tracking: HR doesn’t need to manage spreadsheets or email reminders.

  • Ensures fairness: Everyone knows which days are company-wide holidays.

  • Avoids payroll mistakes: No more accidental PTO deductions on official holidays.

  • Saves time: Automation reduces repetitive work for both employees and HR.

  • Improves communication: Reminder emails and clear visibility create smoother workflows.

By configuring holidays once, you save hours of administrative work every month — and provide employees with clarity and consistency throughout the year.

Additional Tips for Efficient Holiday Management

  • Plan early: Build your holiday list at the beginning of each year.

  • Regional adjustments: If you operate in multiple provinces or states, consider setting up location-specific holidays.

  • Review before finalizing: Double-check dates, especially for floating holidays or observed holidays that shift annually.

  • Use the description field: Add internal notes or policies to avoid confusion later.

Automate communications: Regular reminders prevent last-minute surprises.

Build a Smarter HR System with Zoho People

Setting up holidays in Zoho People is a simple but powerful step toward building an automated and transparent HR system. Once configured, your organization can enjoy a streamlined process where employees automatically know when they have time off — and HR no longer needs to manage redundant approvals.

At Amazing Business Results, we specialize in helping companies like yours customize and automate Zoho People to fit your unique business needs. From setting up time-off structures to training your HR team, our experts ensure your Zoho system runs smoothly and efficiently.

👉 Need help setting up your Zoho People system or training your team?
Reach out to us at Amazing Business Results — we’ll be happy to help you build a smarter, more automated HR process.

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