Planday is a Xero-owned rota, scheduling, and workforce management platform for shift teams.
Planday is designed around shift planning, time tracking, and payroll-connected workforce management. LeaveManager is a better fit when the core requirement is leave management for UK employees: holiday balances, approvals, absence records, Bradford Factor, TOIL, and return-to-work documentation in one focused product.
LeaveManager
£8/user/mo
All features included. No tiers.
Planday
From £3/user/mo
Pricing at time of writing
14-day comparison plan
Use your own policies, real managers, and a small pilot team to check whether LeaveManager removes enough admin before you commit.
Based on publicly available information from Planday and LeaveManager materials as of March 2026. Planday is part of the Xero group. Features and pricing may have changed since publication. All trademarks belong to their respective owners.
| Feature | LeaveManager | Planday |
|---|---|---|
| Visual leave calendar | Basic | |
| One-click approvals | ||
| Automatic balance tracking | ||
| UK bank holidays | ||
| Custom leave policies | Limited | |
| Bradford Factor monitoring | ||
| TOIL tracking | Manual | |
| Return-to-work forms | ||
| Sickness absence records | Basic | |
| Company-wide leave blocks | ||
| Role-based access (4 levels) | ||
| Full audit trail | Limited | |
| Employee directory | ||
| All features in one plan | ||
| No credit card for trial |
Buyer checklist
Feature parity matters, but conversion usually comes down to speed, clarity, and whether the tool removes work for managers on day one.
| Decision point | LeaveManager | Planday |
|---|---|---|
| Start evaluating | Self-serve trial with every core feature switched on | Often needs plan comparison, demos, or sales follow-up |
| Prove fit quickly | Set up policies, invite staff, and approve real requests in days | Implementation depends on package, modules, and admin setup |
| Control total cost | One transparent monthly price for the people-ops toolkit | Pricing can depend on tiers, add-ons, seat minimums, or contracts |
| Keep managers moving | Leave, sickness, TOIL, rotas, clock-ins, expenses, and reviews in one workflow | Core leave tracking may sit beside wider HR workflows or paid modules |
Why LeaveManager
LeaveManager is built for UK teams that want the everyday people-ops work handled cleanly without turning leave management into a long software project.
Built for UK leave management - LeaveManager starts with absence policies, balances, approvals, and records.
Bradford Factor monitoring included - Planday focuses on scheduling rather than sickness scoring.
Return-to-work forms included - capture sickness follow-up in the same place as the absence record.
TOIL tracking without workarounds - record earned and used time off in lieu alongside annual leave.
Less setup for leave-only teams - avoid configuring rota and payroll workflows when you need holiday management.
One transparent plan - every LeaveManager feature is available during the free trial and after signup.
Trust signals
A comparison page should make the next step feel low-risk. LeaveManager keeps the buying checks visible before you start the trial.
14-day free trial with no payment card required
No fixed-term contract, minimum-seat lock-in, or module hunt
Privacy information, role-based access, and data export links are available before rollout
Stripe-hosted checkout when you decide to subscribe
Trial plan
Use the free trial to test the workflows that decide whether a comparison turns into a rollout.
Day 1
Add company details, policies, employees, managers, and public holidays before inviting the wider team.
Day 3
Ask one manager to approve holiday, sickness, TOIL, and restricted-date examples in the shared calendar.
Day 7
Review audit history, access levels, exports, billing terms, and whether the process is clear enough to roll out.
Yes. LeaveManager is a strong alternative to Planday 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.
LeaveManager costs £8/user/mo with all core features included. Planday pricing is listed here as From £3/user/mo, based on the comparison information available at the time of writing.
Yes. Most small teams can set up LeaveManager 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. LeaveManager 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 LeaveManager compares to other leave management software for UK teams.