When an employee disputes their leave balance, when an auditor asks for records, or when a regulatory body investigates a complaint, the answer is always in the audit trail. An audit trail is a chronological log of every action taken in the leave system — who did what, when, and what changed. Without it, leave disputes become “he said, she said” and compliance becomes a matter of trust rather than evidence.
Leave Balance records a complete audit trail for every leave-related action: requests, approvals, rejections, cancellations, balance changes, policy modifications, and administrative overrides. Every entry is timestamped, attributed to a user, and immutable.
Key Takeaways
- Leave Balance records every action in an immutable, timestamped audit log
- Audit trails are essential for GDPR compliance, Fair Work record-keeping, and dispute resolution
- You can filter and export audit logs for specific employees, date ranges, or action types
Why Audit Trails Matter for Leave Management
The Fair Work Act 2009 requires Australian employers to keep accurate records of leave taken and leave balances. The UK’s Working Time Regulations require records of annual leave and pay. GDPR requires documentation of how employee data is processed. In each case, the regulator expects a paper trail that proves compliance.
An audit trail provides:
- Regulatory compliance. When a regulator asks for evidence that an employee was paid correctly for leave taken, the audit trail shows the request, approval, the date it was processed, and the balance change.
- Dispute resolution. If an employee claims they requested leave on a specific date and it was never approved, the audit trail shows the actual request date, the approval status, and the person who processed it.
- Fraud prevention. If someone attempts to modify leave records or balances without authorisation, the audit trail records the change, the user who made it, and the timestamp. This discourages and detects unauthorised modifications.
- Internal accountability. The audit trail shows who approved which requests and when. If approvals are delayed or processed incorrectly, the trail provides evidence for process improvement.
What Leave Balance Records in the Audit Trail
Every significant action in Leave Balance generates an audit entry:
| Action | What Is Recorded |
|---|---|
| Leave request submitted | Employee, leave type, dates, reason (if provided), submission timestamp |
| Leave request approved | Approver, approval timestamp, any comments |
| Leave request rejected | Approver, rejection reason, rejection timestamp |
| Leave request cancelled | Who cancelled, cancellation reason, timestamp |
| Balance changed | Previous balance, new balance, reason for change, who made the change |
| Policy modified | What was changed, who changed it, previous and new values |
| Employee record modified | What was changed, who changed it, timestamp |
| User role changed | Previous role, new role, who changed it, timestamp |
| Import or bulk action | File name, number of records affected, who initiated it |
| Login/logout | User, timestamp, IP address, device |
Audit entries are immutable. Once recorded, they cannot be edited or deleted by any user, including administrators. This is essential for the audit trail to be credible during a regulatory review.
How to Access the Audit Trail
Viewing Audit Logs
Navigate to Settings > Audit Trail to view the full log. Use the filters to narrow the results:
- Date range: Filter by a specific time period
- Employee: View all actions related to a specific employee
- Action type: Filter by leave request, balance change, policy change, or user change
- User: View all actions performed by a specific administrator
Exporting Audit Logs
Click “Export” to download the audit trail as a CSV file. The export includes all filtered results and can be used for:
- Providing records to an auditor
- Including in a compliance report
- Providing evidence in a dispute resolution process
- Archiving for long-term record-keeping
Audit Log Retention
Leave Balance retains audit logs for the lifetime of your account. Logs are not deleted or overwritten, even when data is modified. Historical entries remain in the log with their original timestamps.
How to Use the Audit Trail During an Audit
Step 1: Identify the Scope
Determine what the auditor is asking for. Common requests include:
- All leave requests and approvals for a specific employee during a period
- All balance changes for a department during a year
- Evidence of policy compliance for a specific leave type
- Documentation of who has access to employee data
Step 2: Filter the Audit Log
Use the audit trail filters to narrow the results to the scope of the request. For example, filter by employee name, date range, and action type to find all leave-related actions for one employee in one year.
Step 3: Export the Results
Export the filtered results as a CSV file. This provides a clean, timestamped record that you can hand to the auditor directly.
Step 4: Add Context
If the audit trail shows a balance change or an administrative override, add a note explaining the context. For example: “Balance adjusted on 2026-03-15 due to corrected accrual calculation from 2025-26 period.”
Best Practices
- Review the audit trail monthly. Do not wait for an audit to look at the logs. Monthly reviews help you catch anomalies early — unauthorised changes, delayed approvals, or unusual patterns.
- Filter for balance changes specifically. Balance changes are the most sensitive audit entries. Review any manual balance changes to confirm they were authorised and correctly documented.
- Export and archive annually. At the end of each leave year, export the full audit trail and archive it. This provides a historical record even if your Leave Balance configuration changes in future years.
- Combine with payroll records. The audit trail shows leave actions; payroll records show payment. For a complete compliance picture, cross-reference the two to confirm that approved leave was correctly paid.
- Train managers on the audit trail. Managers should know that their approval and rejection actions are permanently recorded. This encourages consistent and timely decision-making.
FAQ
Can administrators delete audit log entries?
No. Audit log entries are immutable. No user, including administrators, can edit or delete entries. This is a design requirement to ensure the audit trail is credible during regulatory reviews.
How long are audit logs retained?
Audit logs are retained for the lifetime of your Leave Balance account. There is no automatic deletion or archival.
Can I see who logged in and out?
Yes. Login and logout events are recorded with the user’s name, timestamp, IP address, and device information. This provides a security audit trail alongside the leave-related audit trail.
Can I export audit logs for a specific employee?
Yes. Use the employee filter in the audit trail to view all actions related to one employee. Export the filtered results as a CSV file.
Does the audit trail cover API actions?
Yes. Actions performed through the API are recorded in the audit trail with the API key identifier. This ensures that automated integrations are subject to the same audit requirements as manual actions.
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