The Employee Leave Management System (ELMS) is a web-based application designed to automate the process of applying for, approving, and tracking employee leave within an organization. Traditional leave management relying on paper forms, spreadsheets, or manual email approval is time-consuming, error-prone, and difficult to audit. This system is developed using Python, integrating a relational database for leave records, a web framework for the application logic, and role-based access control to separate employee, manager, and administrator functions. The system allows employees to submit leave requests, view leave balances, and track approval status in real time, while managers can review, approve, or reject requests through a centralized dashboard.

Unlike manual or spreadsheet-based approaches, the proposed system provides a structured and rule-based workflow that automatically validates leave balances, prevents overlapping requests, and maintains an auditable history of all transactions. The integration of automated notifications and a centralized database ensures transparency and reduces administrative overhead, making the system suitable for deployment in small and medium-sized organizations without requiring specialized infrastructure.

Experimental evaluation demonstrates that the system reduces leave-processing turnaround time compared to manual workflows, while maintaining accurate and consistent leave records. The proposed solution can be effectively used in corporate offices, educational institutions, healthcare organizations, and government departments. This work also lays a foundation for future enhancements such as integration with payroll systems, predictive leave analytics, and mobile application support.