Introduction
When an employee takes temporary leave, you may need to pause their equity vesting. If their working hours change — for example, they move from full-time to part-time — you may instead want to adjust the rate at which their equity vests.
Ledgy provides two ways to manage these changes:
Vesting pauses stop time-based vesting during a defined period and move affected vesting dates when the pause ends.
FTE adjustments (Beta) slow down or speed up vesting to reflect a change in working hours.
This article explains how to use both features.
Who can make these changes: You need to be an account admin to add or edit vesting pauses and FTE adjustments on employee grants.
What is a vesting pause?
A vesting pause temporarily stops time-based vesting on a grant. No additional equity vests during the pause. When the pause ends, affected vesting dates move to account for the paused period.
Vesting pauses are available for both Simple vesting and Tranche builder vesting. You can also use them with Custom vesting.
Important: The start and end dates are both included in the pause. Enter the first and last day on which vesting should be paused. Vesting resumes on the following day.
How vesting pauses affect a schedule
Affected time-based vesting dates move by the length of the pause.
Dates that vested before the pause do not change.
Multiple pauses apply in date order and their effects are cumulative.
First-day or last-day-of-month settings remain aligned for eligible Tranche builder period tranches after Ledgy adjusts the date.
Performance-only tranches do not move because a vesting pause only affects time-based vesting.
Time and performance tranches keep their performance condition unchanged; only the time-based part is adjusted.
For Tranche builder grants, Ledgy applies the pause schedule at grant level. The same pause periods are considered for every tranche. You cannot configure different pause periods for individual tranches.
If an adjusted vesting date is affected by a later pause, Ledgy also applies that later pause.
For more information about creating and managing tranches, see How to use Tranche builder vesting.
How to add a vesting pause to a grant
Step 1: Go to the grant
Go to Equity Plans > Grants in your Ledgy dashboard.
Step 2: Open the grant
Find the employee, open their grants, click the three-dot menu next to the relevant grant and select Edit.
Step 3: Open the Vesting section
Scroll to the Vesting section in the Edit grant window. If the grant uses Tranche builder, you will see its tranches in the builder.
Step 4: Add a pause period
Click Add pause period. Enter:
Start date — The first day on which vesting should be paused.
End date — The last day on which vesting should be paused.
Both dates are required. Pause periods cannot overlap.
If you do not yet know the employee's exact return date, enter an approximate end date. You can edit it later when the return date is confirmed.
Important: If a pause begins before the grant's vesting start date, Ledgy ignores the days before vesting starts. Only the part of the pause on or after the vesting start date can delay vesting.
Step 5: Review the adjusted vesting dates
For a Tranche builder grant, any affected time-based tranche shows a Pause adjusted label. Ledgy displays the original vesting date and the adjusted date so you can review the change before saving.
Step 6: Save the grant
Click Save to apply the vesting pause.
How to add multiple pause periods
You can add more than one pause when an employee has separate periods of leave.
Click Add period.
Enter the start and end dates for the additional pause.
Check that the pause periods do not overlap.
Review the adjusted vesting dates and click Save.
Example: An employee takes four months of parental leave, returns to work and later takes two months of medical leave. Add these as two separate pause periods on the grant.
How to bulk edit vesting pauses
If bulk vesting-pause editing is available for your company, you can add or update pause periods across several grants from the Transactions page.
Go to Ownership > Transactions.
Click Edit vesting pauses.
Click Download vesting pause template.
Add or update the Pause start and Pause end dates in the downloaded file. Do not change its headers or transaction IDs.
Upload the completed file.
Review the validation feedback and click Import.
The downloaded file includes eligible Simple, Custom and Tranche builder grants. To add multiple pauses to one grant, use a separate row for each pause and keep the same transaction ID.
Important: The bulk editor can add or edit pause dates, but it cannot delete a pause. To delete a pause, edit the individual grant and use the remove control beside that pause period. Rows with no pause dates are ignored.
What stakeholders see during a vesting pause
Stakeholders can see a Paused status and the pause period in the grant's vesting timeline. Their time-based vesting dates reflect the pause.
A pause does not remove equity that vested before the pause. Stakeholders can still exercise, settle or sell already vested quantities, subject to the normal plan, trading and company restrictions.
Adjusting vesting for part-time changes (FTE adjustments) — BETA
If an employee changes their working hours — for example, moving from full-time to part-time or vice versa — you can adjust their vesting rate using FTE adjustments. FTE stands for Full-Time Equivalent, a standard measure of working hours where 100% represents a full-time role.
Note: This feature is currently in Beta. If you don't see it in your account, please contact Ledgy support to have it enabled.
What is an FTE adjustment?
An FTE adjustment changes the rate at which an employee's equity vests based on their working hours.
How it affects vesting:
The vesting schedule is extended proportionally based on the reduced FTE percentage
Equity continues to vest during the adjustment period, but at a slower rate
When an employee returns to full-time, the vesting rate returns to normal
The total vesting duration increases to account for the slower vesting periods
Example: An employee has a 4-year (48-month) vesting schedule and reduces their working hours to 50% FTE for 4 months. During those 4 months, they vest at half the normal rate, so the total vesting period extends by approximately 4 months — from 48 months to about 52 months.
FTE adjustments vs. vesting pauses:
Use a vesting pause when an employee is on leave and vesting should stop completely (e.g., parental leave, sabbatical, unpaid leave)
Use an FTE adjustment when an employee is still working but at reduced hours and vesting should continue at a proportional rate (e.g., moving from full-time to part-time)
How to add an FTE adjustment
Step 1: Navigate to the grant
Go to Equity Plans > Grants in your Ledgy dashboard.
Step 2: Find and open the grant
Use the search bar to find the employee whose grant you want to adjust. Click on their name to see their grants, then click the three dots on the right side of the grant and select Edit.
Step 3: Access the vesting section
In the Edit modal, scroll to the Vesting section.
Step 4: Add an FTE adjustment
Click the “Add FTE adjustment” button. This button appears below the vesting pause section.
Step 5: Enter the adjustment details
For each FTE adjustment, enter:
Date — The date when the employee's working hours change (e.g., the first day they start part-time)
FTE % — The employee's new working hours as a percentage of full-time (minimum 10%, maximum 100%)
Step 6: Save the grant
Click Save to apply the FTE adjustment to the grant.
Adding multiple FTE adjustments
You can add more than one FTE adjustment to track multiple changes in working hours over time. Click the “Add adjustment” button to add additional rows.
Example use case: An employee reduces their hours to 50% FTE on 1 February 2026, then increases back to 80% FTE on 1 August 2026, and returns to 100% FTE on 1 January 2027. You would add three FTE adjustments:
1 February 2026 — 50%
1 August 2026 — 80%
1 January 2027 — 100%
Things to keep in mind
FTE adjustments and vesting pauses can be used on the same grant. During a vesting pause, no equity vests regardless of the FTE percentage.
The minimum FTE percentage allowed is 10%.
FTE adjustments are automatically sorted by date when you save the grant.
To remove an FTE adjustment, click the delete icon next to the adjustment row.
FAQs
Can I add vesting pauses to a Tranche builder grant?
Yes. Add the pause at grant level. Ledgy applies it to the time-based part of every relevant tranche in that grant.
Can I set a different pause for each tranche?
No. Vesting pauses are configured at grant level, not per tranche.
Do vesting pauses affect performance conditions?
No. A performance-only tranche is not delayed. For a tranche with both time and performance requirements, the pause only adjusts the time-based requirement.
Can I add more than one pause?
Yes. Add each period separately. The periods cannot overlap.
What if I do not know the employee's return date?
Enter an approximate end date and update it later when the return date is confirmed.
Can I add a pause to a vesting preset or plan default?
No. Vesting pauses are grant-specific, so add them when you create or edit an individual grant.
Where can I learn more about Tranche builder?
See How to use Tranche builder vesting for tranche types, allocation, ordering, previews, imports and where tranche data appears in Ledgy.