How long for leave to be authorised?

[User11120]

I'm a social worker in an adults team with around 20 other social workers. I've just joined a new LA in December. I've applied to book summer annual leave in July on the system and got an error message. Queried it with my supervisor and she said we can't put requests in using the system until the next financial year (April). She then told me she would request a colleague sort a "summer wish list". No list has appeared and I don't know the colleague who is supposed to do this.
I just feel like my request has disappeared now and I'm in limbo neither approved nor not approved. I don't know when I will get an answer, how long a summer wish list will take, responses from all the team given many people might not have considered their plans. How long to then authorise. Meanwhile I need to co-ordinate with my partner annual leave booking, flights and hotels and costs fluctuating.
How should I handle this? I want to push to get this authorised (or decline so I can sort other dates)! I don't want to have to wait months to sort! Is this normal/reasomable?

Sounds wrong.
Can't reasonably be expected to not book leave until April.
Can't you ask colleaguesvwho have worked there for a while ?
Isn't there a process for booking Annual Leave in place?

I work in a very similar job to yours (TM in childrens) our HR system is the same. However as a team we just sort leave ourselves and then add it to the diary, and will put it into the system come April. I'd expect it to be raised at the next team meeting (assuming monthly), asking everyone to submit any burning requests for the summer holiday period within 2 weeks from then, and then go from there. This does depend on 'live knowledge' of the team - our team for instance hasn't had a huge number of school age parents until now so we've o ly really needed to formally co-ordinate christmas, summer has been first come first served, but we may need to change this as the team is changing slightly.

Our system (I am retired now from an LA) was the same. The system can't log it until the new leave year starts, but our managers could authorise it in advance and kept a note so they didn't end up with too many people off at the same time. So yes, it is normal as a system but no it isn't (in my experience) usual that you don't get a decision.

Thanks all, a colleague has shared with me a spreadsheet for 2025 leave where I can see lots of people have added their leave throughout the summer. I've added my dates and there are no clashes and have emailed my manager to let know and advised I want to book flights. However, radio silence from my manager. I feel like she is reluctant to authorise until April!

Keep chasing for your own sanity. My Manager got back to me 5 weeks later berating me for something that I should done pre Xmas which I didn’t know over a forced day during the festive period. The irony is if they’d replied soonest it could have come to light sooner instead when I finally get an email it has made me cry.