diff --git a/apps/employees/src/handlers/auth.rs b/apps/employees/src/handlers/auth.rs
index 6eef70c..f186832 100644
--- a/apps/employees/src/handlers/auth.rs
+++ b/apps/employees/src/handlers/auth.rs
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ pub fn router() -> Router<AppState> {
     Router::new()
         .route("/login",           post(login))
         .route("/logout",          post(logout))
+        .route("/refresh",         post(refresh))
         .route("/session",         get(session))
         .route("/forgot-password", post(forgot_password))
         .route("/reset-password",  post(reset_password))
@@ -122,6 +123,74 @@ async fn logout(
     (StatusCode::OK, [(SET_COOKIE, clear)], Json(serde_json::json!({ "message": "Logged out" })))
 }
 
+/// POST /api/admin/auth/refresh
+///
+/// Exchanges the HttpOnly refresh-token cookie for a new 15-minute access
+/// token, rotating the underlying session row (revoke old, store new).
+/// Called by the admin frontend on user activity to implement a sliding
+/// session window: active admins never see a 15-minute timeout, idle ones do.
+async fn refresh(
+    State(state): State<AppState>,
+    req: axum::http::Request<axum::body::Body>,
+) -> Result<impl IntoResponse, (StatusCode, Json<ErrorResponse>)> {
+    let cookie_header = req
+        .headers()
+        .get(axum::http::header::COOKIE)
+        .and_then(|v| v.to_str().ok())
+        .unwrap_or("");
+
+    let token = cookie_header
+        .split(';')
+        .map(str::trim)
+        .find_map(|p| p.strip_prefix("nxtgauge_admin_token="))
+        .ok_or_else(|| err(StatusCode::UNAUTHORIZED, "Refresh token missing", "REFRESH_TOKEN_INVALID"))?;
+
+    let session = EmployeeRepository::get_valid_session_by_token(&state.pool, token)
+        .await
+        .map_err(|e| err(StatusCode::INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR, &e.to_string(), "DB_ERROR"))?
+        .ok_or_else(|| err(StatusCode::UNAUTHORIZED, "Refresh token expired", "REFRESH_TOKEN_INVALID"))?;
+
+    let employee = EmployeeRepository::get_by_id(&state.pool, session.employee_id)
+        .await
+        .map_err(|_| err(StatusCode::UNAUTHORIZED, "Employee not found", "INVALID_CREDENTIALS"))?
+        .ok_or_else(|| err(StatusCode::UNAUTHORIZED, "Employee not found", "INVALID_CREDENTIALS"))?;
+
+    if employee.status != "ACTIVE" {
+        return Err(err(StatusCode::FORBIDDEN, "Account not active", "ACCOUNT_INACTIVE"));
+    }
+
+    // Rotate: revoke old session, issue a new one.
+    EmployeeRepository::revoke_session(&state.pool, session.id)
+        .await
+        .map_err(|e| err(StatusCode::INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR, &e.to_string(), "DB_ERROR"))?;
+
+    let jwt_secret = std::env::var("JWT_SECRET").expect("JWT_SECRET must be set");
+    let roles = vec![employee.role_code.clone()];
+
+    let tokens = generate_tokens(
+        employee.id.to_string(),
+        employee.email.clone(),
+        roles.clone(),
+        roles.first().cloned(),
+        &jwt_secret,
+    )
+    .map_err(|e| err(StatusCode::INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR, &e.to_string(), "TOKEN_ERROR"))?;
+
+    EmployeeRepository::store_session(&state.pool, employee.id, &tokens.refresh_token, chrono::Utc::now() + chrono::Duration::days(30))
+        .await
+        .map_err(|e| err(StatusCode::INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR, &e.to_string(), "DB_ERROR"))?;
+
+    let new_cookie = format!(
+        "nxtgauge_admin_token={}; HttpOnly; Secure; SameSite=Strict; Path=/; Max-Age=2592000",
+        tokens.refresh_token
+    );
+
+    Ok((StatusCode::OK, [(SET_COOKIE, new_cookie)], Json(serde_json::json!({
+        "access_token": tokens.access_token,
+        "expires_in":   900
+    }))))
+}
+
 async fn session(
     auth: AuthUser,
     _state: State<AppState>,
diff --git a/crates/db/src/models/employee.rs b/crates/db/src/models/employee.rs
index f831eeb..2cfa602 100644
--- a/crates/db/src/models/employee.rs
+++ b/crates/db/src/models/employee.rs
@@ -136,6 +136,15 @@ impl EmployeeRepository {
         Ok(())
     }
 
+    pub async fn get_by_id(pool: &PgPool, id: Uuid) -> Result<Option<Employee>, sqlx::Error> {
+        sqlx::query_as::<_, Employee>(
+            "SELECT id, first_name, last_name, email, phone, password_hash, employee_code, department_id, designation_id, role_code, status, joining_date, created_at, updated_at FROM employees WHERE id = $1"
+        )
+        .bind(id)
+        .fetch_optional(pool)
+        .await
+    }
+
     pub async fn get_by_email(pool: &PgPool, email: &str) -> Result<Option<Employee>, sqlx::Error> {
         sqlx::query_as::<_, Employee>(
             "SELECT id, first_name, last_name, email, phone, password_hash, employee_code, department_id, designation_id, role_code, status, joining_date, created_at, updated_at FROM employees WHERE email = $1"
@@ -180,6 +189,30 @@ impl EmployeeRepository {
         .await
     }
 
+    pub async fn get_valid_session_by_token(
+        pool: &PgPool,
+        token_hash: &str,
+    ) -> Result<Option<EmployeeSession>, sqlx::Error> {
+        sqlx::query_as::<_, EmployeeSession>(
+            r#"
+            SELECT id, employee_id, token_hash, expires_at, revoked, created_at
+            FROM employee_sessions
+            WHERE token_hash = $1 AND revoked = false AND expires_at > NOW()
+            "#
+        )
+        .bind(token_hash)
+        .fetch_optional(pool)
+        .await
+    }
+
+    pub async fn revoke_session(pool: &PgPool, session_id: Uuid) -> Result<(), sqlx::Error> {
+        sqlx::query("UPDATE employee_sessions SET revoked = true WHERE id = $1")
+            .bind(session_id)
+            .execute(pool)
+            .await?;
+        Ok(())
+    }
+
     pub async fn change_password(
         pool: &PgPool,
         id: Uuid,