Managing An Employee Leave of Absence

by Bash Sarmiento

One of life’s many inevitables is employee leaves of absence. Many companies provide several types of leaves to their employees, whether mandated by law or not. However, an employee may require extra time off in addition to their standard paid leave for a variety of reasons. It could be a medical issue that necessitates extended treatment, the death of a loved one, or extended parental leave. 

Unlike mandated paid leaves used for short-term absences such as personal days or vacations, an LOA is used for long-term absences that exceed the employee’s allotted personal time off (PTO).

When LOAs are requested in emergency and unavoidable situations, they must be processed and approved by the manager and HR team on short notice.

Here are five ways you can efficiently manage an employee’s leave of absence. 

1. Discuss in person

Schedule a one-on-one meeting with your employee. Doing this will avoid tension and provide an open environment for communication. 

In the meeting, you can discuss company policies regarding LOAs, backup plans to cover the workloads, and other possible work arrangements available for the employee. 

After the 1:1 meeting, be sure to send a follow-up email to confirm the details of the employee’s leave; this ensures both of you are on the same page.

2. Ask for a written notice

Like any other legally binding document, it is crucial to have your employee’s LOA request in writing. Ask them to make it as detailed and transparent as possible. Written notice ensures that all of the terms of the LOA are documented. 

The request should include the type of leave the employee needs, the length of time they will be away from work with a specific date of return, and their genuine reason for forwarding the leave request.

3. Send notice to necessary people

When an employee’s LOA gets approved, as a manager, you must notify the team of the employee to manage the affected workload accordingly. 

In a team-oriented work setting, employee absences impact productivity, performance, and ultimately, revenue. So, it is critical for team members to discuss all planned leaves of their colleagues and plan their own leaves and vacations accordingly.

The Human Resources team should also be notified and have a copy of the employee’s LOA request to make necessary payroll adjustments if there are any.

4. Offer alternative work arrangements

You can always work with your employee for an agreeable LOA plan. Perhaps you can engineer a plan where they can temporarily work remotely at home while recovering from an operation or taking care of a sick family member. 

Have a variety of alternatives in mind to work with your employee if they are open to considering other work arrangements. 

5. Arrange substitutes if needed

As a manager, it is your utmost priority to ensure that the work tasks are not jeopardized when the employee is away from work. The impact on each worker may be minimal if the work is distributed amongst a large number of employees. But when there are not enough individuals to cover the workload of an absent employee, or when the responsibilities are particularly complex, the extra labor can rapidly become a struggle. This can result in a loss in employee engagement and morale, a drop in the quality of work completed, and higher costs for the organization, such as overtime hours. 

You should be able to outsource a temporary replacement or a freelance contractor if needed, which can be done on-site or remotely. 

The bottom line is, at some point, an employee may need to have extended time off. However, you cannot have an empty seat in your office for months at a time. Not only will it disrupt the team dynamics, but it will also affect company revenue. The key is to offer more flexibility regarding time off, it can help both your employees and your company. All it needs is a little finesse and preparation as a manager.

About the author
Bash Sarmiento is a writer and an educator from Manila. He writes laconic pieces in the education, lifestyle and health realms. His academic background and extensive experience in teaching, textbook evaluation, business management and traveling are translated in his works.