{"id":21664,"date":"2020-06-26T10:12:14","date_gmt":"2020-06-26T08:12:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/blog\/?p=21664"},"modified":"2025-03-13T11:22:22","modified_gmt":"2025-03-13T09:22:22","slug":"leave-of-absence-policy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/blog\/leave-of-absence-policy\/","title":{"rendered":"Leave of Absence Policy: Guide to Absence Types"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Develop a clear leave of absence policy is a key responsibility of HR managers. A leave<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> policy clearly outlines the various types of leave offered by a company. This includes time off for sickness, medical appointments, and statutory or contractual holiday entitlements.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As an employer, it is important to create a clearly detailed policy and communicate it to all staff. It must take into account all types of leave of absence and comply with all federal and state requirements.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In this article, we will outline all leave of absence types and explain when employees are entitled to a paid leave of absence. We will also look at how to write a leave of absence policy letter and what you need to include in your vacation request form.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>TABLE OF CONTENTS<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"#Leave\">Employee Leave of Absence<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#Laws\">Leave of Absence Laws<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#PTO\">PTO requests<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#Leavetypes\">Leave of Absence Types<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#best\">Leave of Absence Policies: Best Practices<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#Tracking\">Tracking Employee Absences<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#Tracker\">Absence Tracker<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#Request\">Vacation Request Form<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/holidays-leaves-software\">Transform your business with Absence Management Software \u2705<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/request-demo\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-149948 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/23164319\/timeoff-banner-1024x484.png\" alt=\"Time off management software Factorial\" width=\"1024\" height=\"484\" srcset=\"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/23164319\/timeoff-banner-1024x484.png 1024w, https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/23164319\/timeoff-banner-300x142.png 300w, https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/23164319\/timeoff-banner-768x363.png 768w, https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/23164319\/timeoff-banner-1536x726.png 1536w, https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/23164319\/timeoff-banner.png 1921w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h2><strong><a name=\"Leave\"><\/a>Employee Leave of Absence Meaning<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What is a leave of absence? A leave of absence (LOA) is an employee request for time away from work. It can be mandatory, governed by federal and state laws, or voluntary, governed by a company\u2019s internal policies. LOAs can be paid or unpaid, and they can be requested for a variety of reasons:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Personal or family illness or mental health issues<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Medical appointments<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Vacation<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Statutory or contractual holiday entitlements\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/blog\/california-bereavement-leave\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bereavement leave<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jury duty<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pregnancy<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Military service<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Voting<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Personal reasons<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"flex max-w-full flex-col flex-grow\">\n<div class=\"min-h-8 text-message relative flex w-full flex-col items-end gap-2 whitespace-normal break-words text-start [.text-message+&amp;]:mt-5\" dir=\"auto\" data-message-author-role=\"assistant\" data-message-id=\"50c95f8d-10e4-46c3-9e63-43d676f5f7f6\" data-message-model-slug=\"gpt-4o\">\n<div class=\"flex w-full flex-col gap-1 empty:hidden first:pt-[3px]\">\n<div class=\"markdown prose w-full break-words dark:prose-invert light\">\n<p data-start=\"0\" data-end=\"381\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\">A leave of absence policy clearly establishes guidelines and procedures for managing employee absences. It specifies the types of leave employees are entitled to, whether time off is accrued or assigned, and the applicable limits and requirements. It also explains how employees can request leave, when they will receive pay for absences, and how time off is monitored and tracked.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2><strong><a name=\"Laws\"><\/a>Leave of Absence Laws\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are various laws that you must take into account when you write your absence policy. This will ensure compliance and a federal and state level of the leave of absence laws, and help you avoid any potential employee disputes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dol.gov\/agencies\/whd\/fmla\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Family and Medical Leave Act<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (FMLA): most employers with over 50 employees must provide long-term unpaid sick leave to eligible employees (up to 12 weeks off in a 12 month period). FMLA leave can be requested for childbirth or adoption, serious health conditions, or caring for a family member.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ada.gov\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Americans with Disabilities Act<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (ADA): prohibits discrimination against employees with physial or mental disabilities. Employees can request ADA leave for medical absences related to their disabilities.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dol.gov\/general\/topic\/workcomp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Workers\u2019 compensation laws<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Regulations relating to wages, hours, and overtime, such as The <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dol.gov\/agencies\/whd\/flsa\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fair Labor Standards Act<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (FLSA).\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong><a name=\"PTO\"><\/a>PTO Requests<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Paid Time Off (PTO) refers to an absence where an employee is still paid by the company. This can include sickness, vacation time, and personal time off. <a href=\"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/blog\/paid-time-off-usa\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Paid time off<\/a> can be mandatory or offered at the discretion of the company. Many companies offer a generous PTO policy to promote a good work-life balance and encourage employee wellness and loyalty.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A PTO request could be one of the following:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Vacation leave<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. As a company you must decide how many days of paid vacation you will offer, and whether they will be assigned at the start of the year, or accrued throughout the year. Most employers offer full time employees at least 2 weeks (10 days) of paid vacation.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Family and medical leave<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Eligible employees are entitled to time off under the FMLA. Employees may also be eligible for injury or illness-related leave under the ADA.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many companies also include <\/span><b>personal time off<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in their PTO policy, although there is no legal requirement to do so.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Employees should use a leave of absence letter to request paid time off. The serves as a written record of the notice they are giving.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong><a name=\"Leavetypes\"><\/a>Leave of Absence Types\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Aside from the PTO requests we have just seen, employees can also request the following types of leave of absence:<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Jury duty leave<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although there is no federal law regulating this, most states have laws prohibiting employers from penalizing employees for serving on a jury and ensuring job restoration (returning to the same duties). Eight states have also made it mandatory for employees to be paid for jury duty leave: Alabama, Colorado, Connecticut, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New York, and Tennessee.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Voting leave<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There is no federal right to take time off work to vote, but most states have laws requiring employers to provide employees some voting leave benefits. These benefits could be paid or unpaid.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Bereavement leave<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Only one state, Oregon, has passed a law requiring employers to provide bereavement leave. However, many employers choose to include compassionate leave in their paid or unpaid leave policies.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Voluntary leave<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There is no federal or state requirement to offer paid or unpaid voluntary leave. Employers decide whether to grant a request for voluntary leave according to their internal policies and procedures. Many companies will offer a certain number of days for personal reasons or events such as moving house, although this is usually unpaid.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Parental leave<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/blog\/parental-leave\/\">Parental leave<\/a> is important for the mental and physical wellbeing of new parents and their babies. It is an essential time for new mothers to get accustomed to becoming a parent and recover from the physical demand of childbirth. Additionally, it is an opportunity for the father to bond with the baby, which is incredibly important for both the baby and father.<\/p>\n<p>In the US there is no singular set federally mandated paid leave. Americans may be entitled to paid leave through different state or federal laws. For example, paternal leave is required by law in<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> California, New Jersey, and Rhode Island.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Annual Leave<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/blog\/employee-annual-leave\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Annual Leave<\/a> is defined as paid time off work granted to employees for them to use in any way they want. This time off is normally paid at the same rate as if they would be working normally.<\/p>\n<p>In the US, there is no federal or state statutory minimum paid holiday, or even paid public holiday. Paid leave is completely dependent on the employer. Some companies do not offer paid holidays, whilst others do.<\/p>\n<p>On average, in the US, employees are entitled to 10 days off after having worked for a company for 1 year, then after having worked for 5 years or more they are entitled to 14 days off, after 10 years are entitled to 17 days of holiday, and after 20 years receive 20 days off. This is a stark contrast to the annual leave which Europeans receive.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/request-demo\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-152568 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/24132042\/American-English-PTO-1024x484.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"484\" srcset=\"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/24132042\/American-English-PTO-1024x484.png 1024w, https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/24132042\/American-English-PTO-300x142.png 300w, https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/24132042\/American-English-PTO-768x363.png 768w, https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/24132042\/American-English-PTO-1536x726.png 1536w, https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/24132042\/American-English-PTO.png 1921w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h2><strong><a name=\"best\"><\/a>Leave of Absence Policies: Best Practices<\/strong><\/h2>\n<h3><strong>Prioritize DE&amp;I and Inclusive Holidays<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>While most companies recognize <a href=\"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/blog\/holiday-calendar\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">federal holidays<\/a> such as Christmas Day and Labor Day and may not cater to the needs of people from other countries or those that belong to different religions.<\/p>\n<p>Due to this, some companies have begun offering <a href=\"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/blog\/floating-holiday\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">floating holidays<\/a>. This means that employees can swap their time off from the holidays they don&#8217;t celebrate for the holidays that they do. This concept of a floating holiday caters to all needs in the workforce and is a lot more inclusive.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Remember that a Generous Time Off Policy Has a Great ROI<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Generous company time policies pay off in benefits to employee health, well-being, and productivity. This will therefore contribute to overall employee satisfaction and a lower turnover rate, which saves the company money in the long run due to not having to spend money during the hiring and onboarding process.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Consider Employee Furlough in Difficult Times<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/blog\/employee-furlough-employer-guide\/\">Furlough<\/a> is defined as temporary paid time off work. It is a scheme put in place to offer job protection to workers during a crisis such as a recession or global pandemic. Normally furlough occurs without pay. Although workers do still keep their employment benefits such as health insurance. Ultimately, companies tend to put employees into furlough to save on the costs of employing. In its essence, it is a scheme put in place to avoid mass unemployment. Normally with furlough, employers provide their employees with a date in which they can come back to work.<\/p>\n<p>In some cases, employees on furlough are paid. However, legally they don&#8217;t have to get paid. Although, historically speaking they have received payments for their lost time. During the coronavirus, for example, furloughed employees received payments during their time off work.<\/p>\n<h2><strong><a name=\"Tracking\"><\/a>Tracking Employee Absences<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Time tracking involves monitoring the hours that each employee has worked, taking into account arrival and departure times, breaks, overtime, and absences, for whatever reason. This includes all forms of paid and unpaid leave. The data you collect will help your company analyze and reduce absenteeism and boost productivity.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You should detail how you track employee absences in your policy. You could also explain what metrics and indicators you use to measure absences, such as the Bradford Factor.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong><a name=\"Tracker\"><\/a>Employee Absence Tracker\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An effective absence tracking system can help you track employee absences and ensure compliance with all regulations and internal policies. Implementing the right <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/time-attendance-signing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">absence management software<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in your company can:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Simplify your processes<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Decrease absences<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Minimize errors\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Track absences on a calendar<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Recognize the various types of absence<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Support return to work interviews<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Provide HR staff with easy access to data<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Reduce the cost of managing absences\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Give employees access to their sick days and leave entitlements<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Identify absence trends<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Help you calculate and reduce the true cost of absences in your company.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span id=\"hs-cta-wrapper-5b34063f-4e5c-420a-8bc8-af7620e5af29\" class=\"hs-cta-wrapper\"><span id=\"hs-cta-5b34063f-4e5c-420a-8bc8-af7620e5af29\" class=\"hs-cta-node hs-cta-5b34063f-4e5c-420a-8bc8-af7620e5af29\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cta-redirect.hubspot.com\/cta\/redirect\/4960096\/5b34063f-4e5c-420a-8bc8-af7620e5af29\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" id=\"hs-cta-img-5b34063f-4e5c-420a-8bc8-af7620e5af29\" class=\"hs-cta-img aligncenter\" style=\"border-width: 0px;\" src=\"https:\/\/no-cache.hubspot.com\/cta\/default\/4960096\/5b34063f-4e5c-420a-8bc8-af7620e5af29.png\" alt=\"New call-to-action\" width=\"900\" height=\"308\" \/><\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong><a name=\"Request Form\"><\/a>Employee Vacation Request Form<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The final thing to consider is an employee vacation request form. This should be specific to your business, but there are a couple of general guidelines that will help you create an effective vacation request form:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As employees to complete the request form and return it to their manager for approval within an established notice period.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You should request the start and end date of the period of leave on the form.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Keep a copy of all written documentation in case of any future disputes.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Update the form and your general leave of absence policy on a regular basis to ensure state and federal compliance.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You could also stream your vacation request process and manage your employee vacation request form with Factorial\u2019s holiday software through the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/document-management\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">document management<\/span><\/a> feature.<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/request-demo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Manage Employee Leave of Absences Easily with Factorial<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Develop a clear leave of absence policy is a key responsibility of HR managers. A leave policy clearly outlines the various types of leave offered by a company. This includes time off for sickness, medical appointments, and statutory or contractual holiday entitlements. As an employer, it is important to create a clearly detailed policy and<a href=\"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/blog\/leave-of-absence-policy\/\" class=\"read-more\"> [&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":80,"featured_media":47983,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21664","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-human-resources"],"acf":{"topics":"time-off"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v21.5 (Yoast SEO v21.9.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Leave of Absence Policy: Types &amp; Legal Considerations - Factorial<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"HR tips for your leave of absence policy, including leave of absence types, PTO requests, absence tracking, and how to write a LOA policy.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/blog\/leave-of-absence-policy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Leave of Absence Policy: Guide to Absence Types\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"HR tips for your leave of absence policy, including leave of absence types, PTO requests, absence tracking, and how to write a LOA policy.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/blog\/leave-of-absence-policy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Factorial\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/people\/Factorial\/100064908455810\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-06-26T08:12:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-03-13T09:22:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/12071755\/leave-of-absence-policy.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"795\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"450\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Cat Symonds\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@factorialapp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@factorialapp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Cat Symonds\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"9 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/blog\/leave-of-absence-policy\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/blog\/leave-of-absence-policy\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Cat Symonds\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/39a0e312e3aae9ac2b6461196e8b1620\"},\"headline\":\"Leave of Absence Policy: Guide to Absence Types\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-06-26T08:12:14+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-03-13T09:22:22+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/blog\/leave-of-absence-policy\/\"},\"wordCount\":1707,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Tips\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/blog\/leave-of-absence-policy\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/blog\/leave-of-absence-policy\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/blog\/leave-of-absence-policy\/\",\"name\":\"Leave of Absence Policy: Types & Legal Considerations - Factorial\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2020-06-26T08:12:14+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-03-13T09:22:22+00:00\",\"description\":\"HR tips for your leave of absence policy, including leave of absence types, PTO requests, absence tracking, and how to write a LOA policy.\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/blog\/leave-of-absence-policy\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Factorial\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"All-in-one business management software - Factorial\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/18155144\/factorial-logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/18155144\/factorial-logo.png\",\"width\":946,\"height\":880,\"caption\":\"All-in-one business management software - Factorial\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/people\/Factorial\/100064908455810\/\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/factorialapp\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/factorialhr\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@factorialmedia\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/factorial\/#\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/39a0e312e3aae9ac2b6461196e8b1620\",\"name\":\"Cat Symonds\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b492f0f89686841665e1c7b5f5b67998?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b492f0f89686841665e1c7b5f5b67998?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Cat Symonds\"},\"description\":\"Cat Symonds is a freelance writer, editor, and translator. Originally from Wales, she studied Spanish and French at the University of Swansea before moving to Barcelona where she lived and worked for 12 years. She has since relocated back to Wales where she continues to build her business, working with clients in Spain and the UK.\u00a0 Cat is the founder of\u00a0The Content CAT: Content And Translation, providing content development and translation services to her clients. She specializes in corporate blogs, articles of interest, ghostwriting, and translation (SP\/FR\/CA into EN), collaborating with a range of companies from a variety of business sectors. She also offers services to a number of NGOs including Oxfam Interm\u00f3n, UNICEF, and Corporate Excellence - Centre for Reputation Leadership.\u00a0 For more information or to contact Cat visit her\u00a0website\u00a0(thecontentcat.com) or send her a message through\u00a0LinkedIn.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.thecontentcat.com\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/catsymonds\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/blog\/author\/cat-symonds\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Leave of Absence Policy: Types & Legal Considerations - Factorial","description":"HR tips for your leave of absence policy, including leave of absence types, PTO requests, absence tracking, and how to write a LOA policy.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/blog\/leave-of-absence-policy\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Leave of Absence Policy: Guide to Absence Types","og_description":"HR tips for your leave of absence policy, including leave of absence types, PTO requests, absence tracking, and how to write a LOA policy.","og_url":"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/blog\/leave-of-absence-policy\/","og_site_name":"Factorial","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/people\/Factorial\/100064908455810\/","article_published_time":"2020-06-26T08:12:14+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-03-13T09:22:22+00:00","og_image":[{"width":795,"height":450,"url":"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/12071755\/leave-of-absence-policy.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Cat Symonds","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@factorialapp","twitter_site":"@factorialapp","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Cat Symonds","Est. reading time":"9 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/blog\/leave-of-absence-policy\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/blog\/leave-of-absence-policy\/"},"author":{"name":"Cat Symonds","@id":"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/39a0e312e3aae9ac2b6461196e8b1620"},"headline":"Leave of Absence Policy: Guide to Absence Types","datePublished":"2020-06-26T08:12:14+00:00","dateModified":"2025-03-13T09:22:22+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/blog\/leave-of-absence-policy\/"},"wordCount":1707,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/blog\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Tips"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/blog\/leave-of-absence-policy\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/blog\/leave-of-absence-policy\/","url":"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/blog\/leave-of-absence-policy\/","name":"Leave of Absence Policy: Types & Legal Considerations - Factorial","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2020-06-26T08:12:14+00:00","dateModified":"2025-03-13T09:22:22+00:00","description":"HR tips for your leave of absence policy, including leave of absence types, PTO requests, absence tracking, and how to write a LOA policy.","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/blog\/leave-of-absence-policy\/"]}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/blog\/","name":"Factorial","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"All-in-one business management software - Factorial","url":"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/18155144\/factorial-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/18155144\/factorial-logo.png","width":946,"height":880,"caption":"All-in-one business management software - Factorial"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/people\/Factorial\/100064908455810\/","https:\/\/twitter.com\/factorialapp","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/factorialhr","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@factorialmedia","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/factorial\/#"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/39a0e312e3aae9ac2b6461196e8b1620","name":"Cat Symonds","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b492f0f89686841665e1c7b5f5b67998?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b492f0f89686841665e1c7b5f5b67998?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"Cat Symonds"},"description":"Cat Symonds is a freelance writer, editor, and translator. Originally from Wales, she studied Spanish and French at the University of Swansea before moving to Barcelona where she lived and worked for 12 years. She has since relocated back to Wales where she continues to build her business, working with clients in Spain and the UK.\u00a0 Cat is the founder of\u00a0The Content CAT: Content And Translation, providing content development and translation services to her clients. She specializes in corporate blogs, articles of interest, ghostwriting, and translation (SP\/FR\/CA into EN), collaborating with a range of companies from a variety of business sectors. She also offers services to a number of NGOs including Oxfam Interm\u00f3n, UNICEF, and Corporate Excellence - Centre for Reputation Leadership.\u00a0 For more information or to contact Cat visit her\u00a0website\u00a0(thecontentcat.com) or send her a message through\u00a0LinkedIn.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.thecontentcat.com\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/catsymonds\/"],"url":"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/blog\/author\/cat-symonds\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21664"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/80"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21664"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21664\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":153696,"href":"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21664\/revisions\/153696"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47983"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21664"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21664"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/factorialhr.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21664"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}