Purpose

• Many companies have developed personnel leave policies to provide clear direction on matters related to the types of leave employees will be granted, whether they will be paid while absent from work and under what conditions termination can result.
  
  

Types

• In the United States, various forms of leave are recognized on the federal, state and local levels. These include sick, jury duty, emergency, bereavement, maternity, organ donor and military leaves.
  
  

Notice

• A personnel leave policy helps employers cope with worker absences by requiring employees to schedule leaves in advance when possible, preferably with enough notice to allow time to secure a substitute worker.
  
  

Considerations

• Colleges, universities, the military and large and small corporations also use personnel leave policies, often based on federal regulations.
  
  

Federal Law

• Personnel leave policies must take into account federal laws such as the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Under FMLA, employers must allow leave without pay to employees who wants time off to care for a newborn or newly adopted child, or one recently taken into foster care placement in their home. Such leave must also be given if an employee needs to look after a severely ill relative or if she herself suffers from a severe health problem.