Personal Leave of Absence Policy

Purpose

To allow employees to request unpaid time off for personal reasons that don't fall under FMLA, disability, military, or another legally protected or company-paid leave — while making clear that, unlike those protected leaves, a personal leave is granted at the Company's discretion and does not guarantee the employee's job will be held open.

Eligibility and how this differs from other leave

• Personal Leave is a discretionary benefit, evaluated case by case — it is not an entitlement, and approval depends on business needs at the time of the request.
• It is intended for personal matters that don't otherwise qualify for a protected or paid leave (for example, extended personal travel, relocating a household, caring for a family member who doesn't meet the "serious health condition" standard, or other personal circumstances).
• Not a substitute for other leave types. An employee whose situation qualifies for FMLA, a disability leave, military leave, or another protected/paid leave should use that leave type first; Personal Leave is for situations those other policies don't cover.
• Not available to pursue a new job, start a business, or work for another employer. Leave for educational purposes is generally not granted unless the coursework is directly necessary to the employee's current position and is separately approved by a senior HR leader.

Duration

• Personal Leave may be granted for up to 13 weeks.
• With manager and HR approval, it may be extended for an additional 13 weeks.
• Maximum: 26 weeks within any 24-month period.
• If the employee has also taken FMLA leave within the same 24-month period, the Personal Leave maximum is reduced by the amount of FMLA leave already used, so the two do not simply stack on top of each other.

Adjust the duration figures above to match your organization's actual practice — some employers offer a shorter standard period (for example, 30 or 60 days) with extensions considered individually.

Approval factors

Approval is not automatic. Factors considered include:

• Current staffing and business needs, and whether the role can reasonably be covered or temporarily backfilled.
• The length of leave requested.
• The employee's stated reason (genuine personal hardship is given significant weight).
• Performance history, tenure, attendance record, and any previous leaves already taken.

A denial should be based on the specific, current situation (for example, a critical staffing gap) rather than treated as a blanket rule, and the reason for any denial should be documented.

Job protection — no guarantee of reinstatement

This is the key difference from FMLA and other protected leaves: Personal Leave does not guarantee that the employee's job, or an equivalent job, will be available at the end of the leave.

• Whenever possible, the Company will reinstate the employee to their former position, or a comparable one, at the end of the leave.
• If no comparable position is available, the employment relationship may end. The employee must be told this is a possibility at the time the leave is requested and approved — not as a surprise at the end of the leave.
• If the employee does not return at the end of the approved leave, for reasons other than a verified medical inability to return, this is treated as a voluntary resignation effective the date the leave began.
• An employee who accepts other employment during the leave may be subject to immediate termination.

Benefits during Personal Leave

• Health coverage generally continues only through the end of the month in which the leave begins, after which COBRA (or equivalent state continuation coverage) applies; alternatively, some employers allow continued coverage during the full leave if the employee pays the full premium directly. (Choose and state your organization's actual approach.)
• The employee is not eligible during Personal Leave for paid time off, holiday pay, disability pay, or other paid benefits that assume active work status. Contributions to any 401(k)/retirement-savings plan, health/dependent-care flexible spending accounts, and similar payroll-deduction benefits are suspended for the duration.
• If a disability begins during an approved Personal Leave, disability benefits (if otherwise applicable) begin only once the employee's scheduled return date arrives — not retroactively to the date the disability began.
• Length of service continues to accrue during an approved Personal Leave (i.e., the leave does not create a break in service), even though most active-employee benefits are suspended.
• Any pending salary action (for example, a scheduled merit increase) is typically deferred until the employee returns to work.

Procedure

1. Apply in advance. The employee submits a written request at least 30 days before the requested start date, where possible (for emergencies, as far in advance as practicable).
2. Manager review. The manager evaluates the request against the approval factors above and discusses staffing coverage.
3. HR review and sign-off. HR confirms the leave doesn't overlap with a protected leave type that should apply instead, reviews the request for consistency with how similar requests have been handled, and signs off alongside the manager.
4. Written confirmation. The employee receives written confirmation of the approved (or denied) leave, including the approved duration, the reinstatement caveat described above, and benefits-continuation details.
5. Return-to-work check-in. Before the leave ends, HR confirms whether a comparable position is available and communicates the outcome to the employee in writing.

Responsibilities

Role	Responsibilities
Employee	Submits a timely written request; understands and accepts that reinstatement is not guaranteed; keeps the Company informed of their intent to return.
Manager	Evaluates the request against business needs; plans for coverage; participates in the return-to-work determination.
Human Resources	Confirms no protected leave type applies instead; ensures consistent application across similar requests; documents approvals/denials and the reinstatement caveat; coordinates benefits continuation.