Though the list of employee perks is shifting around, employers continue to lean into the policies that drive retention and matter most to employees. In addition to expanding their parental, medical, and caregiver leave policies, many employers have also turned their attention to
As director of people, I aim to create an environment built on transparent and consistent practices that enable each employee to do their best work, which came in handy as we decided to implement a personal
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1. What is personal leave, and why do companies need it?
Personal leave (also known as compassionate leave) supports employees in life situations where they may not be covered by traditional leave policies or entitlements. There are all kinds of reasons someone would request a personal leave (and you don't need to list them all in your policy), but some examples include bereavement, pregnancy loss, or to attend legal proceedings.
Many companies assume unlimited or untracked PTO can be a catch-all, but can run into compliance problems. Additionally, it's important to consider the optics. A leave-taker is potentially undergoing a major life change — they're not on vacation or simply taking a few weeks off — and it's important that distinction is communicated clearly.
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2. Should you ask employees to go into detail about the reason for their personal leave?
One of the important pieces of a compassionate or personal leave policy is that it is written to respect privacy as much as possible. However, you do need to make sure a leave-taker's reason isn't overlapping with an existing leave policy where another type of entitlement applies. If it falls under the cover of FMLA or another state entitlement, it's important that they take an FMLA-protected leave so both parties are legally compliant to avoid issues later on.
Try to gather the most context with the least amount of prying. Then walk employees through all of the leave policies to ensure you're making the best decision for everyone. Ultimately, you're trying to balance the goal and the integrity of the policy with respect for a leave-taker's privacy.
3. How do you ensure nobody is abusing the policy?
This can be hard across any leave or PTO policy that a company offers. You have to trust that when you have more context — and both you and the employee have come to the conclusion of taking a compassionate leave — then they need it, period. From there, try to figure out how to support them and set them up for success. One way to do that is to work with their team and their manager to help everybody make the transition as smooth as possible.
Being that I work at a small company, I'm able to build strong relationships directly with employees so we don't feel like distant colleagues who suddenly have to work through something very personal coming from a place of fear and a lack of trust. I want to be the type of people leader that workers trust and feel comfortable coming to, even in tough situations. Cultivating a culture of empathy across the company is also crucial, especially at larger companies where it's harder to rely on personal relationships.
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4. How do you set managers and teams up for success when someone takes a leave of absence?
It's always tough when someone needs to take time away unexpectedly, and it can happen anytime with personal leave, medical leave, or caregiver leave. So, in addition to writing leave policies, you also need to make sure you train managers to say and do the right things to navigate leaves. There can be legal consequences if you don't handle this correctly, but just as importantly, you need to set the right tone for a leave-taker by offering compassion, empathy, and support.
Depending on your company, it really might require an all-hands-on-deck-approach. Ultimately, it's about figuring out how to fill the gaps and what to shuffle around so both the leave-taker and your company are covered.
At the end of the day, any one of us may need to take a leave of absence. Knowing you're supported by a legitimate personal leave company policy, as well as a team who can carry it out in real life, offers an unparalleled piece of mind that few other perks or policies could.
