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Career Advice Experts
Last Updated June 29, 2021
In the event you need to request a leave of absence from work, submitting a professional letter, as soon as possible, to explain the request is the first step in alerting your employer. Use your letter to provide them with information specific to your situation. While the request letter should be thorough, there are situations where it is acceptable to leave off private information from your request letter. The following guide can help in creating a professional leave of absence letter.
Some of the reasons an employee would submit a request for a leave of absence from work include:
Once you’ve met with your manager or representative, create a formal leave request. Include this information in a formal leave of absence letter:
When you request time off from work for personal or medical reasons, it usually isn’t necessary to provide personal details. Unless approval for the leave is contingent upon access to medical details, using ‘personal leave’ or ‘medical leave’ is usually all you need to include, but the company may require written validation from the doctor or specialist.
When writing a formal request for leave of absence to submit to either the human resource department or your supervisor, you can use a hard copy or email format. You may choose one of the two based on whether you will submit the request for leave letter in-person or online.
When you can hold an in-person meeting or otherwise submit a hard copy for a formal request for a leave from work, follow these steps:
When submitting an email request for a leave of absence, the process does not require as much information as a written request. Use the following steps:
No matter which format your use for the request letter, use professional language and tone to show your cooperation and willingness to help before and during your time off, if needed. Whether a hard copy or an email of the request is provided, both serve as documentation and a timeline you and your employer can refer to if needed.
Below is a basic format for a formal request for leave letter:
John Smith
123 Green Street
New York, New York 12345
Phone: 999 123-4567
Email: jsmith@gmail.com
Dear Mr. Brown,
After our meeting on November 15, I am submitting my formal request for a leave of absence from my position as sales manager. My time away from work will be from December 1, 2020 to January 31, 2021.
If my request is approved, I am more than willing to help prepare a plan of action to take care of my job responsibilities while I am away from the job. If needed, I can be available by phone or email to provide help in answering any questions that may arise.
If you need any additional information, please let me know. Thank you for your time in discussing the leave with me and for considering my request.
Sincerely,
signature here
John Smith