As the name suggests, a leave letter or absence letter is the letter you present your supervisor with, which requests leave for a certain period of time. A leave letter can be of two kinds:

• Temporary Leave letter.
• Permanent leave letter.

What is a Leave Letter?

A leave letter is the letter of absence which contains the documented reason behind your absence from your place of study or work for a period of time. All the required details that need to be drafted in a formal and professional manner. It needs to be drafted carefully so that your letter does not look fake or irrelevant. Such a letter could create misunderstandings in your professional area and result in more troubles for you.

Details to Focus on While Drafting a Leave Letter

Analyze your reasons for asking leave, and then correspond your thoughts accordingly before sending your letter away. Be careful to be extremely polite while asking for leave.

Make an extensive note of all the points you want to include in your letter. The key is, to be honest with your dealings, and state clearly why you want the leave. It is recommendable to honestly give in the details, but while doing so, do not turn it into an informal letter. Also, you do not need to feed the details which are not absolutely necessary or you are not comfortable with.

One very important detail to focus on while drafting a leave letter is dates. Accurate dates need to be mentioned while you are planning on your leave letter. If it is a temporary leave letter than you need to state when you plan on starting your leave and ending it. While if it is a permanent leave letter you need to state the reasons behind your decision. Don’t forget to thank them for the opportunity they gave you to work with them.

Things to Keep in Mind While Planning a Leave of Absence

Most of the companies have their own guidelines for leave acceptance. It will be unwise to assume that all guidelines should be the same. There are certain things that you need to figure out as well. These being:

• If you are eligible for leave. A lot of companies do not provide leave for their employees on probation. So before asking for leave, it is good to understand your employment status so that you will be better prepared on how to ask for your leave period.
• Ascertain the type of leave that fits your requirement. There are three varieties of leaves – Casual leave, Sick leave, and Privilege leave or Earned leave. Analyze your situation and see which category your situation falls in.
• Match the leave category with your employment contract.
• Consult with the HR, Director or the Head of the Department, or your School Head regarding the leave.

How to Draft a Leave of Absence?

Your letter must have the following elements:

• Introduction: As the name suggests, you have to introduce yourself, state what is your relation to the recipient of the letter. Mention the fact that this is a leave letter so that the reader gets a hint of what to expect. Introduce your reason for asking the leave shortly.
• Body: This is where you elaborate on the reason behind seeking the leave. Be honest and mention in details for how long you need the leave. Mention the exact date from when you would like your leave to begin and when to end.
• Conclusion: In the end request your recipient to kindly grant you the leave. Be courteous and thank them.

The Format of a Leave Letter

• In case you are writing for the management of your workplace, always begin your letter with your full name, employee code, and
• Include the date of your application letter.
• Correctly address the concerned person, do not forget to mention his designation as well as the company name.
• Use formal forms of salutations like ‘Dear Sir/Dear Madam’.
• Break your body of the letter into paragraphs to ensure effortless reading. Firstly, state that you shall need a break from work, and briefly state the reason.
• Then elaborate on why you need the leave, and what kind of leave that would be, casual or medical. Make your request in earnest. Fake leave letters can create a bad impression and can have an overall effect on your work environment.
• It is advisable if you could provide with further recommendations, if possible. Like, if you are taking a break from work, see if you can provide someone else for the time period if required and possible. Also, check if you can make up for the leave time by working overtime.
• Mention that you will be immediately resuming work after your aforementioned leave ends.
• Thank your reader for taking out his time and reading your letter. This is essential because it creates a better impression of yours and it can also positively affect your leave application.
• End your letter with sincere thanks and regards and sign your name along with your designation.

How to Plan Your Leave Letter?

It is imperative that you present your letter as early as possible before your leave date commences. It takes time to go around through the different management levels and get the approval. So, plan your leaves early, and apply for your leaves earlier.

After you have drafted the letter, check and recheck your letter for spelling and grammatical errors. Grammatical errors paint a pretty poor picture of your personality. You definitely do not want to be in the bad books while your leave is on the line.

Be precise and polite. Nobody wants to read an entire story. Provide details where absolutely necessary while keeping the tone of the letter formal.

When is a Leave Letter Required?

Suppose you require leave days beyond the number of sick leaves and casual leaves. A formal request for leave comes in handy then. However, it is recommended that you should always check with the company’s employee booklet to have a fair idea of whether the company shall honor your request.

You could also ask for leave in case of childbirth. Maternity and very recently paternity leaves have started to be honored by companies as well. These are paid leaves.

Leaves can also be asked in cases where there is someone sick in your home. People often ask for leaves when they need to care for someone injured or post-surgery patients, or if you are not feeling well enough to attend your school, university or office. If not all some companies give extended paid leaves for their employees to recover from their health-related issues. In that case, an efficient and trustworthy employee gets a higher preference.

If you have jury duty, you are bound to get leave without having to compromise your employment

What Can Happen if You Don’t Have a Letter of Absence?

There can be situations where you may have discussed your leave of absence orally with your supervisor and managed to get an approval. But your supervisor may not have informed the other executives or may not have formalized the matter. In that case, you can lose employment once your casual leaves and sick leaves come to an end. So, as we all know that Prevention is better than cure, it sounds infinitely better to inform the respective authorities of your absence beforehand with a well-drafted leave of absence.

A leave of absence is a primary and vital part of your professional life. Make sure to work it in your favor by drafting a spotless leave letter which can never be denied.