Help Managers and Employees Navigate Paid Family & Medical Leave

Offer support to employees taking leave, their managers, and anyone covering their position to smooth transitions and minimize business disruptions. Typically, this support is provided by Human Resources, though in small businesses it could be an office manager, direct line manager, or business owner.

Over time, collect lessons and best practices to build your own internal playbook on how to support employees and managers during periods of paid family & medical leave.

Checklist for Supporting Managers

  • Engage
    • Reach out when a manager's team member requests PFML to re-share policy details
    • Offer a 1:1 HR meeting to discuss any concerns/questions about handling leave
    • Suggest they connect with managers who have had team members take PFML before for advice
  • Guide
    • Recommend they hold a transition planning meeting with their employee before leave begins to discuss high priorities, upcoming deadlines, and other critical information
    • Share actionable best practices for handling and mitigating impact of employee leave
    • Remind them that employees cannot be asked to complete work while on leave
  • Support
    • Provide a single point of contact for any questions or concerns
    • Offer help in finding/training someone internally or externally to temporarily cover work, if needed

Checklist for Supporting Employees on Leave

  • Engage
    • Reach out when they request PFML to congratulate them (for parental leave) or offer well wishes / condolences (for caregiver or medical leave) and offer any support they need during this critical time
    • Offer a 1:1 HR meeting to discuss any concerns / questions about taking leave
    • Discuss if and how they would like to let others in the organization know about their leave
  • Guide
    • Welcome them to visit the office during their leave (including with their child in the case of parental leave)
    • Discourage them from being "online" or completing work while away
    • Remind them about the policy details, including resources that may be available
  • Support
    • Provide a single point of contact for any questions or concerns
    • Offer assistance with technical aspects of taking leave (e.g., payroll, finance)
    • Check in during their transition back to work to answer any questions and collect PFML program feedback
    • Follow-up approximately 6 months after their return for additional feedback and to offer further support

Checklist for Supporting Replacement Workers

  • Engage
    • Reach out to the temporary worker to welcome them to the new role
  • Guide
    • Train the replacement in the new role, involving the employee going on leave in the training process when feasible
  • Support
    • Provide a single point of contact for any questions or concerns
    • Offer support during the transition into and out of the temporary role
    • Offer to host a meeting to agree on the optimal allocation of responsibilities, if reallocation of work among existing employees is used