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Request Leave of Absence

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This job aid outlines the process for an Employee to request a leave of absence.

Member version: TAMU

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Important Information

Absence:

    • The functional area in Workday pertaining to time off (including time off correction), leave of absence, view your time off, and time off balance.
    • The term used to describe any absence from work. There are 2 categories of absences in Workday, Time Off and Leave/Leave of Absence.   
      • Time Off: A paid absence of less than 30 days.
      • Leave/Leave of Absence: An unpaid absence that is full-time, continuous and for a duration of 30 days or more.
  • Before initiating a leave of absence, Employees should talk to their Absence and Benefits Partners. There may be benefits changes depending on the type of leave selected.
  • A leave of absence should be used when the absence is full-time, continuous, unpaid and for a duration of 30 days or more. This is an unpaid, job-protected leave status.
  • If you have any eligible paid time off, a leave of absence should not be processed. Please submit an Absence Request for time off instead.
  • If you decide to leave your position before returning to work, you should contact your HR Office.
  • If the Estimated Last Day of Absence arrives and the Request Return from Leave business process has not been initiated, the Employee’s primary manager will receive the To Do: Return Employee from Leave of Absence. If the Employee has not returned to work, the Manager should wait until the Employee returns to initiate the Return Worker from Leave business process and then submit the To Do.

FMLA Qualified Absences

Use this decision tree to help you determine which course of action to take when requesting a leave of absence.

FMLA Flow Chart

Do you have any paid time off you are eligible to take? (Vacation, Sick, etc.)

      • IF YES: Do you have enough days off to cover the entirety of the absence?
        • IF YES: Request Absence twice for the same date range
          1. First enter the available paid Time Off (Vacation, Sick, etc.)
          2. Then enter the FMLA Time Off
        • IF NO:  
          1. Request Absence twice for the number of paid days you have available for the same date range: 
            1. First enter the available paid Time Off (Vacation, Sick, etc.) 
            2. Then enter the FMLA Time Off 
          2. Next, Request Absence for the remaining time you will be out. 
            1. If 30 days or longer, request an UNPAID Leave of Absence (absent 30+ consecutive days) > FMLA Leave  
            2. If less than 30 days, Request Absence twice: 
              • Once for FMLA\Parental Time Off (less than 30 consecutive days)
              • Once for Unpaid Time Off 
      • NO:
        • If 30 days or longer, Request an UNPAID Leave of Absence (absent 30+ consecutive days) > FMLA Leave.
        • If less than 30 days, Request Absence twice:
          • Once for FMLA\Parental Time Off (less than 30 consecutive days)
          • Once for  UNPAID Time Off

Getting Started

  1. From the Workday Menu, select the Request Absence application.
    Menu with request absence selected.
  2. Select the day(s) you will be absent and Select Continue.Request Absence Calendar
  3. On the Request Absence pop-up select the Type of Absence you will be using. Select Continue. Request Absence Type
  1. On the next screen, fill in the following fields:
        • Type of Absence. Auto populates based on the Type of Absence selected.
        • Last Day of Work. This field should be auto-populated based on the First Day of Absence. If applicable, select a different date.
        • First Day of Absence.
        • Estimated Last Day of Absence. This is only an estimate. When this day arrives, the manager will receive a To Do to acknowledge if the Employee has returned to work.

Note: For FMLA Leave and Parental Leave Review the Additional Fields. The Additional Fields on the Leave Request provide information on balances for hours and state service days in addition to hours requested and hours taken. Parental Leave requires a birth or adoption date to be entered. 

Request Leave of Absence Details form

  1. Select Submit.

The request will be routed to your Absence Partner and Manager for approval.

Important: Check Workday for notifications regarding your leave of absence request and potential changes to your benefits.

Navigate to the Up Next tab for the next steps in the process.

Up Next

Review Absence (Manager)

The Manager will receive and Inbox action item to Review Absence. The Manager will review the information provided including the Leave Impact, and Supporting Data sections.

After reviewing, the Manager can Approve, Send Back, Deny or Cancel the request.

Note: Do not upload files under Support Documents at this time. Medical documentation and other sensitive information must be kept separate from the Employee’s Workday profile.Manager inbox item to review absence request.

After the Manager has approved the Request for Leave of Absence, your member may require approval from the Department Head.

Request Delegation Change

If you have any security roles other than Employee as Self (e.g., Manager, Timekeeper), you will receive the action item Request Delegation Change in your inbox. You can complete this to delegate any business processes that would typically route to you while you are on leave.The request delegation change action item with the new delegation plus sign highlighted

To Add a Delegation

  1. If you wish to add a delegation, select the Plus Sign (+) icon.
  2. Fill in the presented fields as necessary, except Start on My Behalf (which means you cannot delegate any initiation steps for a business process). For further details, see the job aid Manage Delegations on Workday Help.What appears when the plus sign under new delegation is selected, showing various fields
  3. Select Submit.

Important: You will need to communicate with any persons to whom you have delegated business processes as they will not receive a notification that you have added them as a delegate until a task arrives in their inbox.

No Delegations Needed (Skip This Task)

  1. If you do not wish to add a delegation, select the gear icon in the top right hand corner and select Skip This Task.How to navigate to the skip this task button by selecting the gear icon
  2. On the Skip This Task page, enter a reason you are skipping the task in the Skip Reason field (e.g., “no delegations needed”).The skip this task window with the skip reason field highlighted
  3. Select OK.

Change Benefit Elections

If you have benefits, you will receive the action item Change Benefit Elections in your inbox after your Manager and Absence Partner have approved your leave. Select Let’s Get Started and update the information presented to you.

Note: For FMLA Leave of Absence, the Benefit Change – Leave of Absence – FMLA action item will also route to the Benefits Partner, so they are aware that the employee has received this task. 
Inbox item Change Benefit Elections

Important: If you do not complete this process and submit your choices within 14 days, your benefits elections will automatically be waived/dropped and you will not have the option to enroll again until you return to a benefits-eligible position.

This completes the Request Leave of Absence business process.