Agree on contact before leave, if useful

Contact during leave is a choice to discuss, not an assumption of availability.

Before leave, the employee and manager can discuss whether any work-related contact would be useful. Make the employee’s stated preference the guide for routine updates. Do not treat a message sent during leave as a request or obligation to respond.

Keep the discussion practical: what kind of update, through which channel, and what to do if the preference changes. Use approved local guidance for formal requirements; this page does not set them.

Two valid ways to handle updates

The appropriate arrangement is the one discussed for the situation; neither example is a default rule.

Minimal routine contact

An employee prefers no routine work updates during leave. The manager routes work through the agreed coverage roles and keeps necessary operational records current.

  • Interim owners handle day-to-day questions.
  • The manager uses the approved escalation route for business-critical issues.
  • The employee is not expected to monitor routine work messages.

Occasional update requested

An employee asks for a periodic, concise update on a specific topic. The manager agrees the channel and timing, while making clear that a response is not expected unless agreed.

  • Limit the update to the topic requested.
  • Use the agreed channel and timing.
  • Revisit or stop the arrangement if the preference changes.

A short conversation guide

  1. 1

    Ask what the employee prefers

    Discuss whether any work contact is wanted rather than assuming it.

  2. 2

    Name the boundaries

    If updates are wanted, agree the channel, topics, and approximate timing.

  3. 3

    Set the no-response expectation

    State how the team will proceed if the employee does not respond; routine work continues through coverage roles.

  4. 4

    Make changes easy

    Agree how either person can revisit the arrangement without needing to justify a changed preference.

When return planning is useful

Start a work conversation before the return date if useful, then revisit it as circumstances become clearer.

Review current priorities and what changed during the handoff.

Discuss work arrangements through the approved local process.

Choose a follow-up point to check whether the plan is working.

Continue with Return and Adjust for a work-focused conversation and follow-up.