Leave of Absence overview

A leave of absence (LOA) is an extended period away from work guaranteed to employees for significant reasons, such as medical conditions, family emergencies, maternity/paternity leave or military service. LOA often requires a formal approval and documentations and can be paid or unpaid, depending on the reason and company and government policies. Importantly, employees are typically guaranteed their job or a similar position upon their return. LOAs are often regulated by government laws, ensuring employee rights and job protection during the leave.

Intermittent Leave of Absence (Intermittent LOA) allows employees to take leave in separate blocks of time due to a single qualifying reason, often related to chronic health conditions or ongoing medical treatments. This type of leave offers flexibility, enabling employees to manage their health or personal needs without taking continuous, extended time off. Approval and documentation requirements are similar to those of a regular LOA. Like regular LOA, intermittent leave is also subject to government regulations to protect employee rights.

This table shows the differences between leave of absence and time off:

	Leave of Absence (LOA)	Intermittent LOA	Time Off
Duration	Long term (weeks to months)	Separate blocks of time for the same reason	Short-term (hours to days)
Purpose	Major life events or needs (for example, medical, family emergency)	Ongoing health conditions or treatments	Vacations, minor illness
Approval process	Formal, often requires documentation and approvals by HR/Leave administrators	Formal, often requires documentation and approvals by HR/Leave administrators	Informal, usually a simple request approved by manager (can vary depending on organization)
Job protection	Job protection often guaranteed by law or company policy	Job protection often guaranteed by law or company policy	Short-term, return to regular duties expected
Compensation	Can be paid or unpaid	Can be paid or unpaid	Often paid if it falls under vacation or sick leave categories
Regulation	Often regulated by government laws	Often regulated by government laws	Generally regulated by company policy

The LOA feature in WFM streamlines how organizations handle extended employee absences such as those entitled by the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), parental leave, and other long-term leave types. As an employee, you can initiate leave requests directly within the WFM system, making the process accessible and user-friendly. This empowers you to manage your own leave needs without relying on manual or external systems.

As an administrator, you can use Infor HR Talent (HRT) to manage, approve, and track these leave requests. The integration between WFM and HRT ensures that leave workflows are centralized and consistent across platforms.

Key features:

• Employee leave requests:
  • Employees can request leaves via an online form, including necessary details and attachments.
  • Requests are submitted through WFM and sent to HRT for processing.
• Leave status and details: Employees and managers can view the status and details of leave requests, including approval stages.
• Leave management
  • Employees and managers can update or cancel leave requests
  • HR Admin have oversight and can approve, reject or cancel leave requests
  • Allow additional document submissions and correspondence
• Notifications: Automated notifications are sent to managers and leave admins/HR for leave approvals, changes and completions.
• Admin setup: Infor administrator can configure leave types, reasons, message templates, document templates for standardized communication with the employee

This list shows what happens once a leave request is processed:

• Employee profiles, schedules, and timesheets are automatically updated.
• Schedules are cleaned using the existing inactive employee cleanup task.
• Timesheets are adjusted via a newly introduced Pay Rule, ensuring accurate payroll processing.