What you need to know
You break your leg skiing. Your partner breaks their leg skiing. You’re expecting a kid. These situations all feel very different, but they have one thing in common. Each is a reason to step away from work and take a leave of absence.
First things first
Trying to figure out whether a leave of absence is right for you? Here’s a quick tip: If you’ll be out longer than five consecutive business days or seven consecutive calendar days, file for a leave of absence.
When to go on leave
Life has a way of throwing curveballs. And sometimes spitballs. When it’s more complicated than getting over a cold or going on an awesome vacation, a leave of absence might be the right call.
Paid Sick Time (PST), Flex Time Off (FTO), and Paid Time Off (PTO) are great, but they’re not for everything. Going on leave is for things that will keep you occupied for a little longer than normal. We’ve included information about each kind of leave Workday offers below.
Leave questions? Don’t leave them unanswered!
One encyclopedia for everything leave-related? Psssh. We have two. Start poking around on Veer to get a timeline and a checklist for each type of leave. To officially file a leave or make changes to a leave, get in touch with a leave specialist at Lincoln Financial. Visit Lincoln Financial's website, click Register Now and enter the company code (Workday) when prompted.
Types of leave
Health leave
PST and FTO/PTO are for when you expect an illness or injury to last no more than five consecutive business days or seven consecutive calendar days. If it’s longer than that, like for a bad case of the flu or a big surgery, health leave is required. In some cases, your situation might require you to miss multiple periods of work for less than five days at a time (think follow-up appointments, chemotherapy sessions, or dialysis). These cases call for intermittent leave, which is covered and also managed by Lincoln Financial.
Pregnancy leave
A very special kind of health leave, pregnancy leave gives birth parents time to prepare to deliver their child and time to recover afterwards. Workday covers 12 weeks of pregnancy leave, plus an additional 12 weeks of bonding time once you’re medically cleared to return to work.
Bonding time
Available to all new parents, Workday covers 12 weeks of bonding time to enjoy after the birth or adoption of your child. You must use all 12 weeks within the first year after the birth or adoption. Any unused time will be forfeited.
Caregiver leave
Taking care of a loved one who’s sick or injured is a heroic and difficult thing to do. Workday covers 12 weeks of caregiver leave so you can focus on your family member. An additional 12 weeks of 50%-paid extended caregiver leave is available if the need continues.
You can take caregiver leave in one chunk or intermittently, depending on the needs of the person you’re caring for. Compassionate leave is also available if the situation calls for it.
Military leave
If you’re serving in the armed forces, Workday wants to support you in every way possible. Stepping away to perform military service means that your length of service with Workday will continue to accumulate, your benefits will continue, and you’ll still be paid.
Here’s how it works:
- During the first four weeks of your time away, you’ll receive your regular base pay. This is called Military Time Off (MTO) and is logged in Workday just like any other time-off request. This is common for Workmates who attend annual training.
- On the first day of the fifth week, your Military Leave of Absence (MLOA) begins, and Workday will pay your regular wages minus the amount you receive as military basic pay. You can start a leave Timeline with Veer, but make it official by contacting Lincoln Financial and submitting a copy of your first Leave and Earnings Statement as soon as it’s available. Then, your top-up pay will be issued on your regular pay cycle for the rest of your leave.
How to go on leave
Whenever possible, we appreciate four weeks’ notice that you’re going on leave. But we know that life doesn’t always work that way. Here’s what to do ASAP:
- Plan your leave on Veer, a helpful digital tool to keep you organized and give you support beginning, during, and after your leave. It’s OK if your dates change!
- Chat with your People Leader about your leave plans. If you’re comfortable with it, turn on the Activate Manager Support setting on Veer. The feature provides real-time updates to your People Leader as your plans change.
- Contact Lincoln Financial, our leave administrator, via their website (Company Code: Workday) or at 844-829-5566 to officially start the process. An intake specialist from Lincoln Financial will be in touch about next steps for your specific type of leave.
Once you’re on leave, we really don’t want you to work. You’ll retain access to your Workday email and other applications (some exceptions apply for Workmates with access to customer data), but you’re not expected to check them. If your network password expires during your leave, contact Business Technology at 877-951-9348 to restore your access.
Reminder: Where to go for leave questions
Veer is the tool you’ll use to plan your leave timeline and get a checklist for each type of leave. Lincoln Financial administers your leave. For questions about your pay while on leave and one-on-one support, get in touch with a leave specialist at Lincoln Financial. Leave changes must be communicated directly to Lincoln Financial. At this time, changes made in the Veer tool are not transferred to Lincoln Financial.
Pay and benefits while on leave
The Workday Salary Continuation program, protects your finances while you’re on leave. The length of time and the amount you’re paid depends on the type of leave you’re taking. We describe how salary continuation works below.
Your benefits also continue during your leave. Any deductions for your HSA, Dependent Care FSA, and ESPP elections also continue. 401(k) deductions continue if you live outside of California and stop if you live in California (CA state laws are quirky, right?).
What happened to the old short-term disability (STD) benefits?
No worries, Workmate. The old STD benefits applied to leaves until January 1, 2024. That’s when we transitioned to the Workday Salary Continuation program. It pays you a better benefit, and it pays benefits for longer. What’s not to like?
California residents
Because you pay for the cost of this coverage, any payments you receive from the Workday Salary Continuation program are mostly tax-free.* Your salary continuation includes:
- 80% of your regular base pay for the first 12 weeks
- 60% of your regular base pay for weeks 13–52 (health only)
*Certain exclusions apply. Bonding time and Caregiver leave are Federally taxable.
Non-California residents
You’re automatically enrolled in the Workday Salary Continuation program. Because you don’t pay anything for the cost of this coverage, any salary continuation payments you receive are taxable.
Your salary continuation includes:
- 100% of your regular base pay for the first 12 weeks
- 80% of your regular base pay for weeks 13–26 (health only)
- 60% of your regular base pay for weeks 27–52 (health only)
This could take a while…
If your illness or injury keeps you on the shelf for more than 52 weeks, you’ll work with Lincoln Financial on getting long-term disability (LTD) benefits.