{"id":2839,"date":"2026-02-21T06:09:52","date_gmt":"2026-02-21T12:09:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/?p=2839"},"modified":"2026-03-31T09:49:59","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T14:49:59","slug":"leave-request","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/leave-request\/","title":{"rendered":"Leave Request"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"what-is-a-leave-request\"><\/span>What Is a Leave Request?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>A leave request or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/time-off-tracking\">PTO<\/a> (paid time off) is the process that a company puts in place for an employee to request <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/how-to-manage-paid-time-off-for-hourly-employees\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">paid time off<\/a> work. There are many reasons why an employee may put in a leave request \u2013 here are some of the most common ones:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Health reasons<\/li>\n<li>Family emergency<\/li>\n<li>Travel<\/li>\n<li>Vacation<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>No matter the business\u2019s size, it\u2019s crucial for there to be a formal process in place and for all team members to be aware of it. The process is often written down, and can also be input in modern software.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"how-do-you-request-a-leave-of-absence-from-work\"><\/span>How Do You Request a Leave of Absence From Work?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>There are a few ways in which you can request a leave of absence from work. The most common are formal letters of request and, nowadays, by using dedicated software.<\/p>\n<h3>Formal Written Leave Request<\/h3>\n<p>Traditionally, a leave of absence is requested through a formal letter detailing when the leave of absence is required. This is typically either approved by a manager and is passed to the HR department.<\/p>\n<p>Approval of the leave of absence is required from the manager or superior.<\/p>\n<h3>Software<\/h3>\n<p>In recent years, a lot of companies have adopted dedicated software for leave requests.<\/p>\n<p>While the process stays the same as the traditional formal letter, using software cuts down a lot of the admin time required. This can be a huge time saver for larger businesses.<\/p>\n<p>The leave of absence is requested via the software, and is then sent to the superior that makes the final decisions.<\/p>\n<p>Another advantage of using software is that it removes the possibility of human error and keeps all the data in a centralized database, making it even easier to create and view reports around leave requests.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1194\" height=\"520\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/word-image.png\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/word-image.png 1194w, https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/word-image-300x131.png 300w, https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/word-image-1024x446.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/word-image-768x334.png 768w, https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/word-image-693x302.png 693w, https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/word-image-91x40.png 91w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1194px) 100vw, 1194px\" class=\"wp-image-2840 no-lazyload\" \/><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"example-of-a-leave-request-what-do-you-need-to-include\"><\/span>Example of a Leave Request \u2013 What Do You Need to Include?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>If the leave request goes through a formal letter rather than software, here&#8217;s what you need to include to make sure that your superior has all the details they require:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The request itself and the reasons that you are requesting the leave<\/li>\n<li>The start date of the request and the date that you intend to return to work<\/li>\n<li>A section that offers to assist in any way you can<\/li>\n<li>A thank you for the consideration<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"sample-leave-request-letter\"><\/span>Sample Leave Request Letter<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"631\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/word-image-1.png\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/word-image-1.png 1600w, https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/word-image-1-300x118.png 300w, https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/word-image-1-1024x404.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/word-image-1-768x303.png 768w, https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/word-image-1-1536x606.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/word-image-1-746x294.png 746w, https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/word-image-1-91x36.png 91w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" class=\"wp-image-2841 no-lazyload\" \/><\/p>\n<p>(image via <a href=\"https:\/\/templatelab.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">templatelab.com<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p>******<\/p>\n<p><em>See our full list of over 50 Small Business Terms <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/small-business-glossary\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What Is a Leave Request? A leave request or PTO (paid time off) is the process that a company puts in place for an employee to request paid time off work. There are many reasons why an employee may put in a leave request \u2013 here are some of the most common ones: Health reasons [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.10 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Mastering Leave Requests<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Discover the ins and outs of leave requests and PTO management in the workplace, including how to streamline the process.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/leave-request\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mastering Leave Requests\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Discover the ins and outs of leave requests and PTO management in the workplace, including how to streamline the process.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/leave-request\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Zoomshift\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-21T12:09:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-31T14:49:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/word-image.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"ZoomShift\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"ZoomShift\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/leave-request\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/leave-request\/\",\"name\":\"Mastering Leave Requests\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-21T12:09:52+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-31T14:49:59+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/9ba35c556ffdf9d8dab06992b17a4b0d\"},\"description\":\"Discover the ins and outs of leave requests and PTO management in the workplace, including how to streamline the process.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/leave-request\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/leave-request\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/leave-request\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Leave Request\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Zoomshift\",\"description\":\"SMB Management Blog\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/9ba35c556ffdf9d8dab06992b17a4b0d\",\"name\":\"ZoomShift\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/05af010fb3485fa8095793cfff89a5e6?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/05af010fb3485fa8095793cfff89a5e6?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"ZoomShift\"},\"description\":\"The leading scheduling software designed for hourly employees. 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