Leave of absence form for longer breaks

Updated 2026-10-30

A long leave starts with a quiet conversation and ends with confusion. Who covers what? When do they return? Can we call? I would rather answer these before the person goes. One form up front does that.

How it works

  1. The employee gives their name and the type of leave. No medical detail is needed.
  2. They give the first day of leave and the expected return date, and say how firm that date is.
  3. They list work that needs covering and name a colleague.
  4. They say how they want to be contacted and which updates they want.
  5. They say what would help them come back, and ask for a talk with HR if they want one.

A short chat

"What kind of leave is this?" Then "What day do you expect to return?" Then "Should we contact you while you are away?" The employee's AI shows the answers and asks "Send it?" before anything goes out. See agent-fillable forms.

Good to know

This is a form, not legal advice. Rules on leave differ by place and by contract, so have a professional check wording that has legal weight. Keep medical papers in your own HR system, not here. For a few days off, use a time off request form. A refresher on return fits a training registration form. More in forms for HR and recruiting.

Questions

Does this form grant the leave?

No. It collects the request. You decide, using your policy and local rules, and you reply yourself. This is a form, not legal advice.

Do I need the medical reason?

No. The form uses a category and says no medical details are needed. Ask only for what your policy requires, and keep medical papers in your protected HR system.

How is this different from a time off request?

A time off request is for a few days. This form is for longer breaks, so it adds cover, contact preferences and what would help the person return.

Try the form

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Request a leave of absence

Tell us the dates and how we can cover your work. You do not need to give medical details.

What kind of leave is this? (required)

A category is enough. No medical details are needed.

How firm is the return date?
Should we contact you during leave?
Updates you would like while away
I would like to talk to HR before I go
I confirm I am requesting this leave (required)
Use this templateAll templates

Or paste the JSON

Give this to your AI. It needs the AI Form API MCP server or an API key. It makes the form and sends you the link.

text
Create this form with the AI Form API create_form tool (or POST https://aiformapi.com/v1/forms with my API key). Then reply with the public_url.

{
  "title": "Request a leave of absence",
  "description": "Tell us the dates and how we can cover your work. You do not need to give medical details.",
  "fields": [
    {
      "id": "employee_name",
      "label": "Your name",
      "type": "short_text",
      "required": true,
      "max_length": 150
    },
    {
      "id": "work_email",
      "label": "Work email",
      "type": "email",
      "required": true
    },
    {
      "id": "leave_category",
      "label": "What kind of leave is this?",
      "type": "single_choice",
      "required": true,
      "help": "A category is enough. No medical details are needed.",
      "options": [
        "Parental or family",
        "Medical",
        "Study",
        "Caring for a relative",
        "Personal",
        "Other"
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "leave_starts",
      "label": "First day of leave",
      "type": "date",
      "required": true
    },
    {
      "id": "expected_return",
      "label": "Expected return date",
      "type": "date",
      "required": true
    },
    {
      "id": "return_certainty",
      "label": "How firm is the return date?",
      "type": "single_choice",
      "options": [
        "Fixed",
        "Likely",
        "Not sure yet"
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "work_to_cover",
      "label": "Work that needs covering",
      "type": "long_text",
      "max_length": 2000
    },
    {
      "id": "cover_colleague",
      "label": "Colleague who could cover",
      "type": "short_text",
      "max_length": 150
    },
    {
      "id": "contact_preference",
      "label": "Should we contact you during leave?",
      "type": "single_choice",
      "options": [
        "No contact please",
        "Emergencies only",
        "An occasional check-in is fine"
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "updates_wanted",
      "label": "Updates you would like while away",
      "type": "multi_choice",
      "options": [
        "Team news",
        "Company announcements",
        "Training offers",
        "Nothing"
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "return_support",
      "label": "What would help you come back?",
      "type": "long_text",
      "max_length": 1000
    },
    {
      "id": "talk_to_hr",
      "label": "I would like to talk to HR before I go",
      "type": "checkbox"
    },
    {
      "id": "confirms_request",
      "label": "I confirm I am requesting this leave",
      "type": "checkbox",
      "required": true
    }
  ]
}

Or call the API

bash
curl -X POST https://aiformapi.com/v1/forms \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $AIFORMAPI_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"title":"Request a leave of absence","description":"Tell us the dates and how we can cover your work. You do not need to give medical details.","fields":[{"id":"employee_name","label":"Your name","type":"short_text","required":true,"max_length":150},{"id":"work_email","label":"Work email","type":"email","required":true},{"id":"leave_category","label":"What kind of leave is this?","type":"single_choice","required":true,"help":"A category is enough. No medical details are needed.","options":["Parental or family","Medical","Study","Caring for a relative","Personal","Other"]},{"id":"leave_starts","label":"First day of leave","type":"date","required":true},{"id":"expected_return","label":"Expected return date","type":"date","required":true},{"id":"return_certainty","label":"How firm is the return date?","type":"single_choice","options":["Fixed","Likely","Not sure yet"]},{"id":"work_to_cover","label":"Work that needs covering","type":"long_text","max_length":2000},{"id":"cover_colleague","label":"Colleague who could cover","type":"short_text","max_length":150},{"id":"contact_preference","label":"Should we contact you during leave?","type":"single_choice","options":["No contact please","Emergencies only","An occasional check-in is fine"]},{"id":"updates_wanted","label":"Updates you would like while away","type":"multi_choice","options":["Team news","Company announcements","Training offers","Nothing"]},{"id":"return_support","label":"What would help you come back?","type":"long_text","max_length":1000},{"id":"talk_to_hr","label":"I would like to talk to HR before I go","type":"checkbox"},{"id":"confirms_request","label":"I confirm I am requesting this leave","type":"checkbox","required":true}]}'

JSON definition

json
{
  "title": "Request a leave of absence",
  "description": "Tell us the dates and how we can cover your work. You do not need to give medical details.",
  "fields": [
    {
      "id": "employee_name",
      "label": "Your name",
      "type": "short_text",
      "required": true,
      "max_length": 150
    },
    {
      "id": "work_email",
      "label": "Work email",
      "type": "email",
      "required": true
    },
    {
      "id": "leave_category",
      "label": "What kind of leave is this?",
      "type": "single_choice",
      "required": true,
      "help": "A category is enough. No medical details are needed.",
      "options": [
        "Parental or family",
        "Medical",
        "Study",
        "Caring for a relative",
        "Personal",
        "Other"
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "leave_starts",
      "label": "First day of leave",
      "type": "date",
      "required": true
    },
    {
      "id": "expected_return",
      "label": "Expected return date",
      "type": "date",
      "required": true
    },
    {
      "id": "return_certainty",
      "label": "How firm is the return date?",
      "type": "single_choice",
      "options": [
        "Fixed",
        "Likely",
        "Not sure yet"
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "work_to_cover",
      "label": "Work that needs covering",
      "type": "long_text",
      "max_length": 2000
    },
    {
      "id": "cover_colleague",
      "label": "Colleague who could cover",
      "type": "short_text",
      "max_length": 150
    },
    {
      "id": "contact_preference",
      "label": "Should we contact you during leave?",
      "type": "single_choice",
      "options": [
        "No contact please",
        "Emergencies only",
        "An occasional check-in is fine"
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "updates_wanted",
      "label": "Updates you would like while away",
      "type": "multi_choice",
      "options": [
        "Team news",
        "Company announcements",
        "Training offers",
        "Nothing"
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "return_support",
      "label": "What would help you come back?",
      "type": "long_text",
      "max_length": 1000
    },
    {
      "id": "talk_to_hr",
      "label": "I would like to talk to HR before I go",
      "type": "checkbox"
    },
    {
      "id": "confirms_request",
      "label": "I confirm I am requesting this leave",
      "type": "checkbox",
      "required": true
    }
  ]
}