Annual Leave Policy
Docs + Word7 pages
Free
- Type
- Document
- Price
- Free
- Pages
- 8 · US Letter
- Style
- Editorial
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Updated
- November 6, 2026
Every page (8)
Overview
Parental leave rules are often scattered across contracts, emails and a handbook page nobody opens. This template brings maternity, paternity, adoption and shared leave into one document, so employees can see what time off and pay they get, how to claim it and who to tell, while managers see how to approve and record it.
The sample follows Candlemas Logistics, a fictional carrier, with 26 weeks of maternity and adoption leave, 6 weeks of partner leave and up to 12 shared weeks. Replace the weeks, pay bands, notice periods and contacts with your own schemes, and have the final wording checked against current law before you publish.
Useful for
- An HR manager replacing an out-of-date family leave page before a new financial year starts
- A small employer writing its first parental leave policy before the first employee announces a pregnancy
- A people team lining up maternity, paternity, adoption and shared leave rules under one set of notice steps
What's included
- Maternity clauses: purpose, definitions, 26 weeks of leave, pay bands and who does what
- Paternity page with three cards on notice, splitting the six weeks and sending the form
- Adoption page with six headline figures and a short contents list
- Shared leave clauses covering how weeks are handed over, blocks and changes to a plan
- Keeping in touch article with contact preferences, paid keeping-in-touch days and a pull quote
- Return-to-work opener and step table, plus a guide to making the document your own
How to use it
- 1
Click Make a copy in Google Docs, then confirm on the Google page. The copy is saved to your own Google Drive.
- 2
Replace the weeks, pay rates and notice periods on the maternity, paternity, adoption and shared leave pages with the schemes you actually offer.
- 3
Update the keeping in touch and return-to-work pages with your own contacts, forms and meeting timings.
- 4
Check every entitlement against current law, then have legal counsel or your HR adviser review the wording.
- 5
Delete the Make it yours guide page, then share the document with your team or publish it to your intranet.
What you need
Requirements
- A Google account with access to Google Drive
Works with
- Google Docs
- Microsoft Word (download the .docx)
Questions
Does this template give the legal minimum leave for my country?
No. The weeks and pay rates are sample figures. Check current local law and have your adviser review the wording before you publish the policy.
Can I use it for a small company?
Yes. The structure works for any size. Replace the roles and contacts with your own and remove sections you do not offer, such as shared leave.
Are the organisation, people and figures real?
No. Candlemas Logistics, its people and every figure and email address in the sample are fictional and exist only to show what a finished policy looks like.
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- #maternity-leave
- #paternity-leave
- #adoption-leave
- #shared-parental-leave
- #hr-policy
- #leave-policy-template
- #google-docs
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