Leave of Absence Toolkit for Team Members and Managers

Team Member Toolkit

Any team member that is considering a leave of absence, is encouraged to review our company Leave Policies and your country specific leave information.

Pre-Leave

We recognize that the nature of the leave will impact the amount of notice a team member may be able to provide (i.e. more planning and advanced notice will be given for parental leaves vs. a medical leave which could arise unexpectedly). When possible, team members should:

• Prepare a coverage plan with their managers and fellow team members.
• Set an out of office message in Gmail and identify someone to contact during their absence. Slack and Gcal will also need to be updated to reflect the absence.
• Parental Leave:
  • Consider support from Parentaly to help you build a strong coverage plan, transition your work effectively and return to work with confidence after leave. You can read more about this benefit and how to sign-up in the Parental Leave Support (Parentaly) handbook section.
  • Watch the videos below from Parentaly:
  • Creating a strong career vision through parental leave
  • When to start the coverage planning process
  • Why it’s hard for employees to return to work after parental leave

Returning from Leave

Here’s what to expect in your first few weeks back from leave:

• Align with your manager on a ramp-up timeline. Remember, catching up takes time, ramping up gradually is normal and expected!
• Use async-first practices to ease back in
• Leverage AI tools to assist with your catch-up!
  • Pro-tip: GitLab’s Back in the Loop Glean agent scans activity while you were out and generates a prioritized summary of what you need to know.
• If accommodations are needed due to restrictions recommended by your physician, please submit a Reasonable Accommodation HelpLab request to the Team Member Relations team.
• Re-familiarize yourself with the Company Wide Benefits that are available to all team members:
  • Modern Health - Mental Health Support
  • HealthKick Well-being Platform
  • Vivvi Caregiving Benefits
  • Bereave Support Benefits
• Connect with the community!
  • #parenting – Slack channel for parents and caregivers. Tips, photos, stories, and solidarity.
  • Caregivers TMRG – Team Member Resource Group for caregivers. Attend events or participate asynchronously. Learn more.
  • Schedule some coffee chats to catch up with your fellow team members and other cross-functional partners!
• Read Parenting as a remote worker
• Read tips from GitLab team members and the greater community are below, as well as how each aligns with at least one of GitLab’s values.

What has worked for me is to integrate GitLab into my life, and not the other way around. I set very clear boundaries in my calendar of when is work time and when is family time. Per GitLab’s recommendation, my calendar is viewable by anyone and clearly has time for: kids test prep, visual therapy for one, judo pick-up and other appointments I have outside of work. This prevents team members from scheduling over these instances.

If someone does schedule over family time or personal time, I feel confident to decline, unless it is very urgent and I’m blocking it (I always suggest a new time first, before using family time for a meeting). I am also inclined to say that if folks keep scheduling outside of your work time, to make sure you respond back and highlight that, and check if you can find an alternative time that works for both of you. — Nadia V.

Nadia’s recommendation leans on Transparency, as well as an important operating principle of Efficiency: Be respectful of others’ time.

When I joined GitLab, it was great to see things in people’s calendars like baby time, homework with kids, date night, etc. Part of onboarding was coffee chats so I saw these “meetings” on calendars as I tried to schedule chats. It reinforced our family first operating principle, and also normalized these activities. It helped me understand that I could set up similar boundaries and not sacrifice bed time or something similar just to have an empty hour on my calendar. — Seth B.

Seth’s recommendation ties to an operating principle of Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging: Family and friends first, work second.

The hardest part of coming back from parental leave has been getting caught up/reintegrating with the GitLab team while sleep deprived. I recommend taking to heart the don't worry portion of GitLab’s guide to paid time off, which states: “You don’t need to worry about taking time off to go to the gym, take a nap, go grocery shopping, do household chores, help someone, take care of a loved one, etc. If you have urgent tasks, but something comes up or takes longer than expected, just ensure the rest of the team knows and someone can pick up the tasks (assuming you’re able to communicate).” — Jonathan S.

Jonathan’s recommendation adds a layer of nuance to Have Ownership & Accountability, an operating principle of Results. It also touches on Give agency, an operating principle of Collaboration, which empowers team members to focus on what they think is most beneficial.

Take advantage of GitLab’s bias towards asynchronous communication. A child’s schedule shifts rapidly, and I’ve found it useful to structure my days around my son’s routine rather than force him to operate on a rigid timeline. Being a part of a 100% remote team empowers team members to embrace work/life harmony in whatever way suits them. Moreover, it’s liberating to be able to shift when and where I work depending on the needs of my family.

It’s important to talk about family. For a company to sustain a culture that embraces parents and empathizes with the associated needs, these realities must be shared in the open and not allowed to become taboo. — Darren M.

Parental Leave Policy Feedback

If you have any feedback about your parental leave experience for the People group to review you can always email leaves@domain or open an issue using our Parental Feedback Issue Template.

Manager Toolkit

The Manager Toolkit: Leave of Absence can be found on the Loop. This guide helps you navigate your responsibilities and support team members through their leave journey.

General Guidelines For Managers on Resource Allocation

If you have a team member going out on parental leave, a common question might be “how should I reallocate their tasks and output while they are out?” Below are general guidelines for managers based on the length of leave taken by the team member. Note - local law supersedes these guidelines where applicable:

• Leave less than 1 month: Use internal resources.
• Leave less than 6 months: Use internal resources who may be eligible for an interim bonus, and/or consider hiring a temporary contractor
• Leave longer than 6 months: Use internal resources who may be eligible for an interim bonus, hire a temporary contractor.
• Leave longer than 1 year: Consider a backfill ensuring there will be a similar (level, scope, etc) role for the person when they return.

---

Return to the main GitLab Benefits page.