Onboarding and playbooks
Back from leave playbook
A playbook for someone coming back from parental, medical or other long leave: a welcome, a catch-up with their manager and a check-in after two weeks.
New playbook. Opens a new playbook with these steps and timings. Each person’s steps wait for your approval before they send.
Coming back after months away is a second start. Tools, people and priorities may have changed, and the person returning may need different hours for a while.
This playbook starts the day someone stops being on leave. Their manager gets a nudge to catch up the same day, and HR checks in after two weeks.
Shuffl · HR by the numbers
Coming back is a second start
Coming back is a second start. 87% of US employees who took leave returned to the same employer and position (DOL, 2018) (U.S. Department of Labor, Chief Evaluation Office (prepared by Abt Associates), July 2020). 77% of UK mothers had a negative or possibly discriminatory experience around maternity (EHRC, 2016) (Department for Business, Innovation & Skills and Equality and Human Rights Commission, 22 March 2016). 11% of UK mothers felt forced to leave their job around pregnancy or maternity leave (EHRC, 2016) (Department for Business, Innovation & Skills and Equality and Human Rights Commission, 22 March 2016).
Welcome back, person returning
To the person returning, on the day they join.
**Welcome back, {{hire}}**
It’s good to have you back. Take the first days to catch up; nobody expects you to know everything that changed.
- [ ] Book a catch-up with {{manager}}
- [ ] Check your accounts and tools still workWelcome person returning back
To their manager, on the day they join.
**Welcome {{hire}} back**
- [ ] Hold a catch-up on what changed while they were away
- [ ] Agree how the first two weeks will lookYour first week back
To the person returning, 7 days after the day they join.
**Your first week back**
If your hours, workload or anything else should change, say so to {{manager}} or HR. It’s easier to adjust early.Checking in
To the person returning, 14 days after the day they join.
**How is your return going, {{hire}}?**
If your hours, workload or anything else needs to change, say so and a named person from HR will follow up with you directly.Check in with person returning a month after their return
To their manager, 30 days after the day they join.
**Check in with {{hire}} a month after their return**How to adapt it
- Shuffl fills in {{hire}} and {{manager}} for each person. Replace them by hand if you send the message yourself.
- Start it from a group of everyone on leave, so it begins when someone leaves that group.
- Agree any change to hours or duties in writing, and check what the law says where they work.
What the research says
Most people do come back. In the Department of Labor’s 2018 surveys, 87% of US employees who took leave returned to the same employer and position. More low-wage workers (18%) than other workers (5%) said they lost a job as a result of taking leave, and among people who needed leave but didn’t take it, 45% named fear of losing their job.1
The return is where things often go wrong for new parents. In a UK study of 3,254 mothers, 77% reported a negative or possibly discriminatory experience during pregnancy, maternity leave or on their return, and 11% felt forced to leave their job.2
Flexible hours help only when handled well. 68% of mothers in the same study made a flexible working request and around three in four were approved, yet 51% of those approved said it led to negative consequences. Employers see the upside: 84% said supporting pregnant women and mothers on leave was in their interest, most often because it helped them keep staff (58%).2
What the law requires
In the US, employees returning from FMLA leave must get the same or a virtually identical job, with the same pay, benefits and other terms, usually on their original schedule and at the same work location. They don’t have to requalify for benefits they had before.3 Group health cover continues during FMLA leave on the same terms.4
In the UK, an employee who takes 26 weeks or less of maternity or adoption leave has the right to return to the same job. After longer leave, it’s the same job or, if that isn’t possible, a similar one with the same or better terms.5
People on leave are entitled to pay rises and improvements made while they were away. If their role is made redundant, they have the right to be offered a suitable alternative job where one is available, a protection that lasts until 18 months after the birth or adoption.5
UK employees can work up to 10 keeping in touch days during maternity or adoption leave without losing leave or pay, if both sides agree the work and pay beforehand. People on Shared Parental Leave can use up to 20 shared parental leave in touch days.5 To change their return date, an employee must give at least 8 weeks’ notice.6
Common mistakes
- Skipping the return-to-work conversation. Use it to check the person is ready, catch them up, offer support and agree a plan.7
- Agreeing a phased return by word of mouth. Write down the hours, duties, pay and the date you’ll review it.8
- Forgetting pay rises or changes made while they were away. In the UK, people on parental leave are entitled to them.5
- Going silent during leave, or pushing for contact. Agree before leave starts how you’ll keep in touch, and treat keeping in touch days as optional for both sides.
- Approving flexible hours, then treating the person as less committed. Half of UK mothers whose request was approved reported negative consequences.2
Common questions
- What should a return-to-work meeting cover?
- Acas suggests using it to check the person is ready to be back, catch them up on what changed, ask what support they need, agree a return plan such as a phased return, and agree what colleagues are told about the absence. It isn’t a legal requirement in the UK, but it is the easiest way to start well.
- How long should a phased return last?
- There is no fixed length. Acas says it depends on the person’s circumstances and should be agreed between the employer and the worker, and a fit note will usually suggest how long. Review it regularly, and write down the agreed hours, duties and pay.
- Does someone get their old job back after parental leave?
- In the US, eligible employees returning from FMLA leave must get their old job or a virtually identical one. In the UK, after 26 weeks or less of maternity or adoption leave, an employee can return to the same job. After longer leave, it’s the same job or, if that isn’t possible, a similar one on the same or better terms.
Sources
Read on . Laws change, so check the source before you act. This page is general information, not legal advice.
- U.S. Department of Labor, Chief Evaluation Office (prepared by Abt Associates), Employee and Worksite Perspectives of the Family and Medical Leave Act: Executive Summary for Results from the 2018 Surveys, July 2020. 2018 surveys of 4,470 U.S. employees and 2,206 worksites, by phone and web.
- Department for Business, Innovation & Skills and Equality and Human Rights Commission, Pregnancy and maternity-related discrimination and disadvantage: summary of key findings, 22 March 2016. Research by IFF Research for the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills and the Equality and Human Rights Commission. Survey interviews with 3,254 mothers and 3,034 employers in Great Britain.
- U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, Fact Sheet #28A: Employee Protections under the Family and Medical Leave Act, March 2025.
- U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, Family and Medical Leave Act, No date stated; read October 2026.
- GOV.UK, Employee rights when taking maternity and other types of parental leave, No date stated; read October 2026.
- GOV.UK, Maternity pay and leave: Leave, Current page, read October 2026.
- Acas, Return to work meetings – Returning to work after absence, Last updated 1 October 2026.
- Acas, Phased returns – Returning to work after absence, Last updated 1 October 2026.