Special Leave - Definition & Importance
What is Special Leave?
Special leave is an arrangement granted to an employee who needs to be absent from the work during working hours which do not come under other types of leave. Special Leave can be named differently in different nations. It can be two kinds i.e. Planned Special Leave: This leave is approved in advance for certain purposes where annual leave is not appropriate. Unplanned or Unforeseen Special Leave: This type of leave identifies the need for the absence on account of unforeseen and important circumstances. The main intention in creating this kind of leave is to avoid time taking procedures and discussions in granting a leave.
Importance of Special Leave
These leaves up to certain number of days would be paid but leaves extending more that would be unpaid. Unforeseen Special Leave will generally be for short term and it would be up to the discretion of manager as to what extent of the leave can be considered as paid leave. The amount of planned leave needed for different reasons can vary from few hours to weeks.
Employees will have limited number of planned special leaves and it will be under the discretion of line manager to approve any leaves. If the employee need additional number of planned or unplanned leaves, those will be granted by the human resource manager only if the employee has very valid reasons. The approval of leaves by human resource department would be subjective as each case would be different and has to be dealt differently.
Reasons for Special Leave
The different reasons for which special leave can be granted to employees by companies are as follows:
1) Bereavement leave for the reasons of death of close ones.
2) Take duty off for urgent domestic problems like fire, flood, theft etc.
3) Leave for care of dependents if they fall ill or injured.
4) Take duty off to attend jury service if they are summoned in courts or other public duty.
5) Sabbatical leaves for sabbaticals or career breaks for completing higher studies etc.
Hence, this concludes the definition of Special Leave along with its overview.
This article has been researched & authored by the Business Concepts Team. It has been reviewed & published by the MBA Skool Team. The content on MBA Skool has been created for educational & academic purpose only.
Browse the definition and meaning of more similar terms. The Management Dictionary covers over 1800 business concepts from 5 categories.
Continue Reading:
