Knowledge Base > KB14003 - Leave of Absence (LOA) Best Practices
Contributor: Steve Andrew
Last Updated: Dec 11, 2023 4:24 pm
In addition to processing the LOA from an employee's demographics (Staff Action Console), there are some additional steps you may want to take if someone is filling in for the employee on LOA.

There are two options to consider for Position Management
  1. Employee on LOA stays in their position. Staff member filling in for the employee on LOA is put in an LOA position.
    • Advantages
      • When the employee's LOA ends, if they "return to work", they are already in their position. No transfer needed.
    • Disadvantages
      • When looking at the history of a position, you will not see the employee who filled in for the staff member on LOA.
    • Initial Steps for LOA
      • Create the LOA for the employee on leave.
      • Create or use an existing LOA position (First character of the position number is an 'L') associated with the particular site/school).
        • This will be for the staff member filling in for the employee on LOA. For example L08001 (For site 308), L12001 (For site 312).
        • Many school systems reuse these over and over as needed, changing the position description as appropriate.
        • You will need to decide if you want the employee on LOA OR the staff member filling in for the employee on LOA to be counted on the SS200. They should not both be counted. For the one NOT to be counted, make sure all the Federal Reporting Categories are set to "Do Not Report". (Most LEAs have the Federal Reporting Categories set to "Do Not Report" on all the LOA positions and keep the Federal Reporting Categories set on the non-LOA position.)
    • Steps once the employee returns from LOA
      • End the LOA for the employee and select ("Employee Returning to Work")
        • Verify employee status upon returning before processing the return to work.
      • Reselect the Federal Reporting Categories for the non-LOA position if they had been set to "Do Not Report".
      • Separate or end the assignment for the staff member that was filling in for the employee on LOA.
    • Steps if the employee separates and does not return from LOA
      • End the LOA for the employee and select the appropriate reason.
      • If the staff member filling in for the employee will continue in the position, transfer them from the LOA position to the separated employees position starting the day after the LOA ended.
  2. Create an LOA position for the employee on LOA and place them in it until they return. The Staff member filling in for the employee on LOA is put into the original position.
    • Advantages
      • You can look at the employee's archives and see when on LOA.
      • If the employee on LOA separates and does not return, the person who replaced them is already in the position. The only processing needed is to End the LOA
    • Disadvantages
      • Once the LOA ends, you have to transfer the employee back into their original position if they are returning to work.
    • Initial Steps for LOA
      • Create a new LOA position with the same position number as the employee on LOA, except make the first character an 'L'. For example, the employee in position 308001 goes on leave. Create position L08001.
      • When creating the LOA position, "copy" from the employee's current position, but make sure that the Federal Reporting categories are all set to "Do not report". (We do not want to count this person on the SS200 or have them show up as an error).
      • Transfer the employee going on leave to the new LOA position.
      • Create the LOA for the employee on leave.
      • Add an assignment to a current employee or hire an applicant into the position vacated by the employee on leave. (The person replacing the employee on leave will be counted on the SS200 as long as the Federal Reporting Categories are set on the non-leave position and this person is coded as Full Time.)
    • Steps once the employee returns from LOA
      • End the Assignment or Separate the employee filling for the employee on LOA.
      • Transfer the employee that was on LOA back to their original position.
      • End the LOA for the employee.
        • Verify employee status upon returning before processing the return to work
    • Steps if the employee separates and does not return from LOA.
      • End the LOA for the employee.
      • Leave the person that was filling for the employee on LOA in the position if desired.