Email template · Leave and attendance
Parental leave email
In short
A maternity leave approval email confirms an employee's parental leave in writing: leave dates, how much is paid and from where, benefits continuation, job protection, check-in preferences and the expected return date. Below are templates for birth parents, non-birth and adoptive parents, a manager's personal note, and a reminder before return.
When to send it: As soon as the leave request and dates are confirmed, ideally six to eight weeks before the expected due date or placement. Send updates if the start date moves.
Parental leave email: 4 versions
Birth parent (from HR)
SubjectYour parental leave is approved: [Leave Start Date] to [Expected Return Date]
Hi [First Name], Congratulations. Your parental leave is approved. Here are the details for your records: - Leave starts: [Leave Start Date] (or the day you go into labor, if earlier) - Expected return: [Expected Return Date] - Total leave: [Total Weeks] weeks - Paid portion: [Paid Weeks] weeks at [Pay Rate, e.g. 100% of base pay] through [Company Plan / State Program / Short-Term Disability] - Job protection: [FMLA / State Law / Company Policy], so your job or an equivalent one will be held for you - Health benefits: continue as now. Your share of premiums will be [deducted as usual / billed to you monthly]. What we need from you: [e.g. notify us of the birth within 2 weeks so we can add your child to your health plan; submit the State Program claim by Date]. If anything changes, including the start date, just reply here. You can also reach me at [HR Phone]. Warm wishes, [HR Contact Name] [Title], [Company]
Non-birth or adoptive parent
SubjectYour bonding leave is approved
Hi [First Name], Congratulations on [the upcoming birth / your adoption / your foster placement]. Your bonding leave is approved: - Dates: [Leave Start Date] to [Expected Return Date] ([Total Weeks] weeks) - Pay: [Paid Weeks] weeks at [Pay Rate] - Can be taken: [all at once / in blocks of at least X weeks], within 12 months of [the birth / placement] - Benefits continue during leave. Please let me know once you have a confirmed date so we can update payroll and add your child to your benefits within the enrollment window. Best, [HR Contact Name] [Title], [Company]
From the manager
SubjectCongratulations, and enjoy your leave
Hi [First Name], HR has confirmed your leave, so I just wanted to say congratulations and thank you for the handover. [Coverage Name] is covering [Responsibilities] and knows to come to me, not you. You won't hear from us about work while you're out unless you tell me you'd like updates. If you'd like a quick call a couple of weeks before you return, let me know and I'll set it up. Take care of yourselves. [Manager Name]
Reminder before return
SubjectPlanning your return on [Return Date]
Hi [First Name], I hope you're all doing well. Your return date is [Return Date], so here are a few things to plan: - Schedule: [Schedule details]. If you'd like to discuss a phased return or a different shift, let me know by [Date]. - Lactation space: if you'll need it, there is a private room at [Location], and you can take break time to pump. Tell me what you need and we'll set it up. - First day: [Manager Name] will meet you at [Time]. Welcome back soon. [HR Contact Name]
Subject line ideas
- Your parental leave is approved
- Maternity leave confirmed: [Leave Start Date] to [Expected Return Date]
- Your bonding leave is approved
- Paternity leave approved
- Your leave details: pay, benefits and return
- Planning your return on [Return Date]
SMS and WhatsApp version
Hi [First Name], congratulations. Your parental leave from [Leave Start Date] to [Expected Return Date] is approved. Full details on pay and benefits are in your email. Questions? Call [HR Phone]. - [HR Contact Name]
Placeholders to replace: [First Name], [Leave Start Date], [Expected Return Date], [Return Date], [Total Weeks], [Paid Weeks], [Pay Rate], [State Program], [Coverage Name], [Responsibilities], [Location], [HR Phone], [HR Contact Name], [Manager Name], [Title], [Company]
What the approval must confirm
New parents have to plan around money and childcare, and vague answers create anxiety and phone calls. The approval should spell out:
- Dates, including what happens if the baby arrives early.
- Pay, broken into its sources: company paid leave, short-term disability for the birth parent's recovery, a state paid family leave program, and any PTO the employee can or must use. Say who pays each piece and whether the employee must file a claim themselves.
- Job protection, and under which law or policy.
- Health benefits, and how premiums will be collected if there is no paycheck.
- Deadlines, especially adding the child to the health plan, which typically must happen within 30 days of birth or adoption under most group plans.
If the leave is FMLA-qualifying, the formal notices have their own timing and content. Use the FMLA notice email alongside this one, not instead of it.
Legal basics (US)
Under the Family and Medical Leave Act, eligible employees of covered employers can take up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for the birth of a child and bonding, or for adoption or foster placement, within 12 months of the event. Health coverage continues on the same terms. Pregnancy-related incapacity can also count as FMLA leave. Our glossary entry on parental leave covers the definitions.
Several states, including California, New York, New Jersey, Washington and Massachusetts, run paid family leave programs that replace part of wages during bonding leave, and some states extend job protection to smaller employers. The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act requires reasonable accommodations for pregnancy-related limitations, and the PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act gives most nursing employees break time and a private space that is not a bathroom for one year after birth. Rules vary by state and city, so have HR or counsel review your standard wording.
Use the same language for every parent
Call it parental or bonding leave, and treat medical recovery separately. A birth parent may get disability-related leave for recovery from childbirth, then bonding leave. Bonding leave itself should be offered on the same terms to mothers and fathers, birth and adoptive parents, unless there is a legitimate, documented reason. Offering women more bonding leave than men is a discrimination risk, and the EEOC has pursued such cases. Keep the "maternity leave approval email" search term for your files if you like, but write the policy in gender-neutral terms.
Contact during leave
Agree on contact rules before leave starts and put them in writing: who will contact the employee, about what, and how. Work requests during protected leave can create legal problems and resentment. The manager's note should promise silence on work unless invited. Many teams offer optional "keeping in touch" calls in the last month, which make the return easier for everyone.
Keep the leave record accurate in your attendance system so the employee is not flagged absent and their PTO accrual follows policy.
Planning the return
Two to four weeks before the return date, send a reminder covering the schedule, any phased-return options, lactation accommodations and who they'll meet on day one. Then follow with a return to work email that covers changes while they were away. In shift-based operations, confirm the shift early: a parent returning to a 6 a.m. start needs time to arrange childcare.
Mistakes to avoid
- Approving leave without a pay breakdown, leaving the employee to find out from a smaller paycheck.
- Missing the benefits deadline to add a newborn.
- Different terms for different parents without a documented basis.
- Copying the whole team on leave details. The team needs to know dates and coverage, not pay or medical information.
- Treating it as ordinary PTO in a short leave approval email. Parental leave needs its own, fuller note.
Frequently asked questions
How do you write a maternity leave approval email?
Congratulate the employee, then confirm leave start and return dates, total weeks, the paid portion and who pays it, job protection, how health benefits continue, and any deadlines or claims they must file.
What should a parental leave confirmation email include?
Dates, pay sources, benefits continuation, job protection basis, deadlines such as adding the child to health coverage, contact preferences during leave and who to call with questions.
Is paternity leave different from maternity leave?
Bonding leave should usually be offered on the same terms to all parents. The birth parent may also receive separate leave for medical recovery from childbirth, often paid through short-term disability.
Is parental leave paid in the US?
Not under federal law. FMLA leave is unpaid. Pay comes from employer policy, short-term disability, accrued PTO or state paid family leave programs where they exist.
Can I contact an employee on parental leave?
Keep contact minimal and agreed in advance. Avoid asking for work during protected leave. Optional check-ins near the end of leave to plan the return are common and usually welcome.