Harvard has a number of paid and unpaid leave options for medical, personal or family reasons.

If you think you may need to take a leave, please contact your manager or the appropriate leaves specialist for your area (below) as soon as possible:

• Harvard Library: Alexandria Zaccagnini (alexandria_zaccagnini@harvard.edu), Leaves of Absence Specialist for Central Administration
• Harvard College Library: Nikki Brown (leaves@fas.harvard.edu), FAS Leaves Consultant

Leave types available to employees include family medical leave, parental leave, and short- and long-term disability leaves. More information is available on the Harvard HR website, and if you have questions or need any additional information, please contact us.

Preparing for Leave

As you begin to review your work and your transition plan, there are many aspects to consider. In preparation for a leave, please notify your manager and HR as soon as possible of your plans. We recognize that depending on your situation, the amount of notice you are able to provide may vary.

Below is a list of suggested items for you to review with your manager when going out on a leave:

• List of tasks or projects that will need to be temporarily covered and suggestions on how these responsibilities could be covered
• A shared drive or document where you have placed work that others may need to access
• Email, phone, and other work communications and how they will be covered. Review whether you should place out-of-office messages for emails and voicemail, and who should be the contact while you are out. If you leave an out-of-office message, simply state that you will be out of the office and who to contact in your absence
• Any clients or vendors who should be notified ahead of time that you will be out of the office. Be specific about who to contact for what purpose, or indicate the person who will address issues while you are out

Workers' Compensation

A state-mandated program to provide temporary income in the event that a work-related injury or illness prevents you from performing your job. To apply for benefits under Workers' Compensation, you must immediately report any work-related incident that causes injury or illness. If you experience a work-related injury or illness, reach out to your Leaves Contact. Additional information is available online.