How to write a Maternity Leave Letter
Writing a maternity leave letter is not as tough as the maternity itself. Consider your seniors and fellows at work your doctors and nurses, seek their help as they are experienced and can guide you appropriately. You have another easy option; you can go through maternity leave letter formats, templates and tips provided here, which will help you even at late nights, early mornings, in fact at any time during the day or night. But before the tips, it is better to have a look at the formats as they offer you a quick idea of the letter.
Maternity Leave Letter Formats
| Formal Maternity Letter Format |
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Header
It includes:
Sender’s Address
Sender’s Telephone Number/s
Sender’s Email
Date
Recipient’s Name
Recipient’s Title
Name of the Organisation
Organisation Address
Organisation Contact Number
Reference or Subject (as required)
Salutation - Dear Sir/Madam/ Mr./Ms., (comma) : (colon)
Introduction
It includes:
Announcement of your leave
Body (divided into a number of paragraphs)
It includes:
Mention of your maternity
Leave duration, work completed, work pending etc.
Offer assistance and thank the concerned
Intimation for any further communication and so on.
Closing
It includes:
Valediction E.g. Sincerely, Faithfully
Signature or Signature Line
Sender’s Typed Name
Encl: Pregnancy Report etc.
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| Informal Maternity Letter Format |
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Header
It includes:
The Recipients Name with Salutation – Dear, Hello, Hi
Body
Announcement of maternity, wishing goodbye, invitation for party, mention of person-in-charge during your absence etc.
Closing
It includes:
- Complimentary Gesture – Thanks, Thank you etc.
- Valediction Ex. Yours Truly
Your Typed Name, Handwritten Name or Signature (as required)
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Maternity Leave Letter Writing Tips
- Know and Plan – The maternity letter which you will be writing to your boss or management is an official letter. Therefore, you need to know all the official rules regarding the maternity. Don't propose anything that would give you less money or fewer benefits than you're entitled to. Verify that your request is in accordance with the maternity leave policy of your company. Calculate how much maternity leave you require and decide whether you can start gradual return to work. Assess any other possibility you may have missed.
- Organise and Outline – Once you have assessed your leave and its related matter, you should organise all the necessary documents you will require while writing the letter. You will need the company policy on maternity leave, pregnancy report, project papers to hand over, work you have completed, work which is pending and work which will be passed on to your replacement. Prepare a list of Do’s and Don’ts, instruction material for in-charge during your absence. Arrange these in a chronological order so that your information is not missing out on an anything. These documents will help you in outlining what you need to mention in the letter.
- Drafting – With relevant matter in your hand use them as per your requirements. Drafting on your PC or Laptop is easy and effective as compared to the one written by hand. Most of the text editors have grammar and spell check’s which make your task easy. You will also get an idea of word limit through the text editor. You will also save paper this way. However, you can edit your mistakes, whether they are spelling or punctuations, at a later stage. At this point it is about information. Your text editor will preserve your mistakes making it easy for you to identify them.
- Short and Precise – A maternity leave letter is supposed to be short and precise. But it shouldn’t be too short that it misses out the important details. There are four to five main things that you need to detail – the announcement, date of leave, possible date of delivery, your work and its status. So focus on them before you write any other content. Even in an informal maternity letter the length is of no purpose, it is the news that matters.
- Address it to a Person – When a maternity letter is of formal nature, make sure that you address your letter to a specific person and not just the company or organization in general. In an informal maternity letter you can address it to a number of people or as per your choice. This is important to establish or maintain a line of communication and understanding.
- Attachments – Your maternity leave letter may require you to enclose certain documents pertaining to your pregnancy and or official work. Make sure you have them and their duplicate copies and attach them as per your requirement.
- Express your Gratitude – Express your thanks for your boss, management and or colleagues, co-workers, seniors etc. At the end of your last paragraph is written, a complimentary close of the likes of ‘Sincerely’, ‘Thank you’, ‘Truly’ is essential. Close the letter by restating your appreciation and gratitude.
- Proofread it – Check for grammatical errors, incomplete sentences, spelling mistakes or any unintended saying. Read it aloud to yourself to figure out mistakes which are missed out in writing. This is to ensure that you don’t pass on a wrong or poor impression on part of the reader for which your letter may be remembered.
- Write and send the letter beforehand – Depending upon the maternity laws and or policies prevalent in your country, you have to inform the required in advance. You can discuss the pregnancy issues with your doctor and inform accordingly. Informing in time is your duty as the company needs to make arrangements during your absence and your return to work. There are other official matters that they have to sort out when you take a leave. Your timely information is also a sign of responsibility.
