maternity leave out of office message - how to word it?

AmyFTM · December 2011

I will be on maternity leave for 8-12 weeks depending on how I feel about leaving LO at 8 weeks. My company gives me up to 12 but only 8 are paid. So I have the option of cashing in PTO and vacation time for the remaining 4 weeks or taking it unpaid. So.... I was thinking about drafting my out of office message today. I plan on working up to when I go to L&D but thought I should have this message drafted in advance so that I can just turn it on when it's go time...would you include your expected return date or omit it completely since it's not certain? And would you call it a "leave of absence" or actually say you'll be on "maternity leave" ?

Here's a very simple example I found online:

?I?m out of the office on maternity leave. If you need assistance, please contact Jane Doe at _____________.?

Here's another option:

"I am currently on maternity leave and will return X date. Please contact Susy Q for all issues at 123-456-7890. Thank you."

What did you ladies put/plan on putting on your away message? For what it's worth, I work in a medium sized law firm where email is our primary form of communication with clients.

TIA!

NiniJ55 · December 2011

Are you able to log in from home? If so then you could always log in a change the date from home if you decide to extent it to 12 weeks.

You don't need the date, though. The first message is fine. I generally put a date in my out of office messages and have not thought about what I plan to do for my leave yet. I think either message is fine.

rockychryslerb2010 · December 2011

I will be out for 15 weeks and I plan on just staying that I am out of the office on extended leave and will not be checking email. If they need immediate assistance I will direct them to the appropriate contacts. I can (and probably will later in my leave) login from home to clear out emails and may add the specific date as it gets closer.

Mrs.Wifey318 · December 2011

I like what you wrote. I am doing something along the lines of.....I will be out of the office for several months without access to email or voice messgages. Please contact coworker at .......

MrsT2008 · December 2011

I was just drafting mine this morning.

I'm going with something like "I will be out of the office on maternity leave until DATE. For questions regarding xyz, please contact ___________"

I have access to log in at home, so if I need to change the date I can.

l_elizabeth · December 2011

abarton71809:
I will be out for 15 weeks and I plan on just staying that I am out of the office on extended leave and will not be checking email. If they need immediate assistance I will direct them to the appropriate contacts. I can (and probably will later in my leave) login from home to clear out emails and may add the specific date as it gets closer.

This. I'd word it as extended leave, and give a back-up contact in your absence.

michelle142 · December 2011

I don't know my exact dates, so I did this:

Thank you for contacting me, I am currently on maternity leave and
will not be in the office until further notice.

My email will be periodically checked by others in the department,
but you may not receive an immediate response.

If you need immediate assistance please contact:
**** at ****
-or-
**** at ****

Thank You,
Signature

CamJack mom · December 2011

No one needs to know that you are on maternity leave. A simple message stated that you are on extended leave until further notice and that they can contact XYZ person at XYZ extension.

elizxu · December 2011

CamJack mom:
No one needs to know that you are on maternity leave. A simple message stated that you are on extended leave until further notice and that they can contact XYZ person at XYZ extension.

This... Yes

christinak22 · December 2011

Sounds good, except if email is usually the firm's most used form of communication, I would probably include an email address they can forward the email the sent to you instead of having to call someone.

I like using "maternity leave", because I feel like people give me more grace knowing that I have a good reason for being gone.

Tina272 · December 2011

CamJack mom:
No one needs to know that you are on maternity leave. A simple message stated that you are on extended leave until further notice and that they can contact XYZ person at XYZ extension.

I would rather people know I am on maternity leave then wonder I am out sick with cancer or something. In my company people only take leave if they are very sick or on maternity leave though.

elliscn · December 2011

CamJack mom:
No one needs to know that you are on maternity leave. A simple message stated that you are on extended leave until further notice and that they can contact XYZ person at XYZ extension.

I used to think this, but one of my co-workers was recently out of the office for close to 12 weeks because he got placed on a jury. He put on his out-of-office msg something like "I'm out of the office for several weeks and will be able to check email periodically, please contact the office if you need assistance"

I had quite a few people ask me if he was alright, or if there was an emergency. So you might think about wording it in a way that people know that it's a planned leave. That way you don't scare people that know you.

Monicagail1 · December 2011

l_elizabeth:

abarton71809:
I will be out for 15 weeks and I plan on just staying that I am out of the office on extended leave and will not be checking email. If they need immediate assistance I will direct them to the appropriate contacts. I can (and probably will later in my leave) login from home to clear out emails and may add the specific date as it gets closer.

This. I'd word it as extended leave, and give a back-up contact in your absence.

This is exactly how I did it as well.

littlebriderachel · December 2011

I'm in sales, and I'm starting my leave on Monday. Here is what I've written for my out of office. I put worst case scenario as far as the date I"ll be back. I figure if I'm early, it will only be a pleasant surprise for my clients. I'm also hoping to be able to send out an email or two reminding my clients of my existence during my 3 months off.

Thank you for your email! I am currently out of the office on maternity leave, with no access to email or voicemail. In my absence, xxxx will be your contact at xxxxx. She can be reached at xxxxx@xxxxxx.com or at 1-888-000-0000- Ext. 000. I will be back from maternity leave on February 27th, 2012, and I look forward to speaking with you then! Please keep in mind that (insert misc sales info here)! If you need any information on these outstanding products, please let l xxxxx know, and she will be glad to assist you. I really appreciate your business during my absence, and I am looking forward to growing our relationship in 2012! Thank you again for your support!

ghdst1 · December 2011

When I had DS I didn't give a specific date that I would be back because I didn't know. I had DS in august and was off till November. So I assumed I would be back after Thanksgiving. My email and voice mail said something like "I am currently on maternity leave and will return after Thanksgiving. If you need further assistance please call the front desk at (number)."

GoombaGirl_79 · December 2011

"I'm having a baby EFF-OFF!!"

LOL, no no.. I think I just put something like your first example. "I am away on maternity leave and estimate returning as of (date here). Please leave a message or forward email questions to (person here)" Something like that.

maternity leave out of office message - how to word it?

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