The granting of a leave of absence also grants the employee the right to return to a position in the same or equivalent classification, in the same department, as he/she held at the time the leave was granted. If needed, you can temporarily fill the employee’s position through the use of Work out of Classification (WOC), Temporary hiring (six or more months of expected absence), or extra-help hiring (less than six months of expected absence) options.
You do not have to hold the employee’s individual position vacant, but there must be a position in the same or equivalent classification in your department available for the employee to return to. Normally, you should try to allow the employee to return to his/her prior unit and shift. If you must fill the employee’s specific position and have them report to a different unit or shift upon their return, contact Employee & Labor Relations for consultation prior to making the change.
The granting of any leave of absence is based on the presumption that the employee intends to return to work upon expiration of the leave. If, for example, an employee requests a Personal Leave of Absence to accept other employment, but wants to keep a position available in case the new job does not work out, you should not approve the request.