A letter requesting time off work is an official document for obtaining a period of time off. It is written by an employee and is addressed to their employer or supervisor. Crafting a good letter is important not only to persuade the boss to give you time off, but also to help the HR department run the process smoothly. It may have been a while since you wrote a formal letter, so you need to dust off your knowledge of the format before delivering it. Here are some recommendations given by HR experts and employees on how to write an effective letter.
Steps
Part 1 of 2: Writing the Letter
Step 1. Explain the purpose of the letter
Don't waste time with introductions - the first sentence of the document should clearly explain the goal, which is to ask for permission to take time off work.
Before delivering the letter, you should discuss your absence with the boss, so that the first sentence also refers to a previous conversation
Step 2. Indicate the specific start and end dates of the leave
Depending on the reason for the request, you may not necessarily know the exact dates you will be absent from work, but be as specific as possible. Having a clearly defined schedule is key to writing an effective document, so include date fluctuations and other necessary information.
- Be honest. If you need to be absent due to illness, let your boss know that your return date will depend on your doctor's recommendations.
- Don't ask for more time than necessary.
Step 3. Explain why you need to be away
You don't have to tell it in detail, but the boss needs to understand that you have a valid reason not to go to work. Whether it is for family reasons, medical emergencies, important life events such as the birth of a child or other personal reasons, it clearly states the purpose of the absence.
Step 4. Include contact information to use while you are away
There may be an emergency, so your boss or co-workers will need to contact you to ask you something. Including contact details is a professional courtesy that you can give to colleagues to help them deal with the additional workload they will have to handle for you.
Step 5. Set the right tone for the letter
You must determine if the days of absence are due to you (for example, for maternity leave) or if you need to ask the boss for a favor to grant them to you even if they are not foreseen in the employment contract.
- If you need to take time that is not contractually due, adjust the tone of the letter to apologize for the inconvenience and promise that you will do your best to make up for lost days.
- If you have vacation or sick days that you haven't used, tell your employer.
- Including this information in the letter will also clarify the situation to the HR department chain of command. This will be useful if the boss decides to deny your request and you need to appeal.
Step 6. Include ideas on how to delegate work in your absence
While the final decisions are up to your boss, offer helpful tips on which coworkers you think are best suited to take care of various aspects of your job when you're not around.
- Don't overwhelm a single person, because that wouldn't be right for them.
- Distribute the work equally, suggest tasks based on individual strengths.
- Including these tips can save your boss some work and put you in a good light, so he'll be more likely to approve your request.
- Remember that the extra work your colleagues have to do is usually not an absolute obligation, but something they do out of kindness and a spirit of cooperation towards you. Be courteous and grateful.
- Take care of updating the logs. For a small business, a discharge letter is enough, but larger companies tend to have more files, so they can keep track of the activities of more employees. If so, complete the paperwork that is due to you, so everyone can rest assured that the paperwork has already been done.
Part 2 of 2: Format the Letter
Step 1. Enter the sender's address
If you work in the same building as your boss, it will seem silly to include your address, but in a formal letter that will be filed in the HR department, it is best to include such formalities.
- The return address may already be in the header if your workplace uses letterhead.
- If not, you should write it top right, with left alignment.
Step 2. Write the date the letter was completed
Authors often put the date when they start writing, but if you take three days to finish, remember to change it.
- The date should be in the upper right, left-aligned, if the sender's address is included in the header.
- If you had to write the return address, the date should appear in the line below.
- When writing the date, respect the appropriate conventions for the place where you live. In Italy, you will write, for example 11 January 2015.
Step 3. Include the full recipient address
Again, while delivering the letter by hand to your boss, format it appropriately according to the conventions provided.
- Include the name of the specific recipient, that is your boss, and the respective title: Doctor Rossi, Mrs Bianchi and so on.
- Try not to make assumptions about women's preferences regarding personal titles. Before sending the letter, take a look at her correspondence or discreetly ask your colleagues if she prefers to be called Madam or Miss.
- The recipient's address should be placed one line below the date, also left-aligned.
Step 4. For the opening greeting, use the name given in the recipient's address
Even though you know your boss well, address him formally, with his personal title. Example: "Dear Mrs. Rossi" or "Dear Mr. Bianchi".
- After writing the recipient's name and title, type a comma.
- You should leave a blank line between the recipient's address and the greeting.
Step 5. Choose the formatting style you want to use for the body of the paragraphs
One of the most popular is that in blocks, described in this passage.
- Paragraphs should be single-spaced.
- You should align the text to the left, not justify it.
- Instead of inserting an indentation to start a paragraph, all lines should start at the left margin.
- Leave a blank line to separate paragraphs.
Step 6. Conclude the letter politely
"Thanks for your attention" and "Sincerely" are useful for making a transition to your signature.
- Leave a blank line between the last paragraph of the text and the final salutation.
- Leave four blank lines between the final greeting and your computer name.
- Once you have printed the letter, sign with a black pen in the space provided by the four blank lines.
