Benefits & Comp • 11 MIN READ
15 Types of Leave in HR Every Manager Should Know
MAY 2, 2026
From maternity leave to bereavement and everything in between, here is a comprehensive guide to the types of employee leave HR must manage.
Statutory leave: the non-negotiables
Statutory leave is mandated by law and cannot be excluded from employment contracts. In the UK, this includes: annual leave (5.6 weeks), maternity leave (up to 52 weeks), paternity leave (up to 2 weeks), shared parental leave (up to 50 weeks between parents), adoption leave, parental bereavement leave (2 weeks for the death of a child under 18 or a stillbirth after 24 weeks), and unpaid parental leave (18 weeks per child, up to 4 weeks per year). Carer's leave (one week unpaid per year) was added from April 2024.
Enhanced leave: going beyond the minimum
Many employers choose to enhance statutory leave with more generous terms: full pay during maternity leave rather than just statutory maternity pay, extended paternity leave of four weeks, or additional parental bereavement leave. Enhanced leave policies are a powerful recruitment and retention tool, particularly for roles where dual-income households are common. They also signal that the organisation genuinely supports working parents rather than simply complying with the minimum.
Discretionary leave types
Beyond statutory entitlements, organisations often offer additional leave types on a discretionary basis: compassionate leave for the death of a close friend or colleague, study leave for employees undertaking professional qualifications, volunteer leave for charity work, fertility treatment leave, and leave for public duties such as jury service or reserve forces service. Document each discretionary leave type clearly in your policy, including eligibility, duration, and whether it is paid or unpaid.
Managing leave requests consistently
With so many leave types in play, consistency is paramount. Use a single HRIS to record all leave types with the correct statutory or contractual terms applied automatically. Train managers to recognise the different types of leave and to refer complex requests to HR rather than improvising. An employee who is denied bereavement leave because their manager did not know it existed is likely to raise a grievance that will cost far more in management time than the leave itself.
