Compassionate leave
Compassionate leave is time away from work following a bereavement, serious family illness or comparable personal crisis. It is triggered by an event rather than drawn from an allocation people plan around. Its length is usually stated per event instead of per year.
The structural difference from every other type is that nobody accumulates this one. It is not a balance to spend before it lapses. It sits unused for years, and it is there on the day something happens.
Which relationships and which events qualify is where policies differ most. A definition written too narrowly causes real harm at the worst possible moment.
The practical advice here is the opposite of the rest of this glossary. This is the one type where the process should be as light as possible. The record can wait.
Coming back is the part most policies forget. The stated days run out and somebody returns to a full calendar. A phased return, a lighter load for a fortnight, or simply asking rather than guessing costs the team very little.
Keep the record thin. Dates, and who covered. The rest is nobody's business, and a leave system is a poor place to store it.
Where this shows up in PeopleMuster
PeopleMuster allows event-based leave types beside the annual ones. Its live set holds marriage and parental types, each with its own quota.
Questions people ask
How long is compassionate leave?
Policies vary widely, and many extend the stated period at a manager's discretion. This page states no figure, because there is no general one.
Which relationships qualify?
That is defined by your employer's policy, and the definitions differ considerably. A narrow list is the commonest source of grievance around this type.
Is compassionate leave paid?
Depends on the employer and on where the employment sits. It is configured as a flag on the leave type, and your policy holds the answer.