Why is time away from work so difficult to administer—and what can employers do to make it easier?

A: It’s more complex than it looks. Time away from work often requires coordination across HR, payroll, benefits, legal, managers, and third-party administrators, all while navigating regulatory requirements such as FMLA and USERRA. On top of that, these situations frequently involve sensitive employee circumstances, making accuracy, consistency and communication especially important.

What makes leave administration challenging is not just the number of moving parts, but the need to manage them consistently across situations that are often unfamiliar to many involved. For most employees, a leave of absence is a once-in-a-career event. They may be dealing with a serious health condition, caring for a family member, welcoming a child, or fulfilling military obligations. At the same time, questions about pay, benefits, job protection, and return-to-work expectations can have significant financial and personal consequences. Employers must ensure that eligibility determinations, approvals, communications, payroll actions, benefit elections, and return-to-work processes are handled correctly every time, regardless of who is involved.

The best way to make time away from work easier to manage is to step back and look at the entire process rather than treating each leave type or administrative task separately. That includes establishing clear policies, documenting procedures, defining ownership across internal teams and external partners, and creating a consistent framework for managing leave requests from start to finish.

Communication also plays a critical role. Employees need clear expectations about what steps come next, what information they must provide, when decisions will be made, whether they will be paid, how their benefits may be affected, and what to expect when they return to work. When processes are coordinated and expectations are clearly communicated, administration becomes more predictable, compliance risks are reduced, and the participant experience improves.

SBA helps plan sponsors take this broader view by assessing existing processes, identifying gaps, clarifying responsibilities, and implementing practical improvements that make time away from work programs more coordinated, efficient, and manageable day to day.