Personal leave is sometimes used as a catch-all term used to describe any form of employee leave, but it is also commonly used to describe short-term absences that don’t otherwise fall under defined sick, medical, and vacation leave policies.

Sometimes referred to as “small necessities leave,” examples of these types of personal leaves may include anything from school appointments and bereavement leave to time to attend appointments and errands not otherwise covered by sick or family leave laws.

While no federal law requires employers to provide paid or unpaid personal days, some of these categories of leave may be required by various state laws. Additionally, even when not required to do so, many employers provide some form of flexible “personal leave” that can be used for the various purposes described in this topic.