Teams Status for Maternity Leave: Messages and Out of Office Templates

A Teams status for maternity leave needs three things: that you are on leave, roughly when you are back, and who is covering your work. For example: "On maternity leave until March. Dana Kim is covering my work." Keep it short, because Teams shows it at the top of every chat with you. Put the longer version, with contacts per project, in your out of office reply, which also answers email in Outlook. Set the status to clear on your return date, and schedule the out of office with an end date, so both switch off on their own.

We build Slack Green, which keeps your Slack status green from our servers during the hours you set. For shorter absences such as annual leave or half days, see Teams status message for leave.

Teams status messages for parental leave

Replace the names and dates in brackets. Each fits the 280-character limit for a Teams status message.

Maternity leave

On maternity leave until [March]. [Dana Kim] is covering my work.
On maternity leave, back in [spring]. For [project], contact [name]. For everything else, [name].
Out on maternity leave until [date] and not checking Teams. Urgent: [name].
On maternity leave. My team lead [name] can help with anything you need.

Paternity and parental leave

On paternity leave until [date]. [Name] is covering.
On parental leave, back [date]. Not checking messages. Urgent: [name].
Out on parental leave for [8 weeks]. [Name] has my projects.
On shared parental leave until [date]. Contact [name] for [area].

Adoption leave

On adoption leave until [date]. [Name] is covering my work.
On family leave, back [month]. Please contact [name].

Before and after leave

Parental leave starts [date]. Please send open items by [Friday].
Last week before leave. Handover notes are in [channel or file].
Back from maternity leave. Catching up this week, thanks for your patience.
Back part-time: online [Mon-Wed]. For other days, contact [name].

You do not have to say which kind of leave it is. "On leave until [date]" is enough if you would rather keep it private.

Maternity leave out of office message for Teams

The out of office reply has room for more detail. It goes to people who email you and shows in Teams when someone messages you:

Thank you for your message. I am on maternity leave from [date] until [date]
and will not be reading messages during this time.

For [project or area], please contact [name] at [email].
For [project or area], please contact [name] at [email].
For anything else, please contact my manager [name] at [email].

I look forward to catching up when I am back.

A shorter version for people outside your company:

I am on leave until [month] and not reading email. For anything urgent,
please contact [name] at [email].

How to set it up before your leave

The status message:

• Select your profile picture in Teams, then Set status message.
• Paste the message and turn on Show when people message me.
• Under Clear status message after, choose Custom and pick your return date.
• Select Done.

The out of office:

• Select your profile picture, Set status message, then Schedule out of office.
• Turn on Turn on automatic replies and paste your message.
• Check Send replies only during a time period and set the start and end dates.
• Turn on replies outside your organization if clients email you, and use the shorter message there.
• Select Save.

Teams then shows the out-of-office status on your picture for the whole period. Full steps, and how to fix an out of office that does not show, are in how to set an away message in Teams.

If the baby arrives early and nothing is set, your manager can ask an Exchange admin to turn on your out of office from PowerShell. The command is in the same guide.

Tips for a parental leave status

• • Give a month, not a day, if your return date may change.
• • Name a person who agreed to cover, and add the channel or file with your handover notes.
• • Say you are not checking messages. It stops people waiting and stops the urge to reply.
• • Share only what you want to share. Maternity, paternity and parental are all fine, and so is "on leave".
• • Update it when you come back. A "back part-time" status helps if you return on fewer days.

In Slack instead of Teams? Our free Slack status generator has leave statuses with emoji, and Slack out of office message covers the rest.

Same idea in Slack: Slack status for parental leave.

FAQ

What should my Teams status say on maternity leave? That you are on maternity leave, the month you are back, and who covers your work.

How do I set an out of office in Teams for maternity leave? Profile picture, Set status message, Schedule out of office. Turn on automatic replies, add the message and set the dates.

Can I set a Teams status for months? Yes. Pick Custom under Clear status message after and choose your return date, and give the out of office an end date.

Do I have to say it is maternity leave? No. "On leave until [month]" works for any kind of leave.