You hired a Guard or Reserve member. Now they hand you orders for a two-week annual training. Your HR manager asks a simple question. "What does our policy say?" And the room goes quiet.

Most midsize companies do not have a real military leave policy. They have a line in the handbook that says "we comply with the law" and nothing else. That works fine until someone gets called up for six months. Then you are making it up as you go. A wrong call can cost you in a federal complaint.

A clear policy fixes this. It tells your managers exactly what to do. It tells your service member what to expect. And it protects you when a deployment lasts longer than anyone planned. I have spent over two years helping veterans and Guard members understand their rights on the job. The same gaps show up again and again on the employer side.

This guide walks you through every part a solid military leave policy needs. We will build it on the federal floor first, then add what you choose to offer above it.

What Law Sets the Floor for a Military Leave Policy?

The law is USERRA. That stands for the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act. It is the federal rule that protects people who leave a civilian job for military service.

USERRA applies to almost every employer. It does not matter if you have 5 workers or 5,000. There is no minimum size. If you employ someone who serves in the Guard, Reserve, or active duty, USERRA covers them.

Here is the key thing to understand. USERRA sets the minimum. Your policy can never offer less than what the law requires. But you are free to offer more. Most good employer policies do exactly that. They meet the legal floor, then add real benefits on top to compete for talent.

You can read the law straight from the source at the Department of Labor's USERRA page. The detailed rules live in 20 CFR Part 1002. Both are worth bookmarking before you write a single word of your policy.

Who Should Your Military Leave Policy Cover?

Start your policy by saying who it applies to. This is the scope section. Be broad here. USERRA covers a wide range of service, not just full deployments.

Your policy should name these groups by saying it covers all "uniformed services" leave. That includes:

• National Guard members: drill weekends, annual training, and state or federal call-ups.
• Reserve members: the same drill and training duty, plus mobilizations.
• Active duty: a current employee who gets called to active service.
• Required training and exams: including fitness-for-duty exams the military orders.

One point trips up a lot of employers. Short absences count too. A single drill weekend is protected military leave under USERRA. So is a two-day medical exam ordered by the military. Your policy needs to cover the small stuff, not just the six-month deployment.

If you hire from the Guard and Reserve often, it helps to understand the full picture first. Our guide to hiring National Guard and Reserve members walks through what these schedules actually look like in practice.

What Notice Should You Ask For?

USERRA says the employee should give you notice before they leave for service. That notice can be written or spoken. The law does not set a fixed number of days.

Your policy can ask for advance notice. A common ask is 30 days when the service member has that much warning. But you cannot punish someone for short notice. Military orders often come fast. Sometimes a service member learns on Monday they ship out Friday. That is not their fault, and the law protects them either way.

So write your notice section as a request, not a hard rule. Say something like this. "Please give your manager as much advance notice as possible, ideally 30 days, so we can plan coverage." Then add that the company knows military timing is not always in the member's control.

How Should Your Policy Handle Pay and PTO?

This is where employers get the most confused.

USERRA does not require you to pay an employee during military leave. The leave is unpaid as far as federal law goes. You are not breaking any rule by not paying.

But there is a second rule that matters a lot. You cannot force a service member to burn their vacation or PTO during military leave. The regulation at 20 CFR 1002.153 is clear. The employer "may not require the employee to use accrued vacation, annual, or similar leave during a period of service."

The flip side is the employee's choice. They may ask to use their paid leave during the absence. If they want to, you must let them. So the rule is simple. The member decides, not you.

Should You Offer Differential Pay?

Here is where you can pull ahead of other employers. Differential pay is the gap money. Military pay is often lower than civilian pay. So some companies pay the difference for a set time.

Say your employee earns $7,000 a month with you and $4,000 a month on active orders. With differential pay, you cover the $3,000 gap. Many policies cap this at 6 or 12 months. Some go longer.

USERRA does not require differential pay. It is fully your choice. But it is one of the strongest signals you can send to military talent that you have their back. If you want to dig into pay treatment for Guard and Reserve hires, our USERRA employer obligations guide covers the legal side in more depth.

What Happens to Benefits During Leave?

Benefits are the part most policies forget. USERRA has firm rules here, so your policy must address them.

Health coverage is the big one. If your employee has your health plan, they can keep it during military leave. The continuation runs up to 24 months. The rule lives at 20 CFR 1002.164. It sets the limit as the lesser of 24 months or the point where the member fails to return or reapply.

How payment works depends on the leave length. For short leave (30 days or less), the member keeps paying their normal share. For longer leave, you may charge up to 102 percent of the full premium, much like COBRA.

Pension and retirement also keep building. The time on military leave counts toward seniority and vesting as if the person never left. Spell this out in your policy so payroll and your benefits team apply it the same way every time. Family members of deployed employees may also have their own leave rights. See our guide on FMLA military family leave for employers for how those rules work alongside USERRA.

How Do You Handle Reemployment and Return to Work?

This is the heart of USERRA. The whole point of the law is that service members get their job back. Your policy must make this clear.

The big rule is the escalator principle. The member does not just return to their old seat. They return to the job they would have reached if they never left. So if a promotion or raise would have come during their absence, they get it on return. The rule at 20 CFR 1002.191 calls this "the job position that he or she would have attained with reasonable certainty."

The return deadline depends on how long the leave lasted:

There is also a cap on the total time. Reemployment rights cover a cumulative 5 years of service with one employer. The clause at 38 USC 4312(a)(2) sets this limit. But many types of service do not count toward it. Annual training, drill, and call-ups during a war or national emergency are common exceptions. So the real number is often higher than 5 years.

Your policy should also note one more protection. Returning members cannot be fired without cause for a set period after they return. For longer leave, that protection runs 12 months. For shorter leave, it can be 180 days.

What Documentation Should Your Policy Ask For?

You can ask for paperwork, but keep it light. The law lets you request documents that show the leave was for service and that the member returned on time.

For longer leave (over 30 days), you may ask for documents showing the service was honorable. Confirm the return was within the time limits too. For short drill or training, a copy of the orders is usually enough.

One firm rule. Do not treat the member's service record as a source of resume or performance data. It is for confirming leave only. And do not over-document. Asking for more than the law allows can look like you are creating barriers. That is its own problem.

How Do You Put the Policy Into Practice?

A policy on paper does nothing if your managers do not know it. The last step is rollout. This is where most companies drop the ball.

Train your front-line managers first. They are the ones who get the orders handed to them. A manager who panics or pushes back can sink your whole policy in one bad conversation. Walk them through the basics: grant the leave, log it, and route the paperwork to HR. Our guide on training managers to retain veteran hires goes deeper on this.

Plan for the return, not just the leave. The hardest part of military leave is often the comeback. A member who was gone for a year needs to ramp back up. A structured 90-day onboarding plan works just as well for a returning service member as a new hire.

You do not have to figure all this out alone. The Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve program offers free help to companies. Our ESGR explainer breaks down what they offer and how to use it.

Why a Clear Policy Pays Off

Guard and Reserve members make strong employees. They show up. They take ownership. They handle pressure without flinching. The thing that scares employers off is the unknown of a call-up. A written policy removes that fear, for you and for them.

When your policy is clear, your managers stop guessing. Your service members stop worrying. And you stop exposing the company to a complaint you never saw coming. That is a good trade for a few hours of writing.

If you want to hire from this talent pool, BMR can connect you with veterans and Guard and Reserve members who are ready to work. We add over 1,000 new candidate profiles every month, with more than 60,000 resumes built on the platform. You can reach out to access our veteran talent pool and start hiring people who already know how to lead.