Leave Types

GitLab Parental Leave

GitLab’s paid Parental Leave is available for any active team member (regardless of gender) who becomes a parent through childbirth or adoption while working at GitLab. The information in this section is specific to GitLab’s 16-week paid Parental Leave. Different countries or US states may provide team members with their own statutory Parental Leave benefits. Please review your country/state Parental Leave benefits for more information on how to apply and tenure requirements (if applicable).

Eligibility, Entitlement and Planning Your Leave

GitLab’s Parental Leave is available for any active team member (regardless of gender) who becomes a parent through childbirth or adoption while working at GitLab. This benefit is available from your first day of employment, provided your child was born or newly adopted during your employment at GitLab.

GitLab provides 16 weeks of paid Parental Leave, which must be used prior to the child’s first birthday or the first anniversary of the adoption. Team members are encouraged to decide for themselves how much time they’d like to take, but there are some parameters to keep in mind when planning your leave:

• We encourage you to begin your leave when your child arrives to maximize time with your family. If you prefer to start on a different date, please connect with the Absence Management team to review your request.
• You may take your Parental Leave all at once or split it into up to three segments.
• When calculating leave dates, GitLab uses a 1/7 formula (1 week = 7 days), meaning if you return on a Monday, your leave ends on Sunday.
• If your Parental Leave falls within the 4 scheduled Family and Friends Days, your parental leave will be extended by 4 days.
• FAQ: What happens with public holidays while I’m on Parental Leave?
  • GitLab’s Public Holiday policy provides each team member with a public holiday balance to use flexibly to celebrate what’s important to them and must be used within that calendar year. Unused public holidays will not rollover to the next calendar year while on parental leave, unless statutorily required by law.

Supplement with Paid Time Off

If you need additional time after your Parental Leave:

• You may utilize GitLab’s Flexible Paid Time Off policy with manager coordination. If business critical deadlines will be missed, your Manager may ask you to change the dates.
• Discuss this with your manager following standard PTO guidelines (double the amount of notice as time requested).
• Submit PTO dates in Workday by selecting “Paid Time Off” and notify the Absence Management team.

You may not extend paid parental leave through the use of Paid Caregiver Sick Time, unless you have a family member with a serious health condition.

How to Initiate Your Leave

1. Share when comfortable: You can share your news with your manager whenever you feel ready, but we recommend communicating 2-3 months before your leave starts for workload planning.
2. 30-45 days prior to leave: remember to review your location’s reporting requirements! Enter your Parental Leave into Workday by selecting the “GitLab Parental Leave” option under the Leaves dropdown menu.

• This request will route to the Absence Management team who will gather information and next steps relevant to your location. You can expect to receive an email within 48 hours of your submission (please keep in mind that this may vary depending on your timezone).
• We understand that babies arrive on their own schedule! If you need to change your leave dates, please contact the Absence Management team to make those edits, as team members cannot edit dates themselves once the request has been approved in Workday.
• For adoptions where 30-day notice isn’t possible, notify your manager as soon as possible and enter the dates into Workday when you can.

FAQ: Do I need to submit any paperwork? Yes, and this will vary depending on your location. Details of what is needed will be shared with you by the Absence Management team once they’ve had a chance to review your request and gather all relevant information. However, please be prepared to share proof of birth/relationship and/or adoption within 15 calendar days from the start of your leave. This can include a picture of the crib card, copy of paperwork from the hospital or birth center, or documentation with your child’s date of birth/placement noted. Documentation can be emailed to the Absence Management team at leaves@gitlab.com.

Pay While on Parental Leave

Eligible team members will receive 100% of their weekly wages through the GitLab Paid Parental Leave. If you live in a country or US state where a statutory benefit is available, you will be required to apply for statutory leave pay (if eligible), and GitLab will supplement your pay to equal 100% of your weekly wages. You will not receive more than 100% of your wages with statutory leave and Parental Leave combined.

FAQ: I’m in a Sales role and receive commission. How is that impacted while on Parental Leave?

• For information about attainment, quota, or commissions while on parental leave, this policy found in the internal handbook may help. If this doesn’t answer your questions or you have specific questions about your scenario, please submit a HelpLab ticket to the sales commission team directly, as they administer the Sales Incentives policies that apply for commission eligible team members on LOA.

Returning to Work

It’s important to acknowledge that returning to work after Parental Leave can be difficult. Even with smooth reentries, life and work interplay differently when one adds another member to their family. Everyone transitions differently, and the impact on an individual varies depending on role, as well as a litany of personal factors.

About a week before your expected return, the Absence Management team will send you a welcome back email which will share resources and ask you to confirm your return to work date. Please respond by confirming the date you will return.

More Return-to-work Resources shared here.

Returning to Work at 50% Capacity

Returning to work after parental leave can be challenging as you balance new family responsibilities while reintegrating into a workplace that has evolved during your absence.

To support this transition, GitLab offers team members the option to return at 50% capacity. This program is not tracked in Workday and does not require the Absence Management team’s review or approval. To utilize this benefit:

• Discuss with your manager before starting leave or a few weeks prior to returning
• Work together to determine a schedule that works for both you and your team
• The standard guideline is two to four weeks at reduced capacity, though this can be adjusted based on individual needs
• The 50% figure is flexible, and doesn’t always have to equate to working hours. Some options to consider would be:
  • Adjusting the workload so you’re slowly ramping back up to a full plate - this won’t look the same for everyone - some team members may prefer to ramp up more quickly
  • Adjust the working days/hours so instead of working 5-8hrs days it could be 4-10hrs, or you work really early in the morning/late in the evening
  • Slowly increase the number of working days each week (i.e. 2 days the first week, 3 days the second, etc.)

This transition period gives you space to adjust to your new normal without the pressure of a full workload, allowing time to resolve any unexpected childcare challenges or other family adjustments.

Emergency Leave

Overview

At GitLab, we understand that emergencies are by definition, unexpected. This policy establishes guidelines for emergency leave while maintaining our commitment to flexibility and support for team members during difficult times.

Emergency leave provides paid time away from work to use in unexpected scenarios such as natural disasters, community emergencies, or any other catastrophe. This benefit is available to all team members on their first day of work.

Please note that GitLab also has an Incident Response Plan in place, which outlines the action to be taken by the People Group in the instance that a team member or group of team members is impacted by an emergency event.

Military Leave

GitLab is committed to protecting the rights of team members absent from work due to military leave. No team member or prospective team member will be subjected to any form of discrimination or retaliation on the basis of membership in or obligation to perform service for any of the uniformed services of the country where they work.

• If any team member believes that they have been subjected to discrimination or retaliation in violation of this policy, immediately contact Team Member Relations for assistance.

Team Members may be eligible for statutory leave under their own country’s Military Leave policies. GitLab’s Military Leave policy is intended to supplement statutory military leave entitlements provided by the country where team members work.

For leaves 31 days or less

• No changes will be made to the team member’s job, pay, or benefits and team members will be eligible to return to their next working shift after their military service ends.

For leaves greater than 31 days

• Team members reporting for active duty of more than 31 days may be eligible for up to 6 months of unpaid leave. Eligibility for the full 6 months will be determined by the team members’ statutory entitlement in their country as well as the needs of the business. If the leave is needed for more than 6 months, the team member will be offboarded (unless contrary to statutory requirements), but is eligible for reinstatement if able to return within the required timeframe.
• Team members may elect to retain health care coverage benefits for up to 2 years, or to the end of their military service; whichever comes first, but team members will be responsible for making arrangements to pay the full cost of their benefits.
  • If arrangements are not made or team members do not elect to retain their health care coverage, benefits will end as of the 31st day of military leave.
  • Team members are eligible for immediate reinstatement of benefits upon their return to work, with no waiting period applied.
• Team members will continue to vest stock while on unpaid military leave for up to 6 months (unless contrary to statutory requirements).

Reinstatement

• If a team member is offboarded from GitLab during the course of their Military service, they will be guaranteed reinstatement rights for up to 2 years after their service ends. Team members with disabilities have two years after their service ends—for purposes of recuperation and convalescence—to seek re-employment.

To be entitled to reinstatement, the following conditions must have been met:

• The team member gave the employer notice of the need for military leave,
• The team member was released under honorable conditions,
• The team member returned and applied for re-employment within the following time restrictions:
  • Leaves of less than 31 days: The team member must report to work on the first regularly scheduled work period following the completion of military service; no application is required.
  • Leaves of more than 31 days but less than 180 days: The team member must apply for reinstatement within 14 days after completion of military service.
  • Leaves of more than 180 days: The team member must apply for reinstatement no more than 90 days after completion of military service.

When team members return from military service, they will be entitled to return to the position they would have attained if they had not been called to serve. This requirement is known as the “escalator principle.” The principle means that if the team member would have been promoted except for this leave of absence and if the team member is qualified to take the position now or can become qualified with reasonable efforts by GitLab, then GitLab must consider the team member for the promotion. If the team member is not or cannot become qualified, then GitLab will reinstate them to the job they held before the leave of absence or in a position of equivalent seniority, pay and status. In limited situations, if GitLab’s circumstances make reinstatement impossible—for example, in light of decreased business or impending layoffs—then GitLab’s obligation to reinstate the team member does not apply.

How to Apply for Military Leave

Team members should first review their own country’s Military Leave policies to ensure they are reporting their leave in accordance with any reporting requirements. Whenever possible team members need to provide at least 30 days advance notice by selecting Military Leave under the Leaves dropdown in Workday. GitLab reserves the right to request documentation related to the team member’s Military service. The Absence Management Team will contact you if documentation is needed.

• For any questions about how to initiate a military leave or requests for reinstatement, please contact the Absence Management team by submitting a HelpLab ticket. For GitLab Inc or GitLab Federal team members, please additionally review the Military Leave policy.

Sick Leave

Sick absences that are 6 days or longer are considered a leave of absence. You can read more about this here.

Caregiving Sick Leave

Caregiver sick absences that are 6 days or longer are considered a leave of absence. You can read more about this here.

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