Decision point 3. Once eligibility is settled, your recurring task is responding to period-of-leave notices (PLNs). Each PLN must be answered within 14 days. A continuous block (one unbroken stretch) you must accept. A discontinuous block (multiple stretches inside one notice) you may discuss, refuse, or accept. But if you do nothing, the law converts it into a single continuous block starting on the first proposed date. That is rarely what either side wanted.

Build a calendar trigger the moment a PLN arrives, a short manager guide on which conversations to have within those 14 days, and a default response template. The cost of letting the clock run out is operational, not just legal.