Out-of-Office Message Template: Holiday and Leave

Get these right before you write

1Give the date you are back, not the last day you are away; people count from the return.

2Name a person and an email for each kind of request, and ask them first.

3Say plainly whether you will answer the backlog; “I will not see this message” saves everyone a wait.

4Keep the external version short and free of travel plans, home details and internal names.

Structure

The document opens with these headings and blanks.

Out-of-office message

##For colleagues

Thanks for your message. I am [away / on leave] from [date] and back on [date], [with no / with limited] access to email.

For [topic], please contact [name] at [email]. For anything urgent, [...].

[What happens to your message: I will reply when I am back / it will not be forwarded.]

[Name]

##For external senders

[A shorter version without internal names or details.]

A complete example

Written by the AI from this brief, exactly as the workbench would write yours:

An out-of-office auto-reply for Amara Okafor, a senior accountant at a logistics company, on leave from 22 December 2026 to 5 January 2027 with no email access; invoices and payments go to Tom Brennan ([email protected]), payroll questions to the payroll team ([email protected]); messages will not be forwarded and she will reply to anything still open after she is back; a shorter version for customers and suppliers.

Out-of-Office Auto-Reply: 22 December 2026 – 5 January 2027

Internal Version (Colleagues)

Subject: Out of office until 6 January 2027

Hello,

Thank you for your email. I am on leave from 22 December 2026 to 5 January 2027 and will not have access to email during this time.

Your message will not be forwarded. I will read and reply to anything still open once I am back on 6 January 2027.

If your query is urgent, please contact:

Topic	Contact
Invoices and payments	Tom Brennan – [email protected]
Payroll questions	Payroll team – [email protected]

Thank you for your patience, and I wish you a restful break and a happy new year.

Kind regards, Amara Okafor Senior Accountant [Company name]

External Version (Customers and Suppliers)

Subject: Out of office until 6 January 2027

Thank you for your email. I am away from 22 December 2026 to 5 January 2027 without access to email, and will respond to your message when I return on 6 January 2027.

For urgent matters relating to invoices or payments in the meantime, please contact Tom Brennan at [email protected].

Best wishes for the festive season and the new year.

Kind regards, Amara Okafor Senior Accountant [Company name]

Names, figures and dates in the example are made up for illustration.

How it works

1Open the template: a document with the skeleton and the brief appears.

2Add one line about your case to the brief, or attach your notes as sources, and press First draft.

3Edit directly, or ask the AI to tighten, expand or translate any passage; every AI change is reviewed before it lands.

Questions

Can I use the example as it is?

The example shows the shape and tone; its names and figures are made up. Open the template and give the AI your own facts, and it writes yours in the same shape.

Does it work in English and Chinese?

Yes. The document is written in the language of your brief, and any passage can be translated afterwards.

Is it free?

Writing is billed by the tokens used, usually a few credits per draft; the template, the skeleton and the editor cost nothing.