〜れる・〜られる（尊敬）
Honorifics with れる・られるmachine translation
FormationConjugated exactly like the passive: group 1 あ-column + れる (帰る→帰られる); group 2 drop る + られる (食べる→食べられる); する→される、来る→来られる
The second way to show respect: conjugate the verb into the れる・られる form — IDENTICAL IN FORM to the passive you've already learned (the 受身 lesson). 帰られる can be passive (the nuisance passive: 友達に帰られた) or honorific "he/she goes home" — only context decides. A tip for telling them apart: an honorific sentence has an esteemed person as its subject doing an ordinary action themselves, with no one acting on them (no 〜に phrase marking an agent); a passive sentence has a subject affected by someone else.
In terms of degree, れる・られる is the LIGHTEST level of respect: less formal than お〜になる and the special verbs (いらっしゃる…), yet widely used in the office because it's compact — 部長はもう帰られました sounds natural among coworkers. Politeness in ascending order: 帰られました < お帰りになりました < (the special form, if one exists).
Note that the られる form of group 2 verbs also coincides with the potential (食べられる: is eaten / can eat / the esteemed person eats). Japanese accepts this ambiguity and relies on context; when you're speaking and worried about being misunderstood, you can avoid it by choosing お〜になる for the honorific meaning.
Examples
部長はもう帰られました。
The department manager has already gone home.
先生は毎朝新聞を読まれます。
The teacher reads the newspaper every morning.
社長は来週アメリカへ行かれます。
The company president is going to America next week.