What is a sabbatical? A guide to sabbatical leave

What is a sabbatical?

Originally, the term ‘sabbatical’ referred to time taken by academic professionals to devote to research, travel or writing in their field of study. More recently, however, the term ‘sabbatical leave’ has been used to describe an extended period of leave taken by an employee.

During sabbatical leave, employees are not required to report in for work, but they remain employed under their employment contract.

There are many reasons for which an employee may request to take sabbatical leave, such as family commitments, study, or to pursue personal interests like travelling. Whatever the reason, sabbatical leave can be much more attractive than taking a career break by terminating their employment entirely, as it can provide more future security when it comes to employment rights.

Do employers allow sabbatical leave?

This will depend upon your employer and their stance on the subject. While some may agree to allow valued employees to take sabbatical leave rather than lose them entirely (or as a reward for long service), there is no current law in the UK that means employers are obliged to grant sabbatical leave.

This means that there is no legal right for employees to take sabbatical leave, regardless of their circumstance or reason for requesting the leave.

Despite this, it can sometimes be in the best interest of employers to allow employees to take sabbatical leave. If you wish to make a request, the first thing to do is check to see whether your employment contract includes a sabbatical leave policy.

What are your rights when it comes to sabbatical leave?

This will depend almost entirely on how your sabbatical leave has been arranged. For instance, some employers may agree to your leave on the condition that you resign from your post and re-join the company after your break has ended.

In this circumstance, any employment rights you have – including statutory rights, such as annual leave entitlement – will usually be lost for the period you are out of work. It also means that, for any employment rights concerning length of service such as redundancy pay and unfair dismissal rights, you will not be considered to have been ‘continuously employed’, meaning the length of service begins again upon your return.

If your contract of employment continues through your sabbatical period, it counts as a period of continuous employment. This means that all your employment rights remain intact throughout your leave and upon your return.

Where you remain employed during your sabbatical leave, you should not be overlooked for promotion or have a pay review ignored just because you are on sabbatical leave.

Can you return to work after sabbatical leave?

Whether or not you can take up your old job when you return from sabbatical depends on the sabbatical agreement you have with your employer.

The agreement may be that you can return to the exact job you left, or it may be that you can return to a similar role on the same terms and conditions but not necessarily the same role.

If your contract of employment continues during your sabbatical period, you will continue to accrue statutory entitlement to paid annual leave.

A sabbatical agreement should be signed by you and your employer before the period begins and should detail the status of your employment contract during the break.

Terms you should look at include:

• How long the sabbatical period will be, plus, whether this length of time can be reduced or extended by either you or your employer.
• How long your employer is willing to hold the position open for you and what the required notice period is.
• Whether or not you will continue to be paid your salary and qualify for bonus payments while on the career break.
• Whether your salary or role will change upon your return.
• Whether you continue to receive your contractual benefits while away or if these are reduced or removed during the sabbatical period.
• Also, if you are expected to return the monetary and non-monetary benefits you receive while away if you choose not to return to work or leave shortly after coming back to work.
• What duties you continue to have while away (such as good faith and confidentiality). Plus, if there is an obligation to return to work for short periods of time.

We would advise that you check out your employer’s written sabbatical policy if they have one.

Is sabbatical leave paid?

Ultimately, whether you are paid during your sabbatical leave is at the discretion of your employer. As with your right to return to work or to continuous employment, payment of a salary during your sabbatical leave should be negotiated with your employer and set out in the terms you both agree to.

This is because there is no statutory right to sabbatical leave, meaning it is up to the individual employee and their employer to negotiate the terms of any such leave.

In most cases, sabbatical leave is unpaid, though some employers may agree to pay a reduced rate or a retainer to secure the employee’s return to work.

What are the risks of taking sabbatical leave?

As set out above, taking sabbatical leave can pose several risks, though the exact nature and severity will come down to the terms you agree with your employer.

For example, if you remain an employee under your employment contract and your employer pays a retainer to ensure your return to work, you will remain protected by your statutory and contractual employment rights, as well as maintaining a certain level of financial security.

Alternatively, if you are asked to resign from your position and to take your sabbatical leave entirely unpaid, you open yourself up to a greater level of financial loss and will most likely lose any employment rights you had while employed full-time.

If you are thinking about taking sabbatical leave and would like to find out how best to secure the optimum terms for your break with your employer, speak to our specialist employment team for tailored, award-winning legal advice.

You can call us on freephone 0330 041 5869 or contact us online to arrange a call back.

All the above information was correct at the time of publication.