Approaching sabbatical requests as an employer

The discussion of flexible working and work-life balance has increased across all industries, especially resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. We are often asked for advice by clients about how they should deal with various requests tied to flexible working, ranging from working from home to changing hours of work. But, how should employers deal with sabbatical requests?

What is a sabbatical?

A Sabbatical is a period of leave from work. During a sabbatical, employees may spend their time carrying out research, travelling, or simply resting. A Sabbatical is more common in the education industry, for example, a teacher may choose to take a period of time away from teaching in order to conduct research in their specialism.

How employees can legally take sabbatical

Although there is no standalone entitlement to a sabbatical in the UK, employees can take a sabbatical in one of two ways:

• Through paid or unpaid leave, where a contract of employment is still in existence; or
• Through termination of employment, where an employee resigns from their employment and in return, their employer offers re-employment for the time when the sabbatical ends.

It is important that employers are clear as to which approach is being followed in order to avoid complications.

Sabbatical agreements

Where an employer wishes to accept an employee’s sabbatical request, it is advisable that this is formally detailed in writing.  Where an employee will continue to be employed during the sabbatical, drafting a sabbatical agreement is beneficial to detail the conditions that will apply during and after the sabbatical period and where an employee resigns and re-employment is offered, this should be formally documented in the usual way in line with the company notice period and offer of employment requirements.

Sabbatical agreements should be clear and should set out the terms during leave, including:

• The length of the sabbatical leave, including the start and end date;
• Whether the length of leave can be amended, by whom, and the procedure that should be followed;
• Whether an employee will be paid, and the amount;
• The continuance of any benefits and in particular any enhance annual leave;
• Whether pension arrangements are affected;
• The effect on continuity of employment;
• The contractual terms that an employee remains bound by, and any that are suspended;
• How offers of employment from other employers should be dealt with; and
• An employee’s involvement with their employer, for example, visits to their workplace, being included in mailing lists, and attendance at training and team meetings.

Paired with sabbatical agreements, it is also advisable that employers have a sabbatical policy which will explain the procedure in further detail and will help employees understand their employer’s stance on this leave.

Rejecting a request

As there is no entitlement to sabbatical leave, employers can generally refuse requests. However, it is important for employers to consider the knock-on affects of doing so. Refusing a request could cause respected employees to resign such that they lose talent and skills from the business or become unmotivated at work such that performance issues start to arise. Other risks of outright refusals include possible discrimination claims, where for example, a request is made due to a disability.

To mitigate this, employers should maintain consistent approaches, and keep written paper trails of requests and the reason for rejections. It is advisable that there are rules regarding eligibility for requests, such as minimum continuous service requirements.

Pros

There are many pros to granting sabbatical requests, including:

• Retaining respected employees, where they otherwise may have resigned;
• Avoiding redundancies;
• Payroll savings as leave may be unpaid;
• Making employers seem more attractive to potential applicants; and
• Where employment is terminated during leave, the possibility that holiday will not be accrued.

Cons

Despite the pros, the following cons should also be considered:

• Financial circumstances of employees;
• Employee absences during busier periods;
• Mental and emotional affects of employees on leave stemming from feeling disconnected from colleagues; and
• Productivity on return from leave.

Conclusion

It is important that sabbatical requests are considered carefully, no matter whether they are granted or rejected. The effects of sabbaticals on businesses can be either both positive or negative depending on the specific application and external factors. Carrying out a consistent and supportive approach is key to employers avoiding complications.