The Complete Guide to Sabbatical Leave for Modern HR

Leaves are one of those things that everybody wants. While it is important to work, working too much can become exhausting. There might be several reasons behind taking a leave. But the saddest part of this is that everyone does not get a leave they apply for.

What's better than taking a leave and still working? This is what Sabbatical leave is. But the problem is that it is not easy to get a sabbatical leave from your office or place of work. There is no specific purpose for taking employee sabbatical leaves. There might be several sabbatical leave reasons which can get you this leave. Some of the most common sabbatical leave reasons include exhaustion from the workspace, inability to reach the workspace, family issues, and many more. 

This might sound odd, but sometimes, the companies themselves offer employee sabbatical leaves. This is because sabbatical leave is not like the other leaves. Go through this write-up to get detailed information and know more about employee sabbatical leaves.
 

Table of Content

1. What is a sabbatical leave?
    
2. Do you need a Sabbatical Leave Policy?
    
3. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
   
   What is a sabbatical leave meaning?
   
   How many days of sabbatical leave should I give to my employees?
   
   Is this a paid leave? If yes, how do we get sabbatical leave pay?
   
   What to do on a sabbatical?
   
   How to ask for a sabbatical leave from the office?
   
   Should I opt for a sabbatical or a career break?
   
   What are the reasons for choosing a career break over a sabbatical leave?
    
4. Sabbatical Leave policies in different countries.
    
5. Creating the Formal Policy Document
    
6. Sabbatical Leave Policy Template
    
7. Terms and Conditions
    
8. What are the conditions that can surely offer you a sabbatical leave?
    

What is a sabbatical leave?

An employee sabbatical leave is quite different from vacations or personal time off. It is not what you get for a specific reason. Instead, anyone can apply for it for several reasons.

The meaning of sabbatical is a period of paid leave. A sabbatical leave is a small or big period of a break from the workspace. During this leave period, the employees do not attend the workspace but still continue their work from any comfortable location. They are given some specific amount of work which they need to submit through the internet or other wireless means, without attending the office space. This is also known as a sabbatical from work. 

The best part of an employee sabbatical leaves is that most companies pay for this leave. Since you work from home, you get paid for it. The other benefits, including pension, payments, and share earnings, are not offered to the employee during this period, but the salary is duly paid.

These are the leaves that you can take for a very long period and still have the security of your job. You have complete chances to return to your job. But there are various sabbatical leave rules that you need to keep in mind while applying for this kind of leave. 
 

Do you need a Sabbatical Leave Policy?

Since we are now aware of the sabbatical leave meaning and sabbatical leave reasons, we need to know about the policy.

There are several sabbatical leave rules and policies that apply to a sabbatical leave. There is a particular period of time for which you need to work in order to be eligible for a sabbatical leave. Also, as soon as you complete this particular period of work, you have just a short-term period of 12 to 24 months in which you can apply for a sabbatical leave. The policy for a sabbatical from work varies from country to country.

An employee sabbatical leaves shows that the company shares a good relationship with its employees, and they care for their employees’ wellbeing. Also, a sabbatical leave pay ensures a sort of security for the employees.
 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) 
 

Q1. What is a sabbatical leave meaning?

Ans. The meaning of sabbatical leave is a paid period off that the company or association offers to its employees on special conditions. There might be several reasons which can be used to opt for a sabbatical leave, but only a few get accepted by the company. These types of leaves show the empathy and care of the company towards its employees. 
 

Q2. How many days of sabbatical leave should I give to my employees?

Ans. A period of sabbatical leave is generally very long. Since you are able to get your work done even when the employee does not attend the office, you can give him/ her a long time off. Generally, people give 25 to 40 days of leave as sabbatical leave. The purpose of a sabbatical leave is to give their employees a break from the workspace and not work to make them comfortable and ensure their continued interest. 
 

Q3. Is this a paid leave? If yes, how do we get sabbatical leave pay?

Ans. It completely depends on the company if they wish to offer a salary to their employees or not. Generally, they are paid. Most of the companies offer to pay their employees who are on sabbatical leave. A sabbatical leave pay is transferred to the employee's accounts through online payments by the company. There are various modes of online payment that a company might use. Some of the most commonly used payment methods are net banking and credit/ debit cards.
 

Q4. What to do on a sabbatical?

Ans. When you are on sabbatical leave, you have various tasks assigned by your office, which you need to complete on time. But still, you get a lot of spare time that you need to spend on something productive. There are a lot of things that you can do during this time. Some of them are mentioned here:

1. If you have taken this break to relax, it'll be better if you take some time out of your busy schedule and de-stress yourself. For this, you can opt for meditation and yoga.
2. You can also choose to volunteer for a good cause. You can also get on a trip that involves a volunteering element in it.
3. You can also utilize this time to upskill your career. You can do plenty of research and choose a good course to enhance your work experience.
    

Q5. How to ask for a sabbatical leave from the office?

Ans. It is not easy to prepare a good sabbatical letter. Firstly, it is very important to be formal. Also, you need to clearly mention all the details about the reason behind asking for the leave. It should look influential and formal at the same time.

After this, it is very important to outline the benefits of this leave to the employer. You need to ensure that you will come back for the job. Also, assure your employer that you will follow all the sabbatical leave rules. You need to tell your employer that you will return refreshed, energized, rested, with more experience, and skills.

 Still, it is not compulsory for your employer to grant you a sabbatical leave. Your employer has no obligation to grant you a sabbatical leave. Thus, if you do not get the leave sanctioned, take it graciously and do your best to get leave next time.
 

Q6. Should I opt for a sabbatical or a career break?

Ans. You should always choose a sabbatical leave over a career break. There are various reasons for this, but some of the most important ones are mentioned below:

1. Career Breaks are unpaid, whereas a sabbatical leave is generally paid.
2. You have the security of your job on a sabbatical leave, which is not there in a career break.
    

Q7. What are the reasons for choosing a career break over a sabbatical leave?

Ans. People might choose a career break over an employee sabbatical leaves for the following reasons:

1. Not being granted a sabbatical leave by the employer.
2. When they are not sure if they really want to get back to their job.
3. When they are not sure about the time they would take to get back to the job.
    

Sabbatical Leave policies in different countries.

The basic policies for a sabbatical leave have already been mentioned here. But for more specific details, here are the sabbatical leave policies in different countries. Each country has its own policies for granting a sabbatical leave. Also, there are numerous rules that need to be met to be eligible for a sabbatical leave.

United States: In the United States, a sabbatical leave is granted for around two to five weeks. The leave is granted only once in five years until you retire. The pay will be granted to the employee within this period of sabbatical leave. Also, there are different extensions to these policies for different companies.

New Zealand: The sabbatical leave meaning is somehow different in New Zealand. Here, companies generally offer unpaid leaves only. In New Zealand, there is a certain number of leaves that are granted to the employees each year; this includes 100 for primary employees and 50 for secondary employees. 

United Kingdom: In the United Kingdom, it is unfortunate that the employees do not have a statutory right to ask for a sabbatical leave. However, there are some laws on flexible working. If the employee works for extra hours on a day, those hours are added and summed up for a leave.

Spain: In Spain, those with at least 12 months of service are eligible for a sabbatical leave. They can apply for a sabbatical leave between four months and five years of employment (after the first 12 months). And the best part is during this period, employees do not need to specify any reason for the same.

Singapore: It is very tough to get a employee sabbatical leaves in Singapore. Companies do not offer this leave. Only a few associations that offer the leave have very tough policies for the same. 

South Africa: Here, you can get a sabbatical leave after the completion of three or six years of continuous full-time service.

India: In India, a sabbatical policy is granted 4-5 weeks after the completion of five years of continuous work in the company.
 

Creating the Formal Policy Document

Various policies need to be kept in mind for employee sabbatical leaves. Keep all of these in mind as an HR professional's guide to sabbatical leave and formulate policies for the same.

Creating a Formal Policy document definitely makes it easier for the company and the employee to grant and take a sabbatical leave. A company needs to consider the following things while creating a formal policy document:

1. The number of days that will be offered on sabbatical leave.
2. What are the qualifications required for a sabbatical leave?
3. Eligibility to apply for a sabbatical leave.
4. The exact meaning of sabbatical leave.
5. The payment and methods of payment to the employee must be mentioned clearly.
6. Procedure to apply for and grant a sabbatical leave.
    

Sabbatical Leave Policy Template

This is the template that can help you as an HR professional's guide to sabbatical leave in getting an overview of a sabbatical leave policy. 

POLICY STATEMENT

An employee will be granted a sabbatical leave only in case of a genuine reason. These reasons include Volunteering for a good cause, resting, or upskilling. It is completely at the company’s discretion to decide if the reason for the leave is genuine or not.

PURPOSE

This leave will be provided to the employees for the betterment of their personal selves. During this time, they can invest their time in resting, upskilling, and volunteering.

ELIGIBILITY

To be eligible for a sabbatical leave, an employee must have been working in the company for at least 5 years. After 5 years of job completion, the employee can apply for a sabbatical leave within the next year.
 

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

If you're looking for an HR professional's guide to sabbatical leave, these terms and conditions need to be followed for a sabbatical leave:

1. All employees with a work experience of 5 years are eligible to apply for this leave.
2. This leave will be granted for a maximum of 40 days.
3. The leave will be paid. All the employees will receive their pay through online transactions.
4. In case the reason for leave is found to be false, the company has all the rights to debar the employee from applying for any sabbatical leave in the future.

 PROCEDURE

To apply for a sabbatical leave, the employee needs to submit an application at the head office at least 5 days prior. The application must have all the details and the exact reason for applying for the leave.

 COMPLIANCE

Employees who fail to comply with the above-mentioned terms, conditions, and procedures will not receive any payments for the leaves.
 

What are the conditions that can surely offer you a sabbatical leave?

Upskilling, travelling for an urgent purpose, resting due to any disease or overall physical and mental wellbeing, volunteering for a good cause, and a genuine break from the workspace are some reasons that can be stated as a cause for taking a sabbatical from work. While it completely depends on the company if they wish to offer the leave to their employee or not, these are some reasons that are genuinely valid and can help in fetching a sabbatical leave.