1. HR Glossary
2. Sabbatical Leave

What is Sabbatical Leave?

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What is Sabbatical Leave?

Sabbatical Leave is an extended break from work, usually given to a senior employee. Such a leave could be paid or unpaid, depending on the leave policy of an organization. The concept of sabbatical leave primarily originates from the Hebrew practice of “Shabbat”.

Shabbat means to rest or the day of rest. For context, the idea of “Shabbat” later came to be known as “Sabbath” in the English language, and the term “sabbatical” is derived from “sabbath”.

There are many reasons why employers offer sabbaticals, such as research, retention, or other purposes.

What is the Purpose of Sabbatical Leave?

Primarily, there are five reasons or purposes for sabbatical leave:

• Employers can offer sabbaticals for research. For example, academic institutions offer sabbaticals to their professors for engaging in projects related to their field.
• Sabbaticals are helpful from a work-life balance perspective as well. Research has shown that employees show more enthusiasm and commitment to their work after an extended break.
• Such policies make employees more engaged and productive. Employees feel valued, and would be subsequently more connected and loyal.
• Sabbatical leave can be an excellent tool for your retention strategy. Such a leave is usually offered to mid-level or senior employees. So, your mid-level employees would be more likely to stay with your organization for the long term.
• Well-known firms like Adobe, Google, McKinsey, and Deloitte offer sabbatical leave. This highlights that offering such leaves could significantly enhance your brand value.

Types of Sabbatical Leave

• Paid Sabbatical: This is a fully paid leave. Employees offer such leaves for skill development and professional growth.
• Unpaid Sabbatical: In this type of sabbatical, an employee is offered an extended break but receives no pay for the time. Such leaves are usually taken for recreational and related purposes.
• Partially Paid Sabbatical: In a partially paid sabbatical, the employer offers a certain portion of salary to the employee.
• Career Sabbatical: Employees take such breaks to consider a new career. Such types of leave are becoming increasingly more popular.
• Professional Sabbatical: professional sabbaticals are offered to an employee for developing skills or participating in related projects.
• Educational Sabbatical: In such types of leave, an employee undergoes a structured academic program to complete formal education. Interns are usually offered such leaves.
• Mental Health Sabbatical: Such breaks help address any mental health issues in employees. Some of the common problems include burnout and chronic stress.
• Travel Sabbatical: The employee takes a travel sabbatical to travel to different places. Such activities provide a nuanced perspective on work and life.
• Volunteer Sabbatical: People take these sabbaticals to serve a community or to participate in other voluntary projects.
• Full-Time vs. Part-Time Sabbaticals: In a full-time sabbatical, an employee can completely disconnect from work. While on a part-time sabbatical, an employee needs to be connected with the work as defined in the company policy.

What is a Sabbatical Leave Policy?

A sabbatical leave policy includes a set of sabbatical leave rules that specify all the details for offering sabbaticals. Here are some things to consider while creating a sabbatical leave policy:

• Eligibility and duration: Specify the criteria related to eligibility and duration. For example, who can take sabbatical leave? For how long can an employee take a sabbatical leave? Also, specify different criteria for different employees if you want to offer more benefits to senior employees.
• Frequency: Decide the frequency of sabbatical leave. For example, how many sabbaticals can an employee take?
• Return to work policy: outline the rules related to return to work after an extended break. Would the employee be offered the same role or a different one? Specify the duration of the training period as well.
• Paid vs unpaid sabbatical leave: This mainly depends on your budget. Many organizations offer paid sabbaticals for skill development. Some also offer unpaid sabbaticals, but these time-offs are offered for recreational and other purposes.
• Complementary benefits: Consider which benefits to offer to an employee while on a sabbatical?
• Code of conduct: Define how an employee should behave while on a sabbatical. For example, specify employee behaviour on social media platforms.
• Compliance: align your sabbatical leave policy with industry standards and regional laws. In India, there are no regulations governing sabbatical leave as of 2025.

Benefits of Sabbatical Leave

Sabbatical leave can be beneficial for both employees and employers.

For Employees

Wellbeing, Engagement

An extended break can have a positive effect on the mental health and well-being of your employees. Such a break becomes a necessity when 65% of employees consider extended breaks important for their mental health. Subsequently, such sabbatical leaves can also improve employee engagement.

Skill Enhancement

Professional sabbaticals can provide tangible returns to your organization. Employees can grow personally and use their new skills to improve the performance of your organization.

Burnout Management

Burnout affects productivity. Sabbatical leave can help employees rejuvenate and reconnect with their work. As a result, they would be in a better frame of mind after such breaks and would perform well in their roles.

For Employers

Retention

In the time of this great talent stagnation, retaining your high-performing employees becomes quintessential. As mentioned, sabbatical leave can be used as a strategic tool for attracting and retaining new talent.

Brand

Offering such employee benefits greatly enhances your brand value. Such a policy highlights two things. First, that you care for your employees, and second, that you follow the best practices followed by established brands like Google. As mentioned earlier, popular brands offer sabbatical leaves.

Succession Planning

This is connected with retention as well. Offering employee benefits like sabbaticals can attract top talent. Such talent can be developed for leadership for the future, helping you avoid challenges related to succession planning.

Productivity

Happy and healthy employees are more productive, and a productive workforce can drive faster growth for your organization.

What are the Challenges in Sabbatical Leave?

While there are more benefits of implementing a sabbatical leave policy, there are some challenges as well:

1. An employee needs to consider factors like affordability if they are offered an unpaid sabbatical leave. For example, unpaid time off for a trip or other recreational activities.
2. Returning employees might find it difficult to reintegrate with the workforce. Such an issue could be because of several reasons, like newer practices and technology.
3. Other employees might not be happy to take up the work of the person who is on leave. Such issues could make the present employees less productive. You could also face some dissatisfaction.
4. HR may need to address any potential compliance issues if the sabbatical leave duration is lengthy.

It is advisable to store documents related to sabbatical leave rules online. Such a practice would help employees and employers in accessing the records in real-time.

Conclusion

Sabbatical leave is becoming increasingly important due to a growing emphasis on employee well-being. It can be a strategic tool for your compensation package. More importantly, sabbatical leave can make employees more engaged, productive, and skilled. For example, professional sabbaticals can help employees develop new skills. Unpaid sabbaticals can also help your employees take time off from work and reconnect with themselves and their family.

factoHR can be an excellent solution for you if you are considering customizing your leave policy for sabbaticals. It can simplify your approval and review process with a multi-approval workflow. It can be instrumental in setting criteria for sabbatical leaves for different employees based on their classification. Its Employee Self-service portal allows employees to access documents related to the sabbatical leave policy in real-time. Book a demo with us and customize your sabbatical leave policy today!

FAQs

What is Unpaid Sabbatical Leave?

An unpaid sabbatical leave is an extended break for which your employer doesn’t pay you—for example, an unpaid break of 3 months for spending time with your family.

What is Paid Sabbatical Leave?

Paid sabbatical leave is an extended period where employees pay a certain amount of salary to you, for example, a 6-month program for skill development.

Can I Take a Sabbatical Leave for 15 Days?

It depends on your organization’s leave policy. Usually, sabbatical leave duration is more than three to four weeks.

Can Employees Resign during the Sabbatical Leave?

Legally, there is no prohibition on resigning during sabbatical leave. However, there are usually terms in a company’s contract or policy that require you to return to work after an extended leave.

How Can Employees Ask for Sabbatical Leave?

Employees can apply for sabbatical leaves by sending an application to the HR head or manager. Based on the company policies, the HR department will allow the leave.

Why does an Organisation Need to Provide Sabbatical Leaves?

A well-designed sabbatical policy helps both employers and employees. According to research, sabbatical leave benefits employees by boosting their well-being. Employers are more likely to attract and retain high-quality personnel.

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