Should Paid Sabbatical Be A Policy Across Organisations?

Let’s first understand this highly underrated employee benefit which is now catching a lot of attention from corporates. Earlier this term was strongly associated only with academia. Now this term has evolved with times and employees are taking sabbaticals where possible given the high levels of work stress and more companies are making it part of their policy to send an employee on sabbatical after a set time frame though. 

So basically Sabbaticals are incentives or perks widely offered by companies to attract and retain high-performing employees. It’s a tool to keep your trusted and loyal employees, who are an important asset to your company, with you regardless of your gender. But even though they’re not working, offering this leave can have tremendous benefits for workplace productivity.

Views With Regards To Paid Sabbatical Policy

“In my view, sabbatical policy is an excellent way to retain talent and to motivate your team. When we chat with my other industry colleagues, one of the biggest challenges is employer retention. In today’s time, it’s quite easy to look for a new job. I feel someone who has been in the organisation for 5 to 7 years will think twice about leaving if they have a long service sabbatical on the horizon. It is indeed a life-enriching opportunity which says a lot about the company culture and it’s relationship with the people who work for it.  Apart from this, I feel that once in a while everyone need to feel inspired. Sabbaticals is a way to feel energised and reboot one’s outlook. Sometimes a period of paid absence can provide just the sort of time and space that is needed for creative thinking,” believes Amit Das, CHRO, Bennett Coleman Group.

Now coming to paid sabbaticals, CHROs are of the view that almost all employees across the globe always feel that they don’t have enough paid time off as a result they claim that they are over worked and don’t have a good work - life balance.  It is becoming a pretty evident sight to experience an upward trend where large companies are offering paid sabbaticals to all employees irrespective of genders. While the numbers are still very small, it’s definitely picking up.  It is sometimes also packaged as a part of total rewards program. Ofcource it’s a benefit that’s not frequently marketed to potential employees but still its highly beneficial. If you ask me, I would always go with part paid and part unpaid for sabbaticals. 

To quote a few, there are a handful of companies offering sabbatical to its employees, such as; Adobe-offering four to six-week sabbatical leave after 5 years of employment (and every five years after); Paypal- offering four weeks off for every five years of service. To all its employees; Deloitte- offering two types of sabbaticals. You can take an unpaid one-month leave for any reason. You can also opt for a three to six-month sabbatical for career development and volunteer opportunities at reduced pay and lastly, BetterUp- offering a one-month sabbatical after at least five years of employment.

Anjali raghuvanshi, CHRO, Randstad India believes, "there are no government guidelines regarding sabbatical leaves yet and hence it is the onus of companies to use their discretion in curating parameters for sanctioning paid sabbaticals. Employees can be allowed a paid leave based on their employment tenure, length of the leave requested, paid/unpaid sabbatical, required notice and the frequency at which the employee has requested sabbaticals in the past. We can also consider new parameters like mental health requirements, quarantine leave, volunteering for a social cause and the need for upskilling as valid reasons for taking paid time off work."

Further, RP Yadav, Chairman & Managing Director, Genius Consultants explains, “I personally don’t believe gender is a criterion for sabbaticals in any leading organizations. Mostly, eligibility depends on the calibre of the employee, what they bring to the table, their past contributions, the period of leave asked for, etc. Following a thorough examination of these factors, the company decides to grant an employee sabbatical leave.”

The terms and conditions for a sabbatical can vary from organisation to organisation, depending on what the organisation deems best to suit their interests. However, gender should absolutely not be a criterion for eligibility.
 

Parameters For Sabbatical Provision

The parameters of provision of such leaves differ widely from company to company.  In some places, employees are offered an additional 15 paid days off for every 5 years they are at the company over and above regular paid vacation days.  While in other companies, this benefit can only be vailed post 3 to 5 years of continuous service. 

According to Yadav, “Many large organisations use loyalty to the company, tenure of the employee, past performance, contribution to the company, and the value the employee would continue to bring, even in the future, as the most commonly used parameters. The sabbaticals are offered for multiple reasons, including academia, health purposes, family emergencies, or personal reasons.”

Based on these parameters, the company takes the decision to grant paid sabbaticals to their respective employees. “The agreement must have two important clauses addressing how and when the employee is going on a sabbatical leave, their estimated date of joining and post their joining, what is the minimum duration that the company requires them to work for in case they want to serve their notice in the future. Apart from that, there are details regarding the finances that the employee is eligible to claim in the period, the interest rate, and the penalties to be paid to the company in case of breach or violation of the contract,” explains Das.

Usually, the employee and the organisation enters into an agreement, where the company, safeguarding their interest, ensures that the employee signs a contractual agreement ensuring his return after a sabbatical. Breach of this agreement would lead to hefty penalties or further cases where the employee would be liable to pay the company under such circumstances. 

There are a lot of legalities involved, and the organization, in order to protect their investment and retain the employee, would always have a contractual agreement with all terms and conditions stated. 

“The agreement must have two important clauses addressing how and when the employee is going on a sabbatical leave, their estimated date of joining and post their joining, what is the minimum duration that the company requires them to work for in case they want to serve their notice in the future. Apart from that, there are details regarding the finances that the employee is eligible to claim in the period, the interest rate, and the penalties to be paid to the company in case of breach or violation of the contract,” explains Das.

Hence, to avoid the hassle that is very likely to follow in a situation where an employee breaches the contract and decides not to return, 90–95% of employees do resume work after their sabbatical.

Helps In Attracting And Retaining talent

Sabbatical policy is an excellent way to retain talent and to motivate your team. When we chat with my other industry colleagues, one of the biggest challenges is employer retention. In today’s time, it’s quite easy to look for a new job. Different organisations have different offers. Some may offer sabbaticals to only a certain level of employees, while others may offer sabbaticals after an employee completes a certain period of time in the organization. 

The young talent has laid increased emphasis on taking time off work to re-energize and contribute to society. With start-ups and new-age companies promoting a healthier way of work, offering paid tickets for vacations, new vehicles etc., it's high time that traditional companies also start to realize the importance of additional perks. "Policies like sabbaticals will help attract top talent that value work-life balance and the need for continuous growth as individuals. Having said that we believe that companies must evaluate the nature of their business and craft policies that are fair to their employees while also considering business growth," states Raghuvanshi.

Yadav further explains, “the company may also have rules regarding the number of employees in the company who can be on sabbatical at a given period of time. This percentage may vary from organisation to organisation but is generally less than 5%. Along with that, companies try to offer many more incentives to attract the maximum number of prospective employees.”

Also, someone who has been in the organisation for 5 to 7 years will think twice about leaving if they have a long service sabbatical on the horizon. It is indeed a life-enriching opportunity which says a lot about the company culture and it’s relationship with the people who work for it.  

Apart from this, I feel that once in a while everyone need to feel inspired. Sabbaticals is a way to feel energised and reboot one’s outlook. Sometimes a period of paid absence can provide just the sort of time and space that is needed for creative thinking.