What’s a Sabbatical?
A sabbatical is a longer break from professional life. In German-speaking countries, it is also referred to as a ‘Sabbatjahr’ (sabbatical year). You can use the sabbatical to
- have a little more time for the family;
- further your education and to learn new skills;
- experience something that is not compatible with professional life;
- gather new strength and inspiration;
- travel – as we will do.
Usually people take this kind of time off for between three and twelve months. We decided on six months. For me, the focus is clearly on the journey, but with the effect that I can certainly also recharge my batteries a lot.
There are different ways to implement a sabbatical with the employer. Probably the simplest and quickest to implement is an
Unpaid Sabbatical
Employees can apply to the company for unpaid time off to take a sabbatical. In this case, the salary is simply suspended for the duration of the sabbatical. This option is possible at relatively short notice. It is particularly suitable for shorter sabbaticals because in this case no salary is paid during the sabbatical. However, in this case, employees must take care of the social insurances themselves.
Part time Sabbatical
Employees may agree to reduced working hours in order to take a sabbatical. In this case, the salary is adjusted accordingly. Employees work full-time for an agreed period (e.g. 6 months), but only receive part of their salary (e.g. 50%) and compensate for the resulting overtime with time off for the rest of the year.
Sabbatical through time credit
In this model, employees have a long-term account to which the company credits overtime, bonuses, Christmas bonuses or unused holiday days that exceed the statutory minimum leave. With this type of sabbatical, a contract must be concluded in any case. In the contract, the company must also safeguard itself against possible insolvency. The credit is transferred to a trustee so that it is clearly separated from the company’s assets. When the employees go on sabbatical, they receive the accumulated credit converted into salary – and remain socially insured through the company.
Sabbatical contract
In order to avoid misunderstandings or conflicts later on, the conditions for a sabbatical should be clearly stipulated in a contract and, at best, clear guidelines should already exist on the part of the company for requesting and approving sabbaticals to ensure that they apply equally to all employees.
A sabbatical contract should cover the following in terms of content:
- Duration of the sabbatical
The duration of the sabbatical must be precisely defined, including the start and end dates and the number of weeks or months.
- Financial conditions
The financial conditions shall be specified, in particular the salary and other remuneration components during the sabbatical and the impact on social benefits.
- Working conditions
If the employee wishes to remain associated with the company during the sabbatical, the terms and conditions for this, including duties and responsibilities, should be clearly formulated.
- Leave arrangements
There is no entitlement to leave during a sabbatical, but in the case of, for example, a paid sabbatical, it is quite possible to make a different arrangement with the company.
- Return conditions
It should be noted that, in purely legal terms, there is no right to return to the old position unless this is stated accordingly in the contract. In that case, the conditions for returning to the previously held position at the end of the sabbatical must be clearly defined. This may include, for example, the submission of a report on activities during the sabbatical or participation in a re-integration programme.
- Termination of the contract
In the event that the sabbatical cannot be carried out as planned or, contrary to expectations, the employee does not wish to return, the conditions for termination of the sabbatical contract must be specified.
- Illness/accident
Arrangements should also be made for the case of illness or accident, e.g. extension of the sabbatical by the period of illness.
- Liability and insurance
The question of who is liable for any accidents or damage during the sabbatical and which insurance policies must be taken out should also be determined contractually.