Career Breaks What are they Career breaks is

Career Breaks

What are they • Career breaks is when an employee takes a period of time off of there work to do something new and exciting. Examples include travelling around the world and raising children from a young age.

Sabbatical • The word “sabbatical” is often used when your employer is keeping your job open. • This type of career break is usually unpaid leave and there is no legal entitlement to it - you have to agree it with your employer • Is usually between 1 month and 2 years long but 6 months to 2 years is the most common period of time. • You can also take many career breaks that are less than 1 month

Advantages for staff • The ability to take a break from work with confidence of returning at an agreed future date • Continued contact with work and colleagues during the break • Extending the standard maternity leave period until children have grown older • The chance to step outside the world of work to refresh attitudes and skills • Taking time out when younger with the intention of extending a career later

Advantages for employer • When they return, they have new skills they can bring to the work place, such as communication, practical skills, or leadership • They may also learn different ways of working, bringing greater efficiency to your company • They develop confidence (this is a cliché but its something almost all career breakers mention) • They don’t have to pay for the employee that is on the career break so they save money as it is unpaid leave • The company is perceived as investing in their staff, meaning greater loyalty from employees • (ultimately, offering career breaks can result in financial benefits for the company in the long term)

Disadvantages • For staff: – A career break involves a break in service, which means that the service cannot count towards length-of-service pension calculations – They would not get money as they are not working

Disadvantages • For employer: – They will have to keep the post open until that employee comes back from their career break – Will have to employ other staff to cover the job – Quite a lot of paperwork to be filled in by the employer (and employee)

Bibliography http: //www. westessexpct. nhs. uk/pubs/pdfs/pol icycareerbreak. pdf http: //www. thecareerbreaksite. com/employerinformation http: //en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Career_break