Employment Matters October 2009 

Sabbatical anyone?

In the current economic climate, many employers are looking at alternative ways to reduce costs and avoid redundancies, such as flexible working, cutting out bonuses and freezing pay. Sabbaticals are another option for employers which should be considered as they offer a number of advantages to both the employer and employee and can provide an immediate reduction in overheads. The obvious benefits include:

 
• Motivating and retaining talented employees.
• Improving employer and employee relations.
• Avoiding the cost of recruitment when the economy recovers.
• Improved employee morale.
• Avoiding redundancies and other cost-cutting measures.

The Legals
As with most areas of employment law, it is sensible to plan well and to formulate a policy to deal with the sabbatical details. Any policy should make it clear that the availability of the sabbatical is wholly at the discretion of the business and any decision will be decided primarily on the needs of the business at the time of the request. 

Who should be eligible for a sabbatical?
Eligibility criteria may include length of service (this may have to be justified as a way of rewarding loyal staff if any age discrimination issues were raised), performance and job role. It is essential that the criteria is applied in a fair, non-discriminatory and objective way.  

Consideration needs to be given to those who are not in the office, for example, those on secondments, maternity leave or sick leave. If the sabbatical is to be partially paid it is important to put measures in place to ensure it is not abused.  For example, an employee who has exhausted their sick pay may apply for a paid sabbatical.  In this scenario it would be sensible to have a clause in the policy stating that the sabbatical can only apply if the employee is medically certified as fit to return to work. Care should be taken to ensure the employer complies with its obligations under the Disability Discrimination Act to ensure any reasonable adjustments are made for a disabled employee.