What is a sabbatical agreement?
A sabbatical is a long, planned break from work — often months — that the employee returns from. Because it's longer than ordinary leave and often partly or fully paid, the terms matter more: what the employee is paid, which benefits carry on, whether they can work elsewhere, what job they come back to and whether they have to stay for a while afterwards.
This agreement sets the start, end and return dates, and optionally the purpose. You choose fully paid, partly paid or unpaid, and describe benefits. It asks the employee to hand over their work, confirms they're not expected to work during the sabbatical, and lets you choose whether other paid or voluntary work is allowed. The return clause commits the company to give back the same job or, if you choose, a similar one on terms no less favourable, and says the employee is treated as if at work for any business changes. Finally, you choose whether there's no repayment, full repayment, or a reducing share of sabbatical pay if the employee resigns within a set number of months — with carve-outs for redundancy and ill health and a limit to what the law allows.
- Best for
- Paid, partly paid or unpaid sabbaticals, usually after long service
- Signed by
- The employer and the employee, initialled on every page
- Repayment
- None, all, or a reducing share if the employee leaves within a period you set
- Length
- About 2 pages
When to Use a sabbatical agreement
- A long-service sabbatical under a company benefit policy
- A few months off to travel, volunteer or study
- A research or writing sabbatical for a senior specialist
- An unpaid career break the company wants to support while keeping the job open
- A paid sabbatical where the company wants the employee to stay for a period afterwards
What You Fill In
19 blanks, then the name and email of each person who signs: employer, employee.
1 The parties
- Date of the agreement*
- Employer (company name)*
- Employer address
- Employee's full name*
- Job title*
2 The sabbatical
- Sabbatical starts*
- Last day of the sabbatical*
- Back at work on*
- Purpose (optional)
3 Pay and benefits
- Pay during the sabbatical* Fully paid · Partly paid · Unpaid
- How partly paid sabbatical is paid
- Benefits during the sabbatical*
4 Before and during
- Handover and cover
- Other work during the sabbatical* The Employee will not work for anyone else during the sabbatical without the Company's written agreement · The Employee may do other paid or voluntary work that does not compete with the Company or conflict with their duties to it
- Keeping in touch
5 Returning
- On return, the Employee goes back to* the same job, on the same terms · the same job or, if that is not reasonably possible, a similar job on terms no less favourable
- If the Employee leaves soon after returning* No repayment · Repay all sabbatical pay · Repay a reducing share of sabbatical pay
- Commitment period after returning (months)
- Governing law*
6 Who signs
- Employer signature and date, job title, initials on every page · Someone authorised to agree leave and pay
- Employee signature and date, initials on every page · The employee taking the sabbatical
What the sabbatical agreement Covers
- The sabbatical
- Pay
- Benefits, holiday and service
- Before the Sabbatical
- During the Sabbatical
- Returning to work
- Commitment after returning
- General
Using the sabbatical agreement, step by step
1 Set the dates
Enter the first and last day of the sabbatical and the date the employee is back at work. Add a purpose if it helps, such as travel and volunteering.
2 Decide pay and benefits
Choose fully paid, partly paid or unpaid; for partly paid, describe how (for example, 50% of basic salary monthly). The benefits box starts with an example — rewrite it to match your plans, after checking each plan's rules for long absences.
3 Agree handover, other work and contact
Describe the handover and who covers the role, choose whether other work is allowed, and agree how you'll keep in touch — for example, a call six weeks before the return.
4 Choose the commitment and send
Pick whether any sabbatical pay must be repaid if the employee resigns soon after returning, and for how many months. Add the governing law, then send; both parties sign and initial each page.
Tips Before You Send It
- Repayment clauses and deductions from final pay are restricted in some places. Check local law before choosing one.
- Ask the employee to use up their remaining holiday before the sabbatical starts — the agreement says so unless you agree otherwise.
- Confirm in writing whether pension and holiday keep building up during an unpaid or partly paid sabbatical, as the agreement commits you to do.
- Plan cover early and name the person acting in the role, so the employee can switch off.
Sign It Online In Minutes
- Fill in the blanks. Names, dates and amounts go straight into the agreement — the preview shows exactly where.
- Name who signs. Tick “This is me” for your own part. VergeHR builds the PDF with every signature, date and initials box on the right line, and you can check or move anything before sending.
- Send it. Each signer gets a secure link and signs from any device — no account needed. The signed PDF, with an audit trail and a Certificate of Completion, is filed in Files and emailed to everyone.
Sabbatical agreement: frequently asked questions
Is the employee still employed during a sabbatical?
Yes. The agreement says employment continues throughout, and the employment contract still applies except where the agreement changes it for the sabbatical period.
Can the company ask for sabbatical pay back if the employee leaves?
You can choose a repayment option: all of it, or a share that reduces month by month, if the employee resigns or is dismissed for gross misconduct within the period you set. It does not apply to redundancy, ill health or other dismissals, and it's limited to what the law allows.
Does the employee get their job back?
The agreement commits the company to that. You choose the same job on the same terms, or the same job or — if that isn't reasonably possible — a similar job on terms no less favourable. If business changes affect their role while they're away, they're treated as if they'd been at work.
Can a sabbatical agreement be signed electronically?
Generally, yes. Electronic signatures are widely accepted for employment agreements like this in the US (ESIGN Act and UETA), the UK, the EU (eIDAS) and Canada. VergeHR keeps an audit trail with the signed PDF.