Career break or sabbatical?

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Employees choose to take time away from work for a variety of reasons, more commonly to travel, to take care of family (whether raising children or looking after older relatives) or to study.

A sabbatical can be a paid or unpaid break and is often for a short period of time to pursue interests outside of work or as a reward from an employer. Reed Specialist offer employees a paid sabbatical after 5 years and again after 10 years as reward for length of service and recognition of the work co-members put into the business. Taking time out unpaid, often for a longer period of time than a sabbatical, perhaps a gap-year or longer is what is known as a career break.

Who takes a break?

Of 1,915 people looking for a job with a Reed Specialist branch 13% have taken a career break at some point in their working life to go travelling and 28% to look after the family. At present in excess of 5,000 jobseekers registered on reed.co.uk feature the term ‘career break’ on their CV.

Josh Rufus, Business Manager Reed Specialist Camberwell, Recruitment Consultant “Career breaks can be defined in many ways, from a gap year to a parent returning after bringing up the family. For example a Reed Specialist jobseeker with 15 years experience in a similar role to which they are applying may have developed skills over the 20 year career break, however there is often a need to retrain in certain areas to be more appealing to potential employers.”

Don’t be afraid to ask…

Catherine Maskell, Brand Manager at Reed Specialist, tells us “Employers will often be prepared to keep the door open, returning after a career break employees will be armed with new skills, a new perspective and also the experience and knowledge of the role that a new starter would not have.”

“Prior to making a decision about a career break and before discussing it with your employer, it is important to plan what you will be doing with your time. Think about the skills you could potentially develop while you’re away and those which may benefit your future career, especially if you would like to return to your current employer after the break.”

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Notes to Editors

Reed Specialist is the UK’s leading independent specialist provider of administrative, clerical and support staff.  Assisting jobseekers and Employers for over 40 years, a combination of a national network of over 150 branches and the industry-leading website, reed.co.uk which receives over 1 million job applications per month, mean that Reed Specialist has the widest selection of skilled candidates and job opportunities available in the UK.

Contact

Reed Press Office
0845 241 9249
press.office@reed.co.uk

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