Fiscal Sponsor Organizations

What is your current policy?

“After every 7 years of continuous full time employment at AMP, employees are eligible for a 40 day paid sabbatical (320 Hours)

If an employee drops below 40 hours/week (100% Full Time), AMP HR will calculate the average percent of full-time over the 7 year period. The sabbatical allotment will subsequently be adjusted to align with the averaged percent.

This time can be taken in one large chunk, or spread out over time. Sabbatical days are subject to different rules than PTO. You must use all 40 days within 5 years of getting it (it does not have to be all at once). The time off must be scheduled with the approval of the employee’s supervisor.

Sabbatical days are not eligible for payout.

If you leave AMP and return after 6 months of separation the clock resets. Those re-hired within 6 months of exit are able to keep their tenured status.”

Thanks for sharing, @Anne Haddox (they/them). While we wait for others to chime in (I’m not sure how many orgs have sabbatical policies so it will be interesting to see what kinds of responses we get!), are there specific parts of AMP’s current policy that are causing issues or that the team/leadership is looking to change?

@Andrew Schulman thanks for that clarifying question. one question that has come up for us is how long an employee could/should be expected to work post-sabbatical. so I’m especially curious if folks have (non-punitive) policies around that. and I think just looking at the policy more broadly, too.

Hi - @Jennifer Hoffman, @Oliver Hack, @Josh Brugner, @Sarah McCann (she/hers), @Sarah Motola, @Mike Strode, @Alicia Lara and @Katinka Hakuta - Do your organizations offer sabbaticals and/or do you have any experiences with them?

Unfortunately, I don’t have any experience with this. I have brought this up in the past to my team and we quickly deemed it was not a good fit.

We do not have one, but worked through one with one of our fiscally sponsored Partner programs and it is an issue other orgs I have worked with have dealt with. I would question what your goal is - is the sabbatical a benefit for working 7 years? If yes, why would you put any requirement beyond the employee taking advantage of their benefit after putting in the work to earn it. Alternatively, if you are trying to use it as a retention benefit to get people to stay beyond 7 years then you might want to tie to some sort of contract/job renewal so the benefit would kick in with continued commitment, rather than benefit for time already completed.

Here is my organizations policy! We just revamped it / put it in writing and have 3 people who will be eligible later this year.


Sabbatical Leave Policy

SVA’s sabbatical leave policy describes our requirements and procedures for offering paid sabbatical leave to employees. We offer sabbatical as a reward to employees who have worked with SVA for a long time and as a way to encourage them to rest and rejuvenate.

Eligible employees are employees classified as “regular” who have consecutively worked five years full-time. Parental leave and medical leave count toward employees’ time of service. This type of leave is separate from PTO and sick leave.

Sabbaticals offer eligible employees 12 weeks (60 work days) of paid, sabbatical leave after five years of employment. Sabbatical leave cannot be accrued. In other words, you should take your leave in your 5th year of employment. You do not have to use the full number of weeks of paid sabbatical, but you cannot split them. The time must be taken consecutively.

Your supervisor and the executive team have discretion when approving the timing and dates of sabbaticals as they need to consider other staff who may be out of the office or on sabbatical near or at the same time and how this may impact the organization's ability to operate effectively.

There are no work-related requirements for what you do during your sabbatical and you do not have to return any organizational equipment while you are away.

Your employment agreement and benefits remain intact while you are on sabbatical leave. We will inform you promptly of any unforeseen organizational changes or department restructuring, should that happen while you are on sabbatical.

Sabbatical Procedure

Once you become eligible, submit a request to your supervisor at least four months before your requested sabbatical start date. Include the requested dates and a basic plan for how your responsibilities will be covered while you are out of the office. Once your supervisor and the executive team approve your request, they will notify HR.

How supervisors approve sabbaticals

When a team member requests a sabbatical, consider whether:

The dates coincide with significant projects this employee has a critical role in. If they are absolutely needed, discuss alternative dates for the sabbatical.

Other team members will be out during that time. As a small to mid-sized organization, two team members very likely cannot be on sabbatical at the same time.

Review requests on a first-come basis.

Other employees' sabbatical time would overlap. If yes, consult with the executive team and HR.

This employee is under an improvement plan or has been written up in the last six months. In these cases, they cannot take sabbatical leave.

If those criteria are met, supervisors should approve the request. Supervisors are responsible for ensuring that a written plan for meeting job duties while on sabbatical is in place and understood by other team members. In some cases, a contractor may need to be hired.

thanks all, I appreciate your time & responses!

No. We are early stage enough that we have only now begun exploring whether unlimited PTO is actually working for us. It is not in practice because some people (generally higher in responsibility) choose not to take intentional time off. Or they don’t feel like they can be untethered for that long.

ESI has created a sabbatical leave program for its staff with seven or more years of tenure to reward their service to the organization, recognize their commitment to our mission, and to provide an opportunity to renew their energy and enthusiasm for their work. In addition, the program provides an opportunity for growth and development of other staff members during a given person’s extended leave. Employees who are granted sabbatical leave may use their leave for travel, study, professional or personal development, volunteer service, family time, or any other pursuits that will enable and encourage renewal.

Eligibility

Full-Time and Part-Time A employees are eligible to take sabbatical leave during or after their seventh year of continuous employment. They must be in good standing with above average performance reviews, and they must not have been under a performance improvement plan or subject to disciplinary action for the 12 months preceding the sabbatical request. Employees who have been granted a sabbatical must complete another six years of continuous employment after the end date of their sabbatical before being eligible to take another sabbatical.

Terms and Conditions

Sabbaticals may be anywhere from four to eight weeks in duration, depending on employee preference, availability of accrued leave time, and organizational capacity to support the leave. The first two weeks of the sabbatical will be paid; Part-Time A employees will be paid based on their regular work schedule. Employees must use accrued vacation and/or sick leave and/or holidays for the remainder of the sabbatical, as follows:

• Accrued vacation: All hours may be applied.

• Accrued sick leave: All but 36 hours may be applied (18 hours for Part-Time A employees).

• Floating holidays: All unused hours may be applied.

• Observed holidays: All unused hours may be applied only if the sabbatical leave includes those dates.

ESI will continue to pay for medical/dental insurance, life/long-term disability/short-term disability insurance, and 401K employer contributions during the employee’s sabbatical. Employees will continue to accrue paid time off during their sabbatical leave.

Sabbaticals must be continuous and uninterrupted. They may not be combined with other leaves of absence (PFML, etc.), and employees may not take vacation within six months before or after taking a sabbatical.

Because the purpose of a sabbatical is to take a break from work for the purpose of renewal and rejuvenation, employees may not accept other paid employment or contracting work during an approved sabbatical.

Sabbatical leave may not be cashed out or exchanged for additional compensation.

In extraordinary circumstances, a sabbatical may be revoked if there is a significant change in circumstances for the organization and there is a compelling need to have the affected employee return to work.

An employee who fails to return to work at the end of their sabbatical without prior approval from the Executive Director to extend their leave will be deemed to have abandoned their position, and employment will be terminated.

Requesting Sabbatical Leave

Prior to submitting a formal request for sabbatical leave, employees should discuss their request with their supervisor. If the employee’s supervisor approves, they must communicate support for the sabbatical request with a written and signed statement to accompany the sabbatical request that includes the following:

• A statement affirming that the requested period for a sabbatical either coincides with the least busy/most optimal time for the employee to be on extended leave; or that the leave is not expected to be unduly disruptive to the program’s operations.

• A statement affirming that the needs of the organization can still be met without hiring temporary staff to fill behind the employee seeking the sabbatical.

• A statement outlining the plan for covering the employee’s responsibilities while they are on sabbatical.

Requests for sabbatical leave must be made using the sabbatical request form and submitted to the Sponsored Project Director and the Executive Director. Requests must be made at least four months prior to the start date of the requested leave, to allow for sufficient time to plan for coverage of the employee’s responsibilities during their absence. The employee’s supervisor and Sponsored Project Director must approve or decline the request. For requests that receive approval by the affected supervisor and Sponsored Project Director, final approval rests with the Executive Director. Approval for sabbatical leaves will not be unreasonably withheld if the employee meets all eligibility criteria, if all terms and conditions are met, and if the Executive Director determines that granting the sabbatical will not place undue hardship on the organization or its team members. Based on recommendations made by the employee’s supervisor and Sponsored Project Director, the Executive Director may ask the employee to alter the proposed dates of the sabbatical as a condition of approval.