Career breaks

If you have 2 years' continuous service, you can request an unpaid career break for up to 5 years.  

People take career breaks for various reasons, for example:  

• to care for children or other dependants 
• to extend family leave  
• enter into full-time education or training 
• for foreign travel or to visit relatives abroad 

While there’s no legal guarantee that we will re-employ you or that you’ll be able to return to the same role, we'll make every effort to help you find a similar role at the same grade.  

Eligibility 

To request a career break, employees must have:  

• over 2 years continuous service with the us 
• achieved an acceptable level of performance in all aspects of their work 
• a satisfactory attendance and conduct record  

Pay and benefits

You can request to take off up to 5 years.  

You will not receive any pay or pension contributions from us while you're on a career break.  

The time you take off as a career break does not count towards your length of service, which will affect benefits tied to length of service. 

If your career break is connected to maternity or caring responsibilities, your continuous service may be paused and restarted when you return to work. In other circumstances, your service from before your career break will usually be lost.

Requesting a career break  

Discuss your request with your manager at least 3 months before you would like to start your career break.  

Managers should consider requests on an individual basis and in line with your employment record and the operational impact your career break might have.  

The final decision to approve a career break should be made by the Head of Service.  

You may find our guidance on taking long-term leave useful when planning your leave.

Career break approval

If your request is approved, you will receive a letter from your manager confirming the dates and your duties while on your career break.   

Managers can use the career break confirmation letter template (DOC, 41KB).

Resigning from your role 

To start your career break, you will need to resign from your role and give notice before you go on leave.  

Check your employment contract to find out how much notice you’ll need to give before you can start your career break. 

Staying in touch 

Agree with your manager how often you will stay in touch during your career break. Some managers may nominate a team member to be your point of contact and to send you any important updates or changes about your team’s work.

You should also tell your manager and team what types of updates you would like to receive.  

Changing the length of your career break 

Give your manager at least 3 months’ notice if you need to change the length of your career break, so they can consider your request.  

Returning to work  

Before you return, you must give at least 3 months' notice to your manager in writing.  

Your manager will explore any options for you to be re-employed in a similar role and grade.  

If a suitable role is available, your manager will discuss the options available with you. If you agree to the new role, you’ll get a new employment contract to sign (subject to pre-employment checks) and agree a return date with your manager.  

Managers should support you as you return to work by arranging an induction programme including:  

• an overview of your role and responsibilities in your team and department 
• meetings with members of your team and other functional areas 
• training, coaching or other support you’ll need  

If there is not a suitable role, you can explore other options such as roles at a lower grade or with a different service, or you can decide to look for a new role with another employer.