When we introduced a policy on sabbaticals, our founder pointed out that the sabbath is the 7th day and said that they should be open to people in their 7th year. However, the exemption from age discrimination for benefits with a service qualification only applies up to 5 years, so that is what we went with.

Have you thought of doing some kind of pulse survey on this to find out what the employees think?

In reply to Elizabeth Divver:

Thank you Elizabeth - that's super helpful...like your founders thinking

Two years for eligibility has been pretty standard in the organisations I've worked in previously (private sector), but I am currently on secondment/career break from my current UK employer (public sector) after 19 months in service, so some organisations do allow it sooner. I think in the UK Civil Service you are eligible any time after passing probation, which is usually 6 months - 1 year depending on the department, but always at the discretion of the department.