Hi all

We have a support staff technician (drama) who came back after the Christmas break and said they needed a period of unpaid leave as they have secured a part in a drama performance and needed time off.  They gave us very little notice, they told their line manager on the first day of term (Thu 4/01/24) their last day working before the leave would be Fri 12/01/24.  They intend to be off until around Easter.

We  have previously talked about a Sabbatical policy but don't have one in place.  The HOD was chasing for a positive response every day from 10/01/24.  As a result I believed they felt it could be managed in department, but naturally without the wider consideration of the contractual issues.

We want to support the employee, it is a good opportunity for them, and I am hopeful that it will in turn support our students when they return.  I feel it will be motivating for them, hopefully they will be able to share with students some of their experiences and support their learning. 

I am also mindful that to decline and have to recruit a replacement (including all pre-employment checks, DBS, notice etc) when they would look to return in a relatively short period of time, hopefully with more skills than they left with feels like cutting off our nose despite our face.

We have allowed them to have two weeks unpaid leave (from Monday just gone) while we explored the possibility of a sabbatical, which I was hopeful we would be able to approve, albeit late in the day with little notice.  However, the more I have looked into it, the less likely it appears to me we will be able to.

Points I wanted to look at in more depth including issues like LGPS as unpaid leave will impact, what happens with some of the benefits we offer, what if she needs to extend etc etc.

Now that I have had the opportunity to explore it more other organisations say in order to be eligible to apply for a sabbatical you need 5 years' service (she does not have this).  In addition I have since found out they will be paid for the role.

I am concerned that we have now set a precedent and don't really know where to go from here.  Does anyone have any wise words please?

Thank you