The Law Firm Sabbatical Countdown: 12 Steps to Taking your Sabbatical.

You’ve made Partner. A few years on and sabbatical eligibility arrives, often in the middle of an exceptionally busy period. The opportunity is real, but so is the diary. Starting to think about your sabbatical early on will help the planning go smoothly. Looking at the process in 12 steps can make preparing for a sabbatical a pleasure rather than a second job.

24+ months out – Prior to eligibility: Consider when might work to take a 2-3 months out. It might not be the year you become eligible, depending on the children. It may clash with a significant exam period for your teenage children. If your children are very young, consider waiting past the toddler / reception age: sabbaticals are simply much easier once the kids are 7 or 8 years old.
24-12 months out: Tell work and school: If your partner needs to lock in time off work, now is a good time for them to raise this with their HR. Mention the possibility of some time away from school to your children’s headteacher to scope the viability of term fees being waived / reduced.
24-12 months out – Scope destinations: Discuss how you’d spend 2-3 months away with your partner. Children will want a say too. Longlists can be whittled down over time as you consider what the priorities are for your time off. Some travellers with LiNGER have included learning a skill, such as sailing in Belize, or dedicating time to volunteering, e.g. at a turtle sanctuary in Costa Rica.
12 months out – Lock it in: Submit the request to HR once you are clear on when works best for you. Normally this is required a year in advance, to allow for cover and to balance sabbatical leave within the department. In terms of schooling, let school know you’ll be taking time off, if you’re going outside the summer holidays. They will be able to help with any syllabus to cover on your time off.
12-6 months out – Meet a sabbatical adviser: Get in touch with a trip designer with a proven track record in sabbatical planning. It’s much more involved that a standard holiday. Share your and your family’s interests and the destinations that appeal. A good planner will meet you to find out more about what you enjoy and what’s made holidays great (or grizzly) in the past. They’ll propose places and activities that you may not have considered, suggest a route and give a guide budget.
12-6 months out – Decide on schooling: Term time away from school can be managed in a variety of ways. For primary school children, parents often deem the school of life a perfectly viable replacement for the classroom. If exam curriculums are underway, the three main options are: a) online classes (in your time zone); b) tutoring yourself; c) taking a tutor with you. LiNGER travellers have done all three and none; what works best is entirely personal.
12-3 months out – Refine the itinerary: A good planner will share a draft with some options and work with you to refine the ideas over the coming months. Once the itinerary is finalised, they will request a 30% it and firm up the flights, accommodation, guides, activities and logistics.
3 months out – Admin: Check you have a minimum of 6 months left on your passport from the date of arrival in the last destination on your trip. At work, cover should be being allocated and handovers floated. Home life will need some prep – a gardener, a neighbour to wheel the bins out and in, a relative to take the dog.
2-1 months out – Unforeseen circumstances: On very rare occasions an ongoing big deal may mean the sabbatical has to be postponed. From a travel point of view, once you’ve outlined your itinerary, it’s relatively straightforward to push it back.
<1 month out – Packing: Check the kids’ holiday shoes and clothes still fit, and check the ‘what to pack’ list from your sabbatical planner.
On Sabbatical: The dream becomes reality. While you’re away, you’ll most likely have a guide and driver in each destination, and be in touch with both your sabbatical designer and a team on the ground.
Return: Refreshed and with new perspectives, you’ll soon be thinking about where to go next.