Unpaid leave?

Go Tobban

Hi there,

I'm thinking about asking my employer for one month unpaid leave on top of 3 weeks holidays, starting from 1st of September. So basically I'm looking for 7 weeks off, 4 of which would be unpaid. I would still have 5 holidays to take for the rest of the year should something come up(emergency's etc)

I've looked over my contract and there's no mention of unpaid leave apart from stuff based around maternity leave

I plan on mentioning it to my supervisor informally to gauge his reaction/opinion and go from there depending on his stance. I would be friendly enough with him so I don't have to worry about it being mentioned to senior mangers.September is generally a quiet period in our place as well so I'm hoping that will help the cause.

So a few questions:

From a managerial point of view, does it look bad on me as an employee asking for unpaid leave to go travelling?

Would I lose my service days(I've been in the company 5 years so have 25 holidays a year) or would it be possible to take unpaid leave without it affecting my contract?(obviously with their discretion)

Any opinions advice on the issue would be appreciated

Thanks

Greenmachine

Go Tobban wrote: »

Hi there,

I'm thinking about asking my employer for one month unpaid leave on top of 3 weeks holidays, starting from 1st of September. So basically I'm looking for 7 weeks off, 4 of which would be unpaid. I would still have 5 holidays to take for the rest of the year should something come up(emergency's etc)

I've looked over my contract and there's no mention of unpaid leave apart from stuff based around maternity leave

I plan on mentioning it to my supervisor informally to gauge his reaction/opinion and go from there depending on his stance. I would be friendly enough with him so I don't have to worry about it being mentioned to senior mangers.September is generally a quiet period in our place as well so I'm hoping that will help the cause.

So a few questions:

From a managerial point of view, does it look bad on me as an employee asking for unpaid leave to go travelling?

Would I lose my service days(I've been in the company 5 years so have 25 holidays a year) or would it be possible to take unpaid leave without it affecting my contract?(obviously with their discretion)

Any opinions advice on the issue would be appreciated

Thanks

First or all there is no automatic entitlement to unpaid leave in any job, or any guarantees that will request will be accepted. I imagine in almost any workplace any such request would have to go through a senior manager.

CIARAN_BOYLE

I reckon if your working days were reduced by a month you would lose a few days of paid leave if they choose to let you take unpaid leave.

Mrs OBumble

OSI wrote: »

Honestly, I'd only consider this if you're in a role you don't foresee any progression in. Unless you're invaluable to the company, I'd rate anyone that would willingly leave their role and responsibility for 7 weeks very low on a list of candidates for any potential promotions down the line.

I totally disagree.

Taking some time to go travelling is a totally normal thing to do, and many companies would far rather grant you extended leave than lose you altogether. In fact public servants have the concept built into their T&Cs as career breaks.

Frankly, if a company cannot cover for being gone for a couple of months when you've given them 6+ months notice, then they've no business being in business. No one should be irreplaceable, and extended leave will often give a lower grade employee valuable "acting up" experience.

Now, some companies do have "no unpaid leave" in their HR policies. But even then, I'd treat it as a guideline and try to negotiate a solution anyway.

The only thing to think about is your personal bottom-line: if they refuse, are you willing to resign and go anyway, or will you change your plans. I've once had to be very clear about things when my own management has approved extended leave 9 months earlier, and then a project manager started making "she can't be allowed to do" noises. Suffice to say he got over it when I said I was either going and coming back, or resigning.

gandalf

What OSI said. You will lose 2.25 days of your leave if you take a month of unpaid leave.

If I was your manager I certainly wouldn't be inclined to offer unpaid leave unless it was a life milestone like getting married etc.

I've worked in jobs where the maximum amount of time off would have been two weeks with maybe a third week if you were getting married or going long haul handled as an exception.

It would certainly give the impression are not committed to the company (whether its fair or not) and it certainly could limit your ability to be considered for promotion down the line in that company.

On the other hand if you view this job as a stop gap and don't intend to spend the rest of your career there then ask away.

Not knowing what kind of work you do but can the company have you absent for that amount of time without hiring cover?

If they can go 7 weeks without you working there is that maybe highlighting that could do without you permanently?

gandalf

Mrs OBumble I would assume that being able to have a "career break" or "travel break" depends on the sector the business is based in. So yes in a PS job that flexibility does exist. Obviously if you work in a large organisation then you could have that option as well (although it typically is linked to the amount of service you have accrued with them already).

I'm talking from my own experience in the SME sector in Ireland and a request like this would be frowned upon.

emeldc

gandalf wrote: »

If they can go 7 weeks without you working there is that maybe highlighting that could do without you permanently?

Exactly what I was thinking.

Lone Shark

I can only speak from personal experience, but as someone who's been a line manager previously, I don't see anything wrong with the manner in which you're approaching this and certainly wouldn't put you off asking. That's not to say that it'll be granted of course, but you're coming to them over six months in advance, you're (presumably) willing to accet that you'll lose a couple of days of paid leave for the reasons stated above, and you're choosing a time when business is comparatively quiet. All of that suggests a willingness to work with your employer, and human nature is such that people like to reciprocate that level of good will.

Again I can't speak for everyone, but if I was in a position to work with you as your manager, I'd like to think that I'd facilitate it as much as I could. I certainly wouldn't say that it would affect you in terms of long term prospects or make you look bad.

Bob24

OSI wrote: »

Honestly, I'd only consider this if you're in a role you don't foresee any progression in. Unless you're invaluable to the company, I'd rate anyone that would willingly leave their role and responsibility for 7 weeks very low on a list of candidates for any potential promotions down the line.

I also disagree.

I took unpaid leave after 5 years after joining a company. I was away for 3 months (2 month unpaid leave combined with one month paid leave) go study a foreign language abroad . I originally mentioned it casually to my manager who agreed in principle and went to seek approval from his own manager.

Since I had been doing a decent job (so I hope) for 5 years they were pretty supportive and though it was well deserved. AndI don't think you it will always look like you "leave your role and responsibility for 7 weeks". When I first mentioned it to my manager I said I would ideally like to do it in the next 12 months whenever it would cause the least annoyance (leaving plenty of time to organise coverage while I was away). They also too it as a good opportunity to have someone else build knowledge on areas which were a bit too dependant on me and which were always problematic when I was sick and on leave. To be honest at the end of the day I think it was positive for my careers there as while I was away a few people sent emails to my manager to mention that while I was a quiet guy, my absence really got noticed and they realised how much work I was doing in the background to proactivly solve issues before they would arrive on their plates.

In any case, the leave didn't prevent me from being promoted to a more senior role about year after returning.

I think it depends on the style of management. I'd say an older workforce, less international staff, being in more "traditional" industries (banking comes to my mind), or being in a small company are all factors which will reduce management's willingness to entertain such request. Not saying that a 55 years old accounting manager at AIB will never accept it ... but I think the odds are definitely much higher with a 30 years Italian IT manager at Google!

secondrowgal

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

I totally disagree.

Taking some time to go travelling is a totally normal thing to do, and many companies would far rather grant you extended leave than lose you altogether. In fact public servants have the concept built into their T&Cs as career breaks.

Frankly, if a company cannot cover for being gone for a couple of months when you've given them 6+ months notice, then they've no business being in business. No one should be irreplaceable, and extended leave will often give a lower grade employee valuable "acting up" experience.

Now, some companies do have "no unpaid leave" in their HR policies. But even then, I'd treat it as a guideline and try to negotiate a solution anyway.

The only thing to think about is your personal bottom-line: if they refuse, are you willing to resign and go anyway, or will you change your plans. I've once had to be very clear about things when my own management has approved extended leave 9 months earlier, and then a project manager started making "she can't be allowed to do" noises. Suffice to say he got over it when I said I was either going and coming back, or resigning.

I am going to take this at face value, and imagine that you are talking about big companies, or PS areas, etc.? I run my own small business and I have 5 employees. We couldn't manage without or replace one of my employees for 7 weeks. Of course I can replace them if they leave, which is difficult in itself, but I wouldn't get a replacement for this short a space of time in my type of business. I run a very successful business, thankfully and thanks to my staff, and I have every business being in business!

I have given and do give extended holidays all right, up to a max of 4 weeks, but we couldn't cover any longer in house and everyone would suffer. Then of course there's the precedent issue, what's good for one is good for another, etc. The company couldn't handle lots of extended leave, either from a business point of view or a workload point of view for those covering. In general I am fairly flexible, and my staff all stay for a long time, so hopefully it is mutually beneficial.

Just another side of the coin to be considered.

OP, if your company is big enough to be able cover your position/wordload and you have a good working relationship with your boss, I wouldn't see any issue. But you don't accrue any holidays whilst you are on unpaid leave so consequently your yearly holiday entitlement will decrease this year.

davo10

secondrowgal wrote: »

I am going to take this at face value, and imagine that you are talking about big companies, or PS areas, etc.? I run my own small business and I have 5 employees. We couldn't manage without or replace one of my employees for 7 weeks. Of course I can replace them if they leave, which is difficult in itself, but I wouldn't get a replacement for this short a space of time in my type of business. I run a very successful business, thankfully and thanks to my staff, and I have every business being in business!

I have given and do give extended holidays all right, up to a max of 4 weeks, but we couldn't cover any longer in house and everyone would suffer. Then of course there's the precedent issue, what's good for one is good for another, etc. The company couldn't handle lots of extended leave, either from a business point of view or a workload point of view for those covering. In general I am fairly flexible, and my staff all stay for a long time, so hopefully it is mutually beneficial.

Just another side of the coin to be considered.

OP, if your company is big enough to be able cover your position/wordload and you have a good working relationship with your boss, I wouldn't see any issue. But you don't accrue any holidays whilst you are on unpaid leave so consequently your yearly holiday entitlement will decrease this year.

I 100% agree with this. It is relatively easy to replace a departing employee on a permanent basis or on a 6 month basis for say maternity leave. But finding a suitable replacement for 7 weeks would be nearly impossible. I also have a successful business and have every "business being in business".