All core staff, after five years of employment, are eligible for a sixteen (16) week 100% compensated sabbatical period. The purpose of sabbaticals is to promote periodic rejuvenation of long-time staff through extended time away from the day-to-day operations of an organization, and to support more resilience and leadership development throughout the rest of the organization. An extended break can allow people to rejuvenate themselves physically, emotionally, creatively, and spiritually and thus return to the organization with renewed commitment and perspective. We expect staff to return from the sabbatical and continue working for the Law Center, though we do not require a specific formal commitment.

There are no requirements for how the sabbatical time is spent, other than that it not be used to work for SELC or be employed full-time (30+ hours/week) somewhere else (which would defeat the stated purpose of the sabbatical). Upon return, staff are invited to present to co-workers, in any desired medium, how sabbatical time was spent, but this is not mandatory.

• Sabbatical requests must be proposed to the General Circle at least four months in advance of proposed start date, and should include relevant information, such as how current roles and accountabilities will be filled in the staff person's absence. Approval shall be based on factors generally limited to the organization's ability to fundraise, staff capacity to fill roles in requester’s absence, and overall impact on the organization. Ideally, prior to bringing a proposal to the General Circle, a staff person should discuss the proposal with the Internal Resilience Circle, which can support with assessing and mitigating organizational impact.

• Sabbaticals shall be taken in one continuous period unless a very specific and compelling reason is provided to break it into shorter periods, which, at minimum, shall not be less than four weeks.

• The impact of sabbaticals on SELC's overall capacity will be a consideration for approving sabbaticals. No more than one staff person should be on sabbatical leave at the same time.

• Eligibility is based upon the staff person's starting date as a “core staff” member, as defined in the Official SELC Policies document .

• Compensation during sabbatical will include regular salary at the current rate of pay, and all regular staff benefits. In other words, a staff member remains a staff member during the sabbatical period, and is eligible to participate in all governance decisions.

• Eligibility for subsequent sabbaticals shall follow the same policy as above, starting from the end of the first sabbatical period.

• Staff are advised that this policy neither guarantees an initial sabbatical or subsequent sabbaticals and that the terms of the policy, including the length of compensated time off, may change. For instance, following reports of the Sabbatical Impacts Review Committee, the General Circle may decide to change the policy, such as to set shorter or longer time periods for sabbaticals.

[Updated 07/18/22]