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Planning and funding a sabbatical: what you need to know beforehand

08.07.2025

Many people dream of a longer professional break, known as a sabbatical. There are a few things to bear in mind if you want to make your dream come true. We show you what you need to know about finances, insurance and your employment relationship.

At a glance

  • Whether it’s for travel, advanced training or a career change: a sabbatical opens up new prospects and often permanently alters the way people view their jobs and everyday lives.
  • It’s never too late for a sabbatical: a break can be an enriching experience, even later on in your career. 
  • If you plan in good time, you can prepare your employer, family and finances very effectively. In fact, the sooner you start planning, the more flexibility you will have.
  • There’s a lot to figure out: school permissions, insurance, your living situation, etc., but with the right preparation, you can enjoy peace of mind on your sabbatical. Our checklist can help you with this.

Travelling with your family for four months, writing a crime novel, weighing up a career change or brushing up on some rusty French – exactly how a sabbatical is used is a personal matter and depends on your interests and circumstances.

As a result, there is no universal definition of a sabbatical. With that said, it usually refers to a temporary break from working life, which typically lasts several weeks/months to a year, or even longer. A sabbatical is often taken for travel, advanced training or recreation and is generally used to take a break from everyday working life, de-stress and gain new perspectives on career and life.

Forget about everyday life and embark on an adventure – but make sure it’s well planned financially

To ensure that you can enjoy your sabbatical with peace of mind, it is worth planning your finances wisely. We highlight the options available to you for investing and good retirement planning.

Find out more

Planning a sabbatical: get started early enough

The idea of a sabbatical is usually something that’s been on a person’s mind for a while. At first, it’s just a vague notion, with initial plans forged and then discarded. Eventually, things become more set in stone, and it’s at this point in time at the latest that you should start proactively making plans and preparing. Depending on the type and length of your sabbatical, you may need more or less time, but you should allow for about a year of planning time.

Checklist: Preparing for your sabbatical

A checklist can help with preparation and planning, e.g. you can divide up your checklist so that individual tasks are spread out over months/weeks before your sabbatical begins. We recommend setting money aside as early as possible. If we take as an example a family of four who wants to travel around Europe for four months, the checklist could look like this:

    • Inform the crèche, nursery and school about the absence
    • Apply for unpaid leave from your employer
    • Settle on an itinerary
    • Check/extend/apply for passport and ID
    • Compare/adjust/take out insurance policies
    • Start searching for and booking accommodation
    • Decide what payment methods to take 
    • Book your first flight or train tickets
    • Get booster jabs
    • Doctor appointments (dentist, paediatrician, gynaecologist, etc.)
    • Make a shopping list of things you’ll need, including first-aid kit
    • Cancel memberships and magazine subscriptions
    • Set up mail forwarding and a direct debit scheme
    • Sort out authorizations for accounts and insurance
    • Extend tax return submission deadline
    • Purchase what you need
    • Put together a first-aid kit
    • Draw up a packing checklist
    • Prepare your flat for subtenants
    • Gather travel documents and information
    • Digitize documents and IDs
    • Say goodbye
    • Pack
    • Get foreign currency

Funding your sabbatical: saving and budgeting

Funding is the number ONE priority when it comes to planning a sabbatical. However, not only do the costs of any travel or training need to be taken into account, but also any loss of salary during the sabbatical in particular.

If you haven’t just come into an inheritance or won the lottery, you should and indeed need to think about how you’ll fund your sabbatical at an early stage.

Be properly safeguarded, even during your sabbatical

You shouldn’t just be concerned with funding when planning your sabbatical – you also have to deal with insurance. After all, the whole point of taking a break from work is for your own pleasure and relaxation, and it shouldn’t be overshadowed by uncertainties.

Sabbaticals abroad – fancy combining travel and work?

If you intend to spend your sabbatical abroad, you might be toying with the idea of being a digital nomad and combining work and travel. If you are self-employed and have a traditional office job, you’ll be able to work on the go with relative ease. Employees can also occasionally work remotely if their duties or their employer allow it. In both cases, you need good time management, a reasonably stable Internet connection with the necessary security precautions, and the trust of customers and employers alike.

If you plan to spend time abroad in particular, you must check the above-mentioned insurance policies thoroughly and look into visa/residency regulations, as well as other legal requirements abroad. Allow enough time for this.

Getting back to work after your sabbatical

If you are employed and take unpaid leave, you usually return to work afterwards. You will need to agree on whether this will be in the same position or subject to a change. Make a note of this in writing and remember: you can also give notice during your sabbatical. Keep in touch with your supervisors and team during your absence and make sure they hear from you on a regular basis.

If you give notice and look for a new job later on, you should be aware that you cannot apply for unemployment benefits as soon as you’re back in the country, and that it may take a while before you return to the world of work.

Give some thought to how you want to present this “gap in your CV” and be sure to update documents, such as employment references and your CV, when you are ready. A career break is no longer a red flag nowadays, but you should still try to sell your sabbatical and the new skills you’ve acquired as persuasively as possible on your CV.

FAQs

  • There is no legal entitlement to a sabbatical in Switzerland, and you must negotiate this break with your employer. Common models include unpaid leave, time-off in lieu, a working time account or giving notice. Speak to the relevant person at an early stage and clarify issues such as insurance and retirement planning.

  • A sabbatical is usually associated with a salary loss or salary reduction. Perhaps you can draw on reserves to make your dream come true. Otherwise, you should make targeted, early savings. By tracking your expenses, you can find potential savings and put money aside. Passive income (e.g. from rent or dividends) can also be a source of funding.

  • This depends on whether you remain employed and whether you stay in Switzerland or go abroad. Important: health insurance (including additional insurance for trips abroad), accident insurance (if you give notice, arrange this yourself or opt for interim accident insurance), household and liability insurance and – for travel – comprehensive travel insurance.

  • If your salary falls during your sabbatical or you quit your job, this will have an impact on your retirement provision. If you give notice, the pension fund assets will be transferred to a vested benefits account. Unpaid leave may result in contribution gaps. These can be compensated for later – if required – by voluntary payments into your pension fund or private retirement planning.

  • Yes. As long as you are registered in Switzerland, you must pay taxes – even without income. Seeing as you will typically earn less during your sabbatical, your tax payments may be lower. With good planning, the tax burden can be spread out over the course of two years, which can yield additional savings.

  • This also depends on the type and length of your sabbatical. As a guide, you should allow for about a year. This will give you enough time to work out professional matters, save money, adjust insurance policies, get your documents in order and make any travel arrangements. A detailed checklist will help you to keep track so nothing important slips through the cracks.

  • You can give notice, sublet it or leave it empty. It’s only worth giving notice if you’re away for a long time, and it’s only worth leaving your flat empty if your rent is very low and you’re away for a short time. Subletting or flat-swapping are practical options, though if it’s a rental apartment, you should consult your landlord. 

  • Whether school-age children can be taken out of school for a sabbatical depends on the canton and the school management. In the canton of Zurich, for example, children can be taken out of school for up to 12 weeks if the school management approves. It is also possible to withdraw a child from school and provide private education – but often only if one parent is a trained teacher.

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