Sabbatical stories: Hear from our people who took sabbaticals in 2024!

Every five years, our people have the chance to take a sabbatical of four weeks, fully paid and with additional spending money to ensure they can do something special with their time. Whether it’s taking a road trip, jetting off to a tropical paradise or staying closer to home… the options are endless!

Plus sabbatical savings scheme – putting money aside each month into a trust bank account set up on their behalf which can be withdrawn at any time ready for when the sabbatical arrives!

In 2024, 21 colleagues took their sabbaticals - here's what some of them got up to…

“My most memorable part of the trip was all the friendly people we met. It was great to take advantage of the extra time off to do something you may have never done before, whether that be to travel or to try a new hobby.”

Sarah Cooper, Lead Reception & Events Coordinator

“I took the first four weeks of the summer holidays off to avoid the juggle of childcare! It’s a great benefit which allows you to properly switch off from work, be present in the moment for your family and friends and come back to work feeling revived.”

Gemma Robinson, Senior Associate

“I explored the USA with my husband. It really was the adventure of a lifetime and trying to pick a highlight would be impossible, but we spent the best two weeks in the Texas sunshine visiting Dallas, watching a Dallas Stars ice hockey game, visiting the Dallas Cowboys’ stadium (and the cheerleader’s locker room – America’s Sweethearts biggest fan here!) and more!  I’m planning and saving for the next one has started already.”

Jennifer Janes, Associate

“We have come away with some lifelong memories: being hosted by a chef in their favourite local restaurant, visiting the 9/11 memorial, walking along Boston’s Freedom trail, running up the Rocky steps, watching the Yankees, beating your kids in the baseball batting cage.”

James Gliddon, Partner

“As someone who loves to travel, the sabbatical is such a good opportunity to plan a trip to a place you wouldn’t necessarily be able to do with tight time constraints. We didn’t have to worry about cramming anything in and got to really spend time and appreciate each place we visited without it feeling rushed.”

Alice Ward, Probate Executive

“As well as travelling I took the opportunity to just ‘be’ and relax at home and enjoyed a full summer of sport and did a couple of DIY projects including building a lean to at the side of my house. I did feel like I had a complete break from work and was able to switch off and enjoy life at a slower pace.”

Justin Goodman, Legal Director

“A sabbatical doesn’t come around very often and so I wanted to do something I would potentially never get the chance to do again so I decided to go travelling around Thailand. This is a great benefit as it allows you to take some well-deserved time off work, guilt free and know you still have a job to come back to at the end of it!”

Laura Bethell, Senior Conveyancer

“I took four weeks off, decided to chase the sun and headed off to Sri Lanka for three of those weeks. Going on sabbatical has been an amazing opportunity to take an extended break from work to do something I couldn’t do in a normal holiday and come back feeling extra refreshed!”

Rachael Bristow, Senior Brand and Internal Communications Manager

” I took a two-week Caribbean Cruise. I’ve never been on a cruise before and always wanted to try one – so I did when I turned 50! It’s a great opportunity to step back from the routine of daily life and work and take advantage of being able to engage in self-reflection.”

Sophie Anderson, Head of Digital Adoption

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