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Career break policy

Here at the Co-op, we know there may be times when you may want to take an extended break from work for personal reasons. The Coop is committed to supporting colleagues’ work-life balance, however we also recognise that this must be balanced with the business need to retain sufficient staffing levels and meet operational needs.

Whilst there is no entitlement to a career break, Coop recognises that there may be circumstances where it may be beneficial both to the colleague and to the business to allow an unpaid period away from work. We’ll therefore do our best to help facilitate reasonable requests for a career break where we can, so talk to your manager if you’re considering a career break.

Crucial bits

All colleagues who’ve worked here for more than 12 consecutive months can apply for a career break. You can request a career break for the following reasons (please note the request must not conflict with the interests of the Co-op):

  • Paid /unpaid Charity Work
  • Volunteering
  • Travelling Abroad
  • Personal study, training, or development
  • Carer’s responsibility

When considering a career break application, the following factors will be considered:

  • The purpose of, or reasons for, the career break
  • The period of absence requested
  • The employee’s length of service
  • The employees’ remaining length of employment contract (if fixed term);
  • The operational needs of the business i.e.to ensure the retention of key skills, knowledge and experience in the short term to cover the post
  • The number of colleagues already on a career break or other leave to ensure no impact to business and customer service requirements
  • The potential to be able to cover the post on a temporary basis and associated costs
  • The potential benefits to the business and/or the Colleague
  • Any previous career breaks

This list is non-exhaustive and therefore other factors may influence the decision.

A career break is unpaid and can be for any length of time between 3 and 12 months. If you want to take a break of less than 3 months, e.g., for a lifestyle break (i.e. extended summer holiday), please talk to your line manager about taking annual leave or agreeing some unpaid leave. Remember, parents of children under 18 can take unpaid parental leave. Parental leave policy - Co-op Colleagues (coop.co.uk). We also have policies for study support, maternity or adoption leave, paternity leave, compassionate leave, emergency leave for care of dependants, flexible working and Carers, so check to see if any of these better fit your circumstances.

Usually, you can make a request for a career break every 12 months. So, if your application’s turned down, you’ll need to wait a year before you request again. But if things change and you need to make another request, talk to your manager about your situation to see what can be arranged. If you’ve already taken a career break, we expect you’ll have been back in work for at least 12 months before asking for another one.

Pay and Benefits

All Career breaks will be unpaid. You won’t be eligible for performance-related benefits, such as bonus, during your career break, but any payments will be pro-rated for any complete months you work during the performance year and payable following your return to work.

Should you be on Career break when the Annual Salary Review is processed, the award will be applied to your salary as long as all other eligibility criteria are met.

A career break will not be regarded as a break in service for the purposes of statutory employment provisions; you will remain an employee of Coop and be bound by the terms and conditions of your employment. Service related benefits will also continue to accrue.

Holidays

If you commenced your career break prior to the launch of this revised policy (1st November 23), you will still accrue contractual holiday pay as per the previous policy, however if you commenced after, you will not, unless your agreement with your line manager was prior to the 1st November. Also please note 12 month career breaks are inclusive of any statutory unpaid holidays (up to 28 days) that are accrued (including bank holidays). Any career breaks of less than 12 months will accrue the same on a pro rata basis which again will be inclusive of your leave.

Sick pay

You will not be eligible for company sick pay if you’re ill during your career break.

Other benefits

If you have an Essential User car or Grade-Related car or cash allowance, you will need to return your vehicle for the duration of your career break. Please contact the Transport Department to arrange returning your car before you begin the break. Cash allowances will be stopped automatically. If necessary, you’ll also need to return any Co-op property like uniforms, mobile phones, laptops, access passes and fobs to your manager for the duration of your career break.

We have a colleague support programme, which gives you access to a 24/7 colleague helpline – 08088 021 122. Rest assured this is a completely confidential, independent helpline which is free to access.

If applicable to you, you will still have Private Medical Insurance for yourself due to the fact that we pay an annual premium for PMI. Family members cover will cease from the date that you enter unpaid leave.

Pensions

If you’re a member of a Co-op pension scheme, all pension contributions will stop during your career break but you’ll still be covered for death in service benefits. Visit the Co-op pensions website or speak to the Pensions Department for more information.

Returning to work

After a career break, you’ll usually be able to return to your original role, unless it’s affected by a reorganisation, and this isn’t possible. Don’t worry though - if any changes are proposed to your role during your career break, your manager will be in touch to talk about what this means for you.

You’ll have agreed the date you’ll return to work with your manager before starting your career break. If you want to come back earlier, you’ll need to give at least a month’s notice in writing. We’ll do our best to accommodate this, but it might not always be possible, especially if someone has been taken on to cover your role.

If you want to return later than you’ve agreed, again you’ll need to write to your manager at least a month before your original return date. We’ll do our best to accommodate this but remember that a career break can only last for 12 months.

If you can’t come back to work on the date agreed, you need to let your manager know as early as possible. If you don’t return to work as expected, we’ll treat this as unauthorised absence. If you’ve decided that you don’t want to come back, you will need to send in your resignation in writing. You’ll need to give your contractual notice ending on the date your career break is due to finish and remember that your notice period won’t be paid.

Career break request form PDF, 1 page, 75KB

Applying for a career break

To apply for a career break, please complete the Career Break Request Form and return it to your manager

The process we’ll then follow can be found in the Career Break Process. Ideally the more notice and flexibility about the timing of your career break you can give the better as it might make it easier for your manager to agree your request.

Keeping in touch

Before you start your career break it’s important to agree with your manager how you’ll keep in touch while you’re away from work if required. It’s also important that you keep us informed of any changes of personal details, such as change of address, new mobile number.

Remember you’ll still be an employee of the Co-op while you’re on a career break, so it’s important that you still follow our Code of Business Conduct/Code of Conduct.

If you need further support

If you have any questions about career breaks, please speak to your manager or HR Services

If managers need advice, they can contact HR Services

Don’t forget to consider that instead of a Career Break you could make a Flexible Working Request, please refer to the Flexible Working Policy.