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Sabbatical Cost Calculator

Work out sabbatical cost instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.

About Sabbatical Cost Calculator

A sabbatical costs the employer continued partial salary plus the cost of covering the role. Compared with the cost of losing and replacing an experienced employee — commonly 25% or more of annual salary in recruitment and ramp — a funded sabbatical is often the cheaper option.

Formulas

Employer cost

Employer cost = Monthly salary x Months x Paid proportion + Replacement cover cost

Employee income foregone

Foregone = Monthly salary x Months x (1 - Paid proportion)

Worked example

With the default values below, Sabbatical Cost Calculator returns Total cost to the employer of $675,000.00. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Annual salary
1,800,000
Sabbatical length
3
Proportion of pay continued
50
Cost of covering the role
450,000

Results

Total cost to the employer
$675,000.00
Salary paid during the sabbatical
$225,000.00
Income the employee gives up
$225,000.00
Cost compared with a typical replacement hire
$225,000.00

Step by step

  1. 1Values used
  2. 2Employer cost
  3. 3Employee income foregone
  4. 4Total cost to the employer= 675,000.00
  5. 5Salary paid during the sabbatical= 225,000.00
  6. 6Income the employee gives up= 225,000.00
  7. 7Cost compared with a typical replacement hire= 225,000.00

Assumptions and limits

  • The result is derived only from the 4 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
  • In particular, this calculator does not take inflation or tax into account.
  • Figures are rounded for display to 2 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do sabbaticals improve retention?

Evidence suggests yes for long-tenured employees at risk of burnout, particularly when tied to a return commitment.

Should benefits continue during a sabbatical?

Keeping health cover and pension contributions running is usually a small marginal cost and removes the main practical objection to taking one.

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