A sabbatical for a world trip: unpaid leave, your pension and unemployment benefit
A sabbatical is unpaid leave with the agreement that you come back. Your salary and your holiday days stop, your pension depends on your scheme, and your right to unemployment benefit stays protected for up to 78 weeks of leave. If you are away for less than a year, you remain insured for care and the AOW. Put your return on paper.
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A sabbatical is unpaid leave with the agreement that you then return to your employer. That way you travel for a year without giving up your job, and most insurances keep running. Your salary and the build-up of holiday days do stop, though, and your pension depends on your scheme. Your right to unemployment benefit (WW) stays protected, for up to 78 weeks of leave. This article shows what keeps running, and what you put on paper with your employer.
Three things to know in advance:
- You arrange a sabbatical with your employer. Also check your collective agreement or staff rules.
- If you are away for less than a year, you remain insured for care and the AOW, even if you deregister.
- What happens to your pension differs per pension scheme. Check it.
What keeps running, and what stops?
| What | During the leave |
|---|---|
| Salary | Stops |
| Holiday days | You build up none |
| Pension with your employer | Differs per scheme: ask your employer or pension fund |
| Health insurance | Keeps running on a trip shorter than a year |
| AOW build-up and child benefit | Keep running as long as the SVB sees you as a resident |
| WW right after your return | Weeks of leave don't count, up to 78 weeks |
| Allowances | Your income drops; report it |
The Rijksoverheid names the main consequences: your income drops, and that can have consequences "for your allowances and benefits. And possibly also for your pension and holiday days."
What happens to my pension?
The Rijksoverheid is brief: "Pension schemes differ per sector and per company." So there is no general rule. Ask your employer or pension fund, in writing:
- Does my pension build-up stop during the leave?
- Can I continue the build-up myself, and what does that cost?
- Does the survivor's pension for my partner still apply if I die during the leave?
- Does a disability insurance still apply?
The last two questions are about what happens if something goes wrong on the road. That is exactly when you want to have the answer already.
What does the leave do to my WW?
You are only entitled to WW if, in the 36 weeks before you became unemployed, you worked in at least 26 weeks. That is in article 17 of the Unemployment Insurance Act. After a year of travelling, you would not meet that.
For unpaid leave, the law makes an exception. Article 17a says that weeks in which you did "no work because of taking unpaid leave" don't count, "up to a maximum of 78 calendar weeks". So the 36 weeks are extended by your leave. If you lose your job shortly after your return, the UWV looks further back, at the weeks in which you worked before the leave.
The Rijksoverheid adds: the lower income during the leave does not affect the amount of a benefit. But "a period of more than 18 months of unpaid full-time leave can have consequences", for the right to and the duration of a benefit. So keep the leave under 78 weeks.
If you resign instead of taking leave, that exception does not apply. More about work after the trip in coming back after a world trip.
Do I remain insured for care and the AOW?
On a trip shorter than a year: yes. The Rijksoverheid writes: "For trips shorter than 1 year you remain insured under Dutch law." The SVB decides this, with policy rule SB1027. Anyone who is away for less than a year and comes back remains a resident. Your health insurance, your AOW build-up and child benefit then keep running.
That also applies if you have to deregister. If you are away for more than eight months within a year, you deregister with the municipality. For the SVB, what counts is how long your trip lasts, not your registration. Your health insurer does receive the deregistration; send it the SVB's decision. How to choose between staying registered and deregistering is in on a world trip: stay registered or deregister.
One thing can change that picture: paid work on the road. The SVB: "Are you going to work during your trip? And are you paid? Then you may no longer be insured for the Wlz." If in doubt, request a Wlz investigation. More in health insurance on a world trip.
What if I fall ill on the road?
How continued pay during illness works during unpaid leave, we did not find as a general rule from the government. It may be in your collective agreement or employment contract. Ask your employer, and include the answer in your agreement. For the costs of care on the road, you have your health insurance and a travel insurance.
What do I agree with my employer?
Put the agreement on paper, signed by both of you. This belongs in it:
- The start date and the date on which you start work again.
- The position and the number of hours in which you return.
- What happens if you want to come back earlier, or later.
- What happens to your pension, and who pays what if you continue the build-up.
- What happens if you fall ill during the leave, or come back ill.
- Whether you take your holiday days before the leave or leave them standing.
- Your employer's belongings, such as a laptop or a company car.
Report your lower income to the Benefits Agency, and to DUO if your children receive an allowance towards school costs. What the year costs otherwise is in what does a year on the road cost.
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 2 of 5 of the journey, step 2.15: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey for a life on the road or go straight to step 2.15 in the open plan.
What this rests on
The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change. When in doubt, go by the source, not this article.
- Rijksoverheid — the consequences of unpaid leave for pension, holiday days, benefits and allowances — rijksoverheid.nl
- Unemployment Insurance Act (WW), articles 17 and 17a — the weeks requirement, and weeks of unpaid leave don't count up to 78 weeks — wetten.overheid.nl
- SVB policy rule SB1027 — away for less than a year, you remain a resident — puc.overheid.nl
- Rijksoverheid — care while travelling, under 1 year you stay insured — rijksoverheid.nl
- SVB — the Wlz when you go on a world trip, and what working on the road changes — svb.nl
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