Taking a career break or sabbatical in New Zealand: how to plan one

Unpaid leave versus resigning

Leave without pay is not an entitlement in New Zealand law. You can take it if your employer agrees, and the agreement should be in writing: the dates, whether your job is held open, and what happens to your leave, KiwiSaver and any benefits while you are away. Employment New Zealand notes that people usually return to the same position on the same terms unless both sides agree otherwise, and that a continuous stretch of more than a week's unpaid leave pushes your annual holidays date back by the extra weeks, unless you agree with your employer to keep it.

Unpaid leave suits a break of a few months with a clear end, such as travel, study or caring for someone, where you want to come back. Resigning suits a longer or open-ended break, or one that is also a career change. If your employer says no to unpaid leave, you can still resign and look for a role when you return.

Runway, KiwiSaver and student loan on a break

Start with the money. Divide your savings by your weekly outgoings to get the number of weeks you can last with no income: $20,000 against $700 a week lasts about 28 weeks. Leave a buffer for the job search at the end, which can take months, and for costs you will face on return, such as a bond or a car.

The money runway in jobtracker.co.nz, under Insights and free, does this count: enter your savings and weekly outgoings, set the weekly income to "No income yet", and it shows when the money runs out. It was built for the stretch between jobs, so ignore its benefit wording if you are on a planned break.

KiwiSaver: contributions are deducted from pay, so with no pay there is nothing to deduct, and your employer's contributions stop too. If you have been a member and contributed for at least 12 months, you can also take a savings suspension of three months to a year, with no reason needed. The government contribution, up to $260.72 a year, needs you to live mainly in New Zealand, and to get it all you need to have contributed $1,042.86 in the year, so on a long unpaid break you may need to make voluntary payments.

Student loan: repayments are 12% of income above the threshold, so with no income there is nothing to repay, and the loan stays interest-free while you are New Zealand based. Travelling overseas changes that. You stay New Zealand based if you are in the country for 32 days or more in any 184-day period, and you cannot be away for more than 152 days in a row. Once you become overseas based, interest (5.6% for the year from 1 April 2026) applies from the day after you left, and minimum repayments are due, unless you apply to Inland Revenue for a temporary repayment suspension.

Keeping the CV and contacts alive

A break does not have to be a blank. Keep a light connection to your field: a short course, some volunteering, occasional freelance work, or reading and writing about your area. Stay in touch with a handful of colleagues and managers who would act as referees, with a message every few months.

On your CV, show the break as an entry with dates and a one-line description, such as "Career break: six months travelling in South America, with a Spanish course" or "Career break: caring for a family member". A named break reads far better than an unexplained gap. Our guide to returning to work after a break covers how to present it.

Timing re-entry with hiring

Plan your return as carefully as your departure. Start looking six to eight weeks before you want to start work, so interviews can happen while you finish the break. Many employers slow their hiring over the summer holidays, so a return planned for late December or January may take longer. If you took unpaid leave, confirm your return date with your employer in writing a month or so ahead.

Recording the break so it explains itself later

Keep a short record of what you did on the break and what it gave you: skills, perspective, qualifications, or simply rest after a demanding period. Interviewers ask, and a confident one-sentence answer is easier with notes. Before you leave, check your leave balances and final pay, which our guide to leave in New Zealand covers.

In jobtracker.co.nz, Your Career keeps your pay record, wins and leave balances, and when a job ends it keeps that job with its dates and why it ended. You can see a worked example, and the money runway, in the demo, which needs no account.

Plan the break, then the return