Thinking about taking a career break from the NHS? Ben and Claire share exactly how Claire secured 14 months away to travel with their family.

If you’re an NHS employee quietly wondering whether a family career break is actually possible, not in theory, but in practice, with a manager who has to say yes, here’s exactly what that process looked like for us.

My wife has worked as a Band 7 occupational therapist for ten years. It’s a role she was good at, well paid for, and had genuine seniority within. Walking away from that isn’t a small thing, and we want to be upfront that it didn’t feel small to her, even once we’d decided to go.

Who Can Apply For An NHS Career Break?

The policy

Within the NHS, there is an option to request a career break of up to five years. It isn’t an automatic entitlement, it operates at your manager’s discretion, but it exists, formally, as something you’re allowed to ask for.

How the conversation actually went

She didn’t start with a form. She started with a conversation. She booked time with her management team, explained what we wanted to do and roughly when, and essentially “put the feelers out” to see how it would land. She was genuinely surprised when they said yes there and then, in that first conversation, she’d expected far more resistance than she got.

The formal process

Once the informal yes was given, the actual paperwork was straightforward. There’s a form within the NHS system that you complete and submit to your management team. They approve it, and it’s passed on to finance, so payroll knows the dates you’ll stop and eventually resume being paid.

The condition attached

Approval wasn’t unconditional. As part of being granted the break, she had to interview candidates and get someone trained up to cover her role before she left, the service she worked for needed continuity, and that was a fair ask in return for fourteen months away.

What was granted, and what it means

She was awarded fourteen months of unpaid leave, technically due back at work in September 2027. We haven’t booked a return date or a ticket, and at the time of writing, we’re not planning to for a good while yet. That date exists in the back of her mind, understandably, but we’re both trying, quite deliberately, not to let it shape how we live right now. It’s over a year away. There’s a lot of living to do before it becomes relevant.

Our Advice To Other NHS Families

Why this matters if you’re in the same position

If you’re an NHS parent reading this and assuming a career break isn’t realistic for you, our honest experience says: ask before you assume. The process was less bureaucratic than either of us expected, and the biggest obstacle wasn’t the policy, it was building the confidence to raise it in the first place.

That said, we’d add one caveat drawn straight from our own experience: a career break is not a resignation. It’s a pause with a return date attached, and that return date is real, even if it’s currently far enough away to set aside. If you’re considering this route, it’s worth being honest with yourself early about how you’ll feel as that date approaches, because at some point, it stops being an abstraction and starts being a decision you’ll need to make again.

What else is possible, when the process turns out to be simpler than the fear around it?

Frequently Asked Questions

Can NHS staff take a career break?

Yes. Claire was able to apply for and secure a 14-month unpaid career break, although approval was at her manager’s discretion rather than being an automatic entitlement.

Is an NHS career break paid?

No. Claire’s career break was unpaid, so we made sure we had savings and recurring income in place before leaving the UK.

How long can an NHS career break last?

Career break policies can vary between NHS organisations. In Claire’s case, she was granted a 14-month career break after discussing her plans with her management team.

Do you have to resign to travel with your family?

No. Rather than resigning, Claire requested a career break, allowing her to pause her NHS career while keeping the option of returning in the future.

Is an NHS career break guaranteed?

No. Our experience was positive, but approval depends on your employer and the needs of your service. We’d always recommend speaking to your manager before making assumptions about what’s possible.

Every NHS Trust has its own policies, so check with your employer.

Related reading: The Turning Point: How We Finally Decided to Leave · The Real Numbers: What It Actually Cost Us to Leave the UK · The Cost Of Different: What We Actually Gave Up.