Last December, Richard Pickering flew to Hawaii to run the Honolulu marathon. Then he went skiing for six weeks in Val D’Isère. After this he did some athletics coaching in Portugal before heading off for a month in Canada. He stopped in the UK to watch the London marathon then went to Los Angeles, Las Vegas, New Zealand and Australia. The 44-year-old didn’t have to worry much about money during his journey because he was on a fully paid six-month sabbatical from his employer, John Lewis.

The UK department store chain is one of a number of organisations that offers employee sabbaticals. They are called long leave and consist of six months leave after 25 years service. The policy was instituted in 1977, says Darren Sargent, general manager of employment policy, and as careers of between 25 and 45 years at the company are not unusual, was designed to be a mid-career break. He adds that there are no restrictions on what you can do or when you use it.