Newmarket Holidays to trial ‘pretirement sabbatical’ for employees in 2027

Newmarket Holidays is set to launch a “pretirement sabbatical” trial for employees from January 2027.

Employees will have the right to an extended period of unpaid leave to “pursue personal interests” such as travel, charity work, education, caring responsibilities or “other meaningful goals”.

Race Across the World stars Mark Blythen and Margo Oakley will also partner with the escorted tour operator on a campaign to show “age is not a drawback” for world travel.

This comes as Newmarket Holidays commissioned a study with OnePoll of 2,000 UK adults aged over 50 which found a quarter “feel stuck” in a holding pattern between wanting to travel and the reality of the workplace.

More than a third (34%) of those surveyed said they were “more inspired to travel now” than when they were younger, and nearly half (47%) wanted to make up for lost time.

In addition, 20% of respondents said pre-retirement sabbatical policies “vastly increase” their loyalty to an employer and the same proportion said they would “actively delay quitting or taking early retirement” if they could take a career break before retirement.

Chief executive Niel Alobaidi said: “The data clearly shows that many over-50s are caught in a travel limbo.

“The retirement age may have slipped a little farther away, but their urge to explore the world certainly hasn’t. Instead, some find themselves trapped between the fear of ageism-based discrimination if they step away from their careers, and the burning desire to travel.

“That is exactly why we have launched this campaign alongside Mark and Margo, who embody the spirit that adventure doesn’t come with an expiration date.”

Alobaidi added: “By formalising our own sabbatical policy, we want to lead by example, proving that enabling older working Britons to recharge actually keeps them in the workforce longer and fights burnout.

“For those mature travellers who do make the leap, we know that taking an extended break can feel daunting logistically. Newmarket Holidays is designed to strip that stress away entirely.”