UK Recruitment Glossary
Career Break
In recruiter context
Different from a sabbatical (usually shorter and offered as a benefit) and different from redundancy (involuntary). I've placed candidates returning from breaks for caring duties, travel, mental health, retraining, and starting a business that didn't pan out. None of those reasons end a career. The framing on your CV matters more than the reason: one line — "Career break: caring for elderly parent, 2023-2024" — beats burying it. Some UK employers run formal returnship programmes for breaks of 2+ years; worth looking at if you're re-entering.
Related terms
Garden Leave
A period during your notice where the employer pays you but bars you from working.
Total Reward
The full value of compensation including base salary, bonus, equity, pension, benefits, and non-mone…
Severance
A payment when employment ends, often above the statutory minimum and usually wrapped into a settlem…
Headhunter
An external recruiter, often executive-search, who proactively sources candidates rather than receiv…