Employees at SAP Labs India can now don the entrepreneurial hat with the assurance that they can return to the company if their venture does not work out. This has become possible following a revamp of the sabbatical policy at the Indian unit of the German enterprise software maker.Earlier, the company allowed employees to take unpaid leave of up to two years only for personal reasons or higher education. But from this month, they can also explore an entrepreneurial venture during their career break.“One of our priorities as a business is to continue being an innovative organisation within SAP, and that means we must strive to foster an entrepreneurial environment and have a workforce that continues to develop new things,” the company’s head of human resources Vlasta Dusil told ET.More than half of the company’s employees are less than 30 years of age, Dusil said. “Many of them are entrepreneurial in nature and the changed sabbatical policy will allow them the freedom to take time off to work on their startup ideas, with the knowledge that they can come back if things don’t work out,” she said.To be eligible, employees must have been working with SAP Labs India for a minimum of two years. Moreover, the employee must be the owner or originator of the business idea for a startup, an idea that can be commercialised and provides benefits to customers or business.The company has even placed some checks and reviews to ensure that an employee’s entrepreneurial venture does not directly compete with the interests of the company or its customers, Dusil said. SAP Labs India does not fear losing talent as a result of this policy and sees it as a win-win situation.“If employees take the leave of absence and end up being successful in their ventures, it’s a great story for people growing within the industry and becoming brand ambassadors for SAP. If they choose to return, we get to learn from their experiences of entrepreneurship,” Dusil said.Those choosing to return to the company can come back to their original team or join another part of the organisation. They must follow a process which includes discussions with the manager and HR business partner.“We’ve looked closely at feedback from employees and seen that they want to be able to work on new and upcoming technologies. This initiative will allow them to grow their careers and have the opportunity to try something new,” Dusil said.A forward-looking policy like this not only supports employees who wish to turn entrepreneurs, but provides a certain safety in the knowledge that their jobs are protected should they wish to come back, said Mansee Singhal , principal talent at Mercer India.“Some companies allow employees to use a certain percentage of work time to work on their own projects, which may later become breakthrough inventions and benefit the company. Any-long term support in the entrepreneurial journey is a welcoming move,” said Singhal.