Bankers enjoying a five-year siesta, pilots moonlighting as baggage handlers and accountants being paid not to work: the economic crisis is forcing companies to be more creative in cutting costs but not jobs.
The most extreme example so far has been BBVA, the Spanish bank that is offering its staff the chance to take five years' leave at a third of their salary and have a guaranteed job when they get back. It is not alone.
Skadden Arps, the largest law firm in the US, offered its lawyers the chance to have a year off at a third of pay while accountants at KPMG were able to sign up 85 per cent of its UK staff – including their chief executive and senior management – to the possibility of a 12-week sabbatical or a four-day working week.