There are a number of schemes to support people returning to work after an extended break. Many of these are targeted at parents returning from maternity, paternity or adoption leave, but some aim to support people returning from other types of career break (e.g. time spent working outside academia) or those who need flexible work patterns.

• Elsie Widdowson Fellowship – for academic staff returning to work following maternity, adoption and/or shared parental leave.
• Wellcome Trust Career Re-entry Fellowships - offers postdoctoral research scientists the opportunity to re-establish their scientific careers after a continuous break from research of at least two years.
• Daphne Jackson Trust – provides funding to enable women and men to return to research with confidence after a career break
• British Heart Foundation Career Re-Entry Research Fellowship – supports postdoctoral research scientists returning after a career break of one or more years
• Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowships –for outstanding scientists in the UK at an early stage of their research career who require a flexible working pattern due to personal circumstances such as parenting or caring responsibilities or health issues.  Although these awards used to be restricted to women, the scheme is now open to all.