Study Leave- The Norm?

Hey All, started work in a company 3 years ago now and started the Prof Accounting exams 1.5 years ago at the request if my employers.

Its a very small company and up until now i had been leaving 1hr early a week in order to get into the class on time and should there be a class that required a 1/2 day (rare as most of it takes up my entire weekend) it would be regarded as study time.

I then took the day before the exam off and the day of the exam off so 2 days plus the hour per week.

This year i am doing 2 classes, that means 2 hours per week and per the timetable 2 other half days.

Thing is... today i was given a new contract which says any time i take off to get to class will be regarded as holidays and as per my calculations these hours will all up to 10 holidays in the year! Are they seriously expecting me to use 1/2 of my holiday entitlements to attend classes that they want me to do also on top of 70 % of my free week time???

Am i being unreasonable in not wanting to sign this contract?

I have until monday to look over it but i just want to know is this the way its supposed to be?

I dont work in an accounting firm itself however the company i work for wants me to be there trained accountant.

Any ideas or words of help?

J

It is a matter of negotiation between the employer and the employee.

Trainee accountants usually get paid study leave, but their salaries are lower to reflect this.

You should not be forced to sign a contract without discussing it. Sit down with your employer. Tell them you need time to study. Point out that they asked you to study. Ask for them to pay for your study leave and the costs of classes etc. Take a cut in pay to compensate.

If you don't like what they offer, then change job.

Brendan

First thing is to ask them nicely to reconsider. If they don't agree to give you the time off you might want to leave. However you might also consider that you could put up with it, grit your teeth, get the exams and then leave when you are much more marketable and likely to be on a lot more money with the accounting qualification.

That way you are shafting them a bit further down the road like they are doing to you now. Are they paying for your exams and materials - these might be worth something for you to stay.

You might however get some other company to give you generous study leave (and a raise if you are lucky) in which case you should go and work for them.

I finished the acca’s exams a few years back while a few folk I know from college who started at the same time are still doing them, they both did better than me in college so the only reason I can see for them taking so long to pass the exams is that I got excellent study leave from my job (still work for them as I was treated v well) whereas the other 2 lads got 1 day per subject but were paid a lot more than me b4 I qualified. Bottom line is if you really want to give yourself a good fighting chance of passing the exams you need a lot of study leave, take a pay cut if need be but believe me it will be worth it to pass exams at first attempt.

Unless you’re a genius you cannot pass the tougher exams with 1 or 2 days study leave.

I had a meeting with them today and to be honest i am quite taken aback by there response.

If i dont want the time to come out of my holidays i have to work it up by coming in earlier each day which i cant really do with a 3yr old.

I get no extra study leave.

There response to my questions where " its unfair on the other staff".

So why are they bothering to pay for me to go to college and wanting to reap the rewards of it yet wanting nothing to do with trying to make it happen.

All i wanted was to leave 1 hour early to get into class.

I am the first member of staff in this growing company and have always been treated well and with respect and right now, i feel like there going out of there way to make life as difficult as it can be for me.

It seems unreasonable to ask an employee to take on training and then half way through change the goalposts. However don't let this become a bigger issue than it is, offer to take one hour less pay for each hour you are out. This will have the least impact on you. When you have your exams look for a pay rise that repays this money and then some.

I assume from your post that you are attempting 2 exams in a 3 month period. This would mean 2hrs per week * 12/15 weeks = approx 30 hours in a 3 month period which is about another 4 days off. Maybe 8 days in a year? I know it doesn't feel like that but unfortunately small minds can see it like that because it appears that some staff members may have commented on this so bear in mind that mgmt may simply be acting on this. I have seen the begruding from staff when they feel other people are 'getting on' when they are not.

Mgmt may have asked you to do the exams but it was your choice to do them. Your study leave does seem low though. I would attempt further negotiation with them. Present some evidence of the larger amounts of study leave given in the market. I would try to stay in same company though if otherwise happy there.

Thanks, I am happy here I do like my Job and I am the First and longest member of staff. When I took on this job, Accounts was always the path that I was directed in (I do not work for an accountants firm and honestly if I did) everyone else’s job in here is very different to mine. I have asked my bosses who are generally vary fair and no one has said anything (yet) about my leaving early to attend classes. I have already done 1.5 years of the course and I find it very annoying to change the way it has been now.
I did speak to one of my bosses today he said he understood my point however the other one doesn’t.

Understand that when all is said and done I am the one with the qualification however 2 hours out of there work time is 25 hours out of my week on top of a normal 40 hr week. And I can’t see why a company would want to pay €€€€ for me to do this course and then give no study leave for it! Which will result in a fail! I’m no genius! And I have a 3yr old so time is not on my side!

Just to give you an example from the engineering world...

I am doing a postgrad off my own bat, which requires 2 weeks 4 days (14 work days) off per year. I have an agreement with my employer that I take 7 days as leave and the other 7 days are regarded as work days.

The company recognizes that the course will benefit them in the long run (even though it is not strictly related to my role) and that supporting personal development boosts morale and helps retain staff.

Hi I posted a thread last week asking similar a question.

I have 3 exams in May and 3 Friday all-day revision classes throughout April.
I'm taking 16 days leave, i.e the 3 Fridays, the 3 exam days and 10 study days.
My boss was all for sponsoring and pulled out last minute so I took out a loan and now all 16 days are coming out of my holidays.
I'm lucky that I do not need to leave work early and I assumed i would at least get the exam and study days off - but the way I see it is that at least I'm not contract bound when I do qualify.