Career Break for Masters

[accacore]

Hiya,

I have got an issue at my local delivery office. I want to apply for career break for one year as I am University of Liverpool for my Masters in Accounting. I have asked my line manager and he has told something very negative and said that few people have applied for and we have refused all of them.

He's already hinting at even if I do apply my application for career break will be rejected.

I have got few questions:-

1- Do they have the right to reject career break for one year where Royal Mail Employee wants to study and come back and try to get into Graduate Scheme?

2- On what grounds they can actually refuse it and how can I go about appeal against the decision?

3- I have got unconditional offer letter from my University when the course starts and finish. So I have got all appropriate documents to back up my career break.

4- If they do refuse the application can I go tribunal on the grounds that I have been denying further education due to whatever managers at my office have decided.

Please help me out. I am quite stressed about it.

[clashcityrocker]

http://www.royalmailchat.co.uk/communit ... 36&t=12623" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[blackadder]

i did a open university and got a ba. fink you wasting your time asking for time off to do education. it used to happen as r.m delt with within. so if you got a ba or a ma then up the ladder you went. times have a changed as bob said. good luck if you go for the masters but you get no help from r.m

[accacore]

Thanks for your reply. But I am not asking for any financial help from ROYAL MAIL. All I am asking for a one years career break as I have saved up enough to pay for my Masters.

But I have got a bad feeling they are going to put my application down.

[ElvisGaddafi]

Go through the procedure and ask for the career break. Your line manager won't make the decision on his own so it's possible that you may get it even though he isn't keen. If your request is refused then you have a pretty simple decision to make. 1. If you intend to do a masters in accounting and then return to the same job you were doing before, then what's the point in doing the masters. 2. If you intend to do a masters in accounting and then get a new job based on your qualifications, then resign. You wouldn't get paid during a career break anyway so what's the difference?

[accacore]

Go through the procedure and ask for the career break. Your line manager won't make the decision on his own so it's possible that you may get it even though he isn't keen. If your request is refused then you have a pretty simple decision to make. 1. If you intend to do a masters in accounting and then return to the same job you were doing before, then what's the point in doing the masters. 2. If you intend to do a masters in accounting and then get a new job based on your qualifications, then resign. You wouldn't get paid during a career break anyway so what's the difference?

well the reason I am going for the MASTERS is to get into ROYAL MAIL GRADUATE SCHEME. I will have a much better chance of placing a job with a Master's from a good University.

I honestly do not want to leave this job as I love doing it and I want to stay with Royal Mail for many good reasons. I am just afraid if they do refuse it then I would have to alter all my plans for next year. but let see how it goes I do hope they approve my career break and make it a big issue out of it.

[bakerstreetirregular]

While I congratulate you on getting into uni, have you thought perhaps of dropping your contracted hours down to a six hours and keeping the job on at bare minimum during your teaching section of the Masters.Then increasing it when the workload decreases at uni i.e covering the hols and xmas. I did this while I did my honours degree and it meant that I had the best of both worlds and didn't come out poverty stricken like my course mates and as I have an job while many of them don't. I don't think saying that your going to join the graduate scheme will work as it presupposes that you have been accepted onto the scheme already.

[accacore]

While I congratulate you on getting into uni, have you thought perhaps of dropping your contracted hours down to a six hours and keeping the job on at bare minimum during your teaching section of the Masters.Then increasing it when the workload decreases at uni i.e covering the hols and xmas. I did this while I did my honours degree and it meant that I had the best of both worlds and didn't come out poverty stricken like my course mates and as I have an job while many of them don't. I don't think saying that your going to join the graduate scheme will work as it presupposes that you have been accepted onto the scheme already.

It is a good idea. But I am going to be studying at University of Liverpool. So I am not sure If I can transfer and then at the same time apply for hours that I need whilst I study.

I also think the MSc Finance will be quite intensive course. I am not sure If I will be able to cope with work load and studies :)

Thanks for your encouraging words.

[teesdale]

I say you need help from your local union branch. You need to get the local cwu telephone number from an internet search and give them the story. A representative from your office wont do, you need a branch official who does cwu work full time who should take on your case and do it all for you. I went on a 6 month career break. All the managers said no automatically. I was directed to the area representative for mail centre processing who threatened the mail centre manager with a grievance. Rep said "I will be representing him myself". Mail centre manager backed down and said oh I was advised to turn him down by resourcing. The bloke from resourcing went on holiday a year later and had a heart attack on the beach! They have loads of branch secretarys and officers for this and that at the cwu, some will love taking something on if approached directly. Mostly because they rarely get to talk to actual postman.

[accacore]

I say you need help from your local union branch. You need to get the local cwu telephone number from an internet search and give them the story. A representative from your office wont do, you need a branch official who does cwu work full time who should take on your case and do it all for you. I went on a 6 month career break. All the managers said no automatically. I was directed to the area representative for mail centre processing who threatened the mail centre manager with a grievance. Rep said "I will be representing him myself". Mail centre manager backed down and said oh I was advised to turn him down by resourcing. The bloke from resourcing went on holiday a year later and had a heart attack on the beach! They have loads of branch secretarys and officers for this and that at the cwu, some will love taking something on if approached directly. Mostly because they rarely get to talk to actual postman.

That's exactly what I feel. I know for a fact they are going to turn me down as they have already given me hints saying we have turned couple of applicants so in a way they saying do not even bother applying.

Yes, I will get in touch with my BRANCH AREA CWU REP and get it done through him. I have sorted everything, I have saved up for my Master's funding, I am starting my course OCT, 2012. So I see no reason why they would put me down as I have given them loads of time to play with if they think they will be short of manpower at my depot.

Thanks for your help!