My son has been on an outdoor pursuit training apprentice course  for almost 12 months with Kingswood. He is due to finish in August. He has secured a job interview and requested time off for it a few weeks back. they have only just come back to him and said they cannot give him the time off as they are so busy. He has been a good worker and works all hours for less than £100 pw.
I spke to his HR who basically have said if he takes unauthorised leave he will be subject to disciplinary and maybe lose what is left of his job. He tried to change interview time and they have tried to accommodate it around his lunch though he would need a little extra time on top so would miss some of his work. Its a dilemma really what he should do. he really wants this job interview and they are not easy to come by but does not want to cause issues at his current place. Any ideas how to handle this? thanks

I am not an HR professional but have managed staff for many years. You don't say how old your son is, which may have a bearing on the employer's attitude. As it is, though, your son has been absolutely up front with them and given several weeks of notice of his interview appointment. That would give them plenty of time to make alternative arrangements. The fact that he and the prospective employer have tried to fit the interview into his lunch hour again shows that every reasonable attempt has been made to avoid inconveniencing his current employer.

I would ring the ACAS helpline on 08457 474747 tomorrow (they'll be closed by now to new calls) to get advice on what to do next. As an employer, I would say that Kingswood are not being fair or reasonable, but unfortunately there are those out there who treat young people badly and know they can get away with it because of their age, or the fact that they haven't been employed for long enough to be able to enjoy basic employment rights and the protection of an employment tribunal. Good luck to your son, I am sure ACAS can help advise him on what to do.

They are not obliged to give time off for an interview although most companies are quite flexible when a contract is due to end.  He is perfectly entitled to take the time as annual leave but this again needs to be agreed with his current employer.

The issue here appears to be the amount of notice required.  He asked for the time, and gave them plenty of notice (how long did he give?) - and they've only just come back with a reply.  From an HR perspective I'd say they are remiss here but it's worth checking whether they have guidelines about the amount of notice required.

Ideally your son would arrange the re arrange interview out of hours or attempt to find his own cover for the period of absence.  Some managers are willing to allow employees to swap dates/hours/lunch breaks etc if they can organise it themselves.  In the meantime he should contact the company he has an interview with to let them know his present employer is being difficult but assure them he is still very interested in being interviewed for the new position - they might be able to move things for him.

Good luck

He is 24 and he asked for the time off about 3 weeks ago as soon as he knew he had an interview, he did approach the school (ts a TA post) and they offered him a lunchtime appt but Kuingswood still not being flexible. Perhaps you are right and I will call ACAS for him tomorrow
Thank you

would the school not consider and after school interview ? If they want him to meet the students I know that would be difficult but perhaos if he is successful he could come back for a second interview to meet the students
I appreciate it is difficult to get a prospective employer to rearrange their time around him though

Unfortunately he works long days at Kingswood, sometimes till 10 at night :-(

Good luck, Star, I hope your son gets some help--it's infuriating when employers take full advantage of the honesty of their staff just to treat them badly.

Could he not take leave without pay?

Whatever the outcome it is clear to me what has to be done.

The apprenticeship ends in August, therefore he needs employment, he has the offer of a job interview to find a job, therefore he goes to that interview.

If they are not letting him go due to being understaffed and not able to work around him, don't you think it is very unlikely that he would be sacked from the apprenticeship?  He should go in his lunch hour and extend it for as long as he needs and then come back to work, he can fight what happens afterwards, he is not being unreasonable or taking much time off at all. He has tried to change the appointment, he has said he will not be taking longer than the interview off, considering he is nearing the end they are very unreasonable.

At the end of the day he needs a job, they can be very difficult to get and he needs to take every opportunity. If he were my son I would tell him to go.

Unfortunately, if he'd known how unreasonable they would be he could have pulled a sickie, no wonder people do if this is how they are treated, your poor son potentially having to go to an interview full of worry.

I completely agree with all you've said Carrington.

Good luck to your son, I hope it all works out for him :)

I agree too, an apprenticeship is meant to hopefully lead someone to a career, a trade, to the prospect of a full time job, my daughter left a so called apprenticeship after it became very apparant it was not all it was made out to be and they were very difficult in situations they really should not have been yet were very happy to pay a wage it was impossible to live on....something she was prepared to do with my help according to a proper apprenticeship but this wasnt that. The fact they couldnt cover your son no matter how pushed they are, knowing the current job situation out there in the big wide world when they should be happy to be helping him put into place all they have helped him achieve doesnt seem sound to me. I wish him luck in whatever he decides to do, it must be worrying for him and its so unfair when hes tried to do the right thing. Whats so annoying too is that someone else who would have just done it behind their backs or gone sick would have got away with it and probably got the job!

ACAS said they sypathised but he would be in breach if he took unauthorised leave. In the end his employers contacted the school themselves and explained. The school gave him an interview at 8.30 am and he had to dash back to work asap afterwards. He has to wait now to see if he was successful. He felt it was a good interview but they were interviewing quite a few candidates over 4 days so odds not favourable but should find out in next couple of days. Thanks for the advice guys :-)

At least he got there he needed to go, fingers and toes crossed for a good result. :-)

P.S. Hopefully he will be successful but if not I think the lesson learned is he needs a stomach bug for the next interview. **nod, nod, wink, wink**

And every interview is a good interview as they are all experience whether you get the job or not and the lead up to this one has definately been an experience for him! Keeping everything crossed for him...but if not this one...then the right one is waiting for him soon :)

His interviewers should be very impressed by his integrity and honesty, and that counts for a lot. Good luck to your son Star, we are all rooting for him :)