- This topic has 21 replies, 9 voices, and was last updated 9 years ago by
.
- Posts
If you get a study package from your employer please can you let me know what it includes? I am negotiating one with my current employer and would like to get an idea of what other people are being offered.
Thanks
I’ve been out of the loop but some people I know in my country get 5 days plus exam day per level two paper (first sitting) and 7 days plus exam days per level 3 paper (first sitting)
That is more than I am hearing about in the UK as it is about 2-3 days. However, some companies are paying for people to go on the courses which are not cheap.
Do you get this in Jamaica?Is that what you get?
How much do they contribute to course fees?
Are you tied in to pay 50% or part of it back if/when you leave the company within a fixed time period say 1 year?How much exam leave do you get?
Do they pay the ACCA membership fees and cost of entering for the exams?
Don’t you get the books on the study course and that comes under tuition fees?
This is like Time Off In Lieu (TOIL)?
In my experience, in the UK its usually got some sort of tie in where by you have to pay back x amount if you leave in a certain time, or before completion
Some places pay for the whole thing, some restricted. Personally I have only ever kept mine cheap by requesting the books, then i home study, mainly in case i left the company, so i didn’t have too much to pay back
One company i worked for spent £25k on one of my team members, no one was managing the support ‘policy’ until it came to light once i queried it
Usually it would cover tuition, exam fees and maybe some time off, some places cover travel, usually larger firms
The company I work for do not have a policy in place so they are coming up with it now.
If I am offered a package which will tie me in to paying a significant amount back then I would prefer to do what you have done.
Do you ask for your membership fees to be paid and the cost of sitting the exams?
Or are you saying they only pay for your books?How would it come to £25k?
I had mine pay for two of my papers (tuition + membership fees + studyleave) and there was no policy in place in regards to paying back if you left within a certain time but I think they can only pay for one sitting per year.
We recently changed dept. and merged with one of our other subsidiaries and I believe a new policy will be drafted hence why I did not bother with my last (final) paper.
My previous place. I had to pay back more than a grand as I left within 12 months of sitting my exam.
Thanks for sharing your experiences ashabiggs06.
It seems that it varies from company to company. For the tuition did you go on a course and was it with a main provider i.e. Kaplan or BPP?
£25k as he had full tuition, QBDs and revision days for every paper, plus travel, it was crazy money, never heard of anyone getting that. they hadn’t really set a policy in place
Membership fees are usually paid, in my example they paid exams, fees and books, no tuition/revision/QBDs etc..
Wow that is crazy but just goes to show how expensive it can be.
I have already paid my membership fee for FMAAT covering Nov14 – Nov15 which really I think should be reimbursed given that I have been working on an FTC since Sept14 so the company has had the full benefit of my experience obtained from getting that qualification. Do you think I am entitled to ask for it?
I get my membership paid each year.
In addition before I started the exams the firm agreed the following:
1) To pay for the full course fee with LSBF covering all 14 exams = roughly £5500. This covered evening classes, materials and the online interactive study. However it did not include any revision, which I was led to believe by LSBF that it did.
I am also now entitled to a free MBA which I intend starting in September.
Over the next two years I had to repay back 25% via salary sacrifice.
2) All exams paid.
3) 1 1/2 days per exam study leave. So in affect 21 days over the whole of my studies.I had to pay for any exam fees if I had to retake. I also had to pay for any revision courses.
I am now tied in to my firm to pay back all they have paid if I leave within a certain period. However, in reality I suspect that will be negotiable.
For 14 exams £5.5k seems like a good deal. However I have read the part about no Revision included. When I looked into it a while back with BPP it worked out to be £1k per exam (Study & Revision).
I have heard about the MBA, does this look any good/is it worth doing? Does it normally cost a lot to do?
I have 9 exams to do (providing I pass the one I sat in June)
(F1-F3 exempt, F4 passed today, F5 result on 1 Aug)I don’t like the idea of being tied in.
I work for a very big company and they pay for courses, membership, travel to college and will repay you the exam fee once you have passed. Also give you time of to go to college.
If I remember I think you have to be with the company for 1 year after completion.
It sounds like you have got what they call ‘full study support’.
I take it that this is a company policy that applies to others as well given that you work for a very big company?
At the moment I have got a ‘yes’ to study support but a ‘we do not have a corporate policy’ so really I am none the wiser to what I am actually being offered.
- Topics: 0
- Replies: 118
- ☆☆
A good study package all comes down to the individual person and the employer. In my previous role, they said they would pay but I would be tied in – I declined. In my current job, I did not ask for any study support and used annual leave for study days – however they may be my final two so I wasn’t really bothered and once again I don’t see myself being there too far into the future. I have always self studied or studied through distance learning and paid for all of my ACCA.
You may want to think how long it could take you to complete all exams, whether you’d be tied in or whether you would have to repay some/all if you did leave? Can you envisage seeing yourself there for possibly a year for example after completion?
My ACCA package from the start has been all fees paid for me, and study leave as required, depending on how many exams I have had to take. The one resit I had was also paid for.
The only clause I have is that if I leave my job within a certain period, I must repay a percentage of the money they have paid out. This does not bother me, as I love my job and have no intention of leaving.
My deal is that I get a pay rise and negotiate the coming year of study after my results.
I am very lucky with the support I have had, and now awaiting my final exam result, I truly hope that the 3 years of hard work has paid off. I have been paid a very competitive salary and have a fantastic deal.
Whatever you are negotiating, just make sure you are happy with it. If not, then don’t agree. If you want to know more, or have any questions, feel free to ask, as I am happy to pass on my experience if it helps others.
I am fortunate to get full study support. This include some:
75% of all courses, materials, travel etc and 1 day off each week whilst the courses run and of course the exam day itself.My only advice is to get yourself a plan of how you intend to put it to your boss, remembering to ask for more than what you want. That way, there is room to negotiate.
Hope this helps?
@rebecca2 I have quite a few exams to take and there are other factors to consider in regards to how long I will be staying with the company due to an office move (further distance traveling, extra travel costs). Not to mention various other ‘issues’.
I have recently taken 2 exams and paid all of the fees myself and took annual leave to study. Although I have asked for study support I have not told my company that I have started my studying already and sat these exams. One of which I passed last week as it was F4 CBE.@Martin I am happy to hear that the set up that you have is working well for you and I am sure that you can help me with your advice. Do you get a pay rise or bonus each time you pass an exam? At the moment I am trying to work this out as well as the support towards the studying. There is quite clearly a ‘market rate’ for professionals meaning that if the company you work for will not give you the going rate you can easily get it at another company. However, I can only see this for part-qualified and qualified rather than per exam, if you understand what I mean?
There is also the part of getting PER signed off. Did you have any problems with that?If I am unhappy and don’t want to agree how do you suggest that I compromise with them? I notice that you said you have a very competitive salary, let’s just say that I am at the other end of the spectrum. I have taken on a lot of extra duties and deserve a pay rise which they are going to give me but I wasn’t on the right wage in the first place. This means that with the rise it is above what I should have been on almost a year ago but not much above it meaning the amount I get for the extra work is pittance.
I would just like to add that I was ‘advised’ on the salary and that nothing has been made official yet as I am still waiting for my revised job spec as well.Any advice that you can give me will be appreciated. Especially as I have been told that there will be some movement on this next week at work i.e. paperwork is starting to be drawn up.
@mighty111 Do you go on study and revision courses? At the moment I want to go on a four day revision course mid-August but as I have been waiting for weeks for answers to my questions that are relatively simple to answer I have not been able to go into more details. As I just said to Martin above, I have been told that there will be some movement on this next week at work i.e. paperwork is starting to be drawn up.
I’m now wondering what you mean by ask for more in terms of what the maximum is that I could ask for! If you have any ideas please let me know. I think that you are getting a good deal with the day release as I don’t believe many companies do that.
Your feedback has helped, thanks for responding.
Sorry, I probably didn’t explain very well.
I suppose this depends if your company has a well established study package which is immovable?
But as you are taking on more work you may be in a good position to negotiate a better deal?
A four day revision course does not seem excessive, but your company may want to knock you back to two days and then you have to use two of your holiday days?
Go in and ask for what you want but be prepared to accept a bit less without feeling demotivated.You may not have seen my earlier post:
At the moment I have got a ‘yes’ to study support but a ‘we do not have a corporate policy’ so really I am none the wiser to what I am actually being offered.
They have no study package in place so it is being made from scratch. I have not been asked what my expectations are/what I want. I have taken on more work and have been waiting a long time for my job spec.
The 4 day course is over a weekend so it would be 2 days of my time and 2 days of work time. The two days needed off of work are at a time when it would be convenient for me to go as it is in the less busy period. If they are offering full study support then let’s bare in mind here that they are not having to pay for a study course and only the revision.
I have already been paying my own fees and using my holidays for the exams that I have just done. If I have to continue to use my holiday I will not have enough leave left to take.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.