We have received a lot of questions from trainees on furlough on a variety of issues and have answered the most common questions below.
If you have a question you think should be added to the FAQs, please complete the contact form below.
If you have any specific questions relating to your personal situation, you can get in touch directly with the team at [email protected].
This depends on whether you will be furloughed for longer than a six month period.
Trainees who are furloughed for less than six months
If you are furloughed for less than six months, in terms of the Law Society's requirements, it is possible for you to qualify on the planned date provided your supervising solicitor is satisfied that you have met all of the PEAT 2 outcomes and meet the standard of the qualified solicitor. We advise having a conversation with your supervising solicitor to discuss your current status so you get an idea of how your qualification date may be impacted as soon as you can. Please note that many trainees may see their traineeships extended and that even within organisations, decisions regarding the competence and discharge of trainees may differ (e.g. one may discharge on the planned date whilst another may have their traineeship extended).
Under the 2019 admission regulations, a training manager must inform us of a decision to effectively reduce a traineeship by up to six months as well as providing reasons for doing so by contacting [email protected]. For any trainee who commenced their traineeship under the 2011 regulations, this decision would have to be approved by the Admissions sub-committee. We recommend getting in touch at [email protected] in this case for further guidance.
Trainees who are furloughed for more than six months
If you are, or are likely to be, on furlough for a period of longer than six months, your traineeship will be extended. As a minimum, this would be by the number of days beyond six months that you have missed from your traineeship.
In addition to six months off work due to furlough, trainees may also be able to miss a further one month from their traineeship due to exceptional personal circumstances such as illness or bereavement. This would bring the maximum period of time missed during a traineeship to seven months without a traineeship having to be extended.
Any employer requiring to extend a traineeship for more than six months will need to make an application to the Admissions sub-committee. Email [email protected] for more information.
This depends on how much of your traineeship you will miss, which could be a combination of time away from the traineeship due to furlough, or reduced days due to part-time working.
Trainees who have missed less than six months of their traineeship due to part-time working and furlough
If the number of days missed from work during the traineeship is less than six months, the decision about whether to extend is at the discretion of your supervising solicitor. This will be determined on the basis of whether you have met the PEAT2 Outcomes. Please note that many trainees may see their traineeships extended.
Under the 2019 admission regulations, a training manager must inform us of a decision to effectively reduce a traineeship by up to six months as well as providing reasons for doing so by contacting [email protected]. For any trainee who commenced their traineeship under the 2011 regulations, this decision would have to be approved by the Admissions sub-committee. We recommend getting in touch at [email protected] in this case for further guidance.
Trainees who have missed more than six months of their traineeship due to part-time working and furlough
If the number of days missed from work during the traineeship exceeds six months, your traineeship will be extended. In this case, the number of days you have missed above the six month ceiling will need to be added on pro-rata. However, this is a minimum. If your supervising solicitor deems that you have not met the standard required, they may judge that more time will need to be added on to your traineeship.
Any employer requiring to extend a traineeship will need to make an application to the Admissions sub-committee. Email [email protected] for more information.
In addition to six months off work due to furlough, trainees may also be able to miss a further one month from their traineeship due to exceptional personal circumstances such as illness or bereavement.
This would bring the maximum period of time missed during a traineeship to seven months without a traineeship having to be extended.
For anyone qualifying after 30 September 2020 there are no adjustments to the required CPD that a trainee must undertake i.e. a minimum of sixty hours with a minimum of 40 from an Authorised Provider. The only change is that the Mandatory Ethics Course can be taken at any stage after month 9 of the traineeship.
Yes. Please email us at [email protected] so we can update your record.
Please also let us know when you have been taken off furlough.
No. PQPRs should wait until you return to work.
Whether or not you require to undertake a PQPR after a period of furlough is down to a matter of professional judgement for your supervising solicitor. It is difficult to give a definitive position for all trainees as some periods of furlough will be relatively short (e.g. under a month) whilst others will be considerably longer. Some periods of furlough will cover an entire quarter (or more) whilst others will span two quarters.
Our suggestion would be that if a trainee has missed all or a significant proportion of a quarter that the PQPR simply be missed and a more extensive review be taken next time round. If a trainee has missed less than six weeks of a quarter it is more likely that they should undertake a PQPR for that time period. We note though that this is a unique circumstance and think that the best person to judge whether or not a PQPR is required is the supervising solicitor. If your supervising solicitor decides that a PQPR is unnecessary simply ignore the PQPR reminders.
If you have been on furlough for the entirety, or vast majority (see point above), of the period covering your PQPR, you can simply miss it and leave it blank.
Yes it is possible for you to qualify while you are on furlough but this is subject to you completing the required trainee CPD (see above) and on the condition that your supervising solicitor is satisfied that you have met all of the PEAT2 outcomes and you meet the standard of the qualifying solicitor. However, this may mean you are due to move into a new role thereafter and you must check with the guidance in the Coronavirus Job Retention scheme about what your position then is.
Yes, you can submit an admission application and the Disclosure Scotland form, if required, even if you are on furlough. You will have to have completed a sufficient period of training to allow you to make the application. If you wish to discuss further please contact [email protected]. Please ensure you are complying with the rules and guidance set out by the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme at all times.
We have a policy on the termination of training contracts for the reason of redundancy based on QC opinion. The policy statement is clear that training contracts cannot be terminated by employers for the reason of redundancy and other avenues should be considered prior to redundancy. The only organisation who can terminate a training contract is the Law Society of Scotland.
We understand that the current situation may lead to less work for trainee solicitors to undertake. Organisations may wish to consider utilising funding via the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
Training units are encouraged to read the policy statement and consider all other options prior to redundancy. If having done so, they wish to make a trainee solicitor redundant, they are required to make an application to the Admissions Sub-Committee of the Law Society of Scotland.
As part of the redundancy process, the Admissions Sub-Committee would look at how much of your traineeship you had completed and come to a decision about how much credit you may be awarded towards a future traineeship. This will be considered on a case-by-case basis. We require a statement from the employer confirming how much time a trainee has served they consider should be credited towards a future traineeship and would consider your professional development and the progress you had made up until that point. For example, if you had completed half of a traineeship and been making good progress towards meeting the PEAT2 outcomes, you may be credited 12 months and need to find a traineeship for the outstanding 12 months.
It is up to employers to interpret the guidance issued by the UK Government relating to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. The guidance states:
Once you are on furlough you will not be able to work for your employer. You can undertake training or volunteer subject to public health guidance, as long as you’re not:
- making money for your employer or a company linked or associated to your employer
- providing services to your employer or a company linked or associated to your employer
- furloughed by your employer and volunteering for them in a different role
For more information visit the UK Government website: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-if-you-could-be-covered-by-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme does allow for this, according to the updated guidance on the UK government website. Furloughed individuals are not allowed to work for their employer whilst on furlough, but can do other work.
We are aware of some trainees who – in particular – wish to return to old roles for a short-time in industries that need additional assistance during this time e.g. roles in the National Health Service, care homes, working in supermarkets and other such shops, farming etc.
The Admissions Sub-Committee has considered this matter and has agreed that it is possible for a trainee to take on another role whilst furloughed, so long as the following criteria are met:
- The trainee has the consent of the training unit.
- That the role is compliant with the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme guidance (and any updated guidance). The guidance is available here - see section ‘Working for a different employer’.
- That any such role is ceased before the end of the period of their furlough (that is they do not have two roles when training resumes).
There are a number of ways you can productively spend your time while you are on furlough, to help you get some structure to your day or feel like you are doing some personal or professional development. We recommend keeping in touch with your supervisor so you can get any advice from them and keep them up to date with how you are getting on. Some examples are:
- Working for another organisation while you are on furlough (see point above).
- Undertaking trainee CPD. This will need to be structured learning, rather than on the job learning.
- Doing other relevant CPD or attending virtual events. This could be a good opportunity to developing your knowledge of a new area or exploring issues relating to the legal profession.
See our CPD team’s free CPD offering
Hey Legal are offering free CPD - Catching up on reading and case law. This isn’t something many people get time to do during the usual course of work. It could be a good opportunity to get ahead. Reading the Journal and engaging on LinkedIn are other good ways to access lots of relevant content.
- Joining associations such as SYLA and TANQ or practice area groups as these can be great ways of keeping up to speed.
- If you are getting close to the end of your traineeship and might be thinking about NQ roles, this is a good time to prepare your CV and start thinking about what firms or organisations you might be interested in applying to in the future. Researching employers and doing some of the groundwork now might prove useful later on.
Our careers team is available if you’d like a chat: [email protected].
It’s also important that being productive doesn’t become another source of stress. Being on furlough can be disorientating, so make sure you keep your wellbeing in check as a priority. You can have a look at our Lawscot Wellbeing resources here.
We hope that employers are being proactive in communicating with trainees on furlough. We recommend that employers keep trainees informed of their situation and offer as much ongoing support as possible. Whilst trainees cannot work for the organisation whilst on furlough it is good practice to keep in touch.
If you haven’t had any communication with your employer and you are concerned, we recommend asking your supervisor, training manager or – if you have one - HR team for a catch up.
Whilst many of the larger firms offer so called ‘’seat-based’’ traineeships there is no requirement for trainees to undertake numerous seats throughout their traineeship. As firms adapt to difficult market decisions they may need to place trainees in different seats than the ones that they’d originally planned.
We know that it can be frustrating if you have been furloughed to miss a seat you were particularly interest in qualifying into or getting experience of. If you are in this position and feel strongly about getting access to a specific area of work we would recommend that you speak to your supervising solicitor but bear in mind the commercial reality some firms will find themselves in.
Around a third of trainees have been furloughed for a period due to coronavirus, therefore it won’t put you in a unique situation in the eyes of employers. Employers will also know that decisions made about which staff to furlough is down to business-need, rather than personal performance, therefore it isn’t something that reflects on you personally.
If you wanted, you could think carefully about how to make the most of your time on furlough if you do want to show future employers you used it for professional or personal development.
