Practice Training

Calculation of Practice Training Period

The commencement date of the practice training period is stated in the Institute’s letter approving the manner of service of practice training period under Rule 24(1)(d) of the Legal Profession (Admission) Rules 2011.

The following apply when computing the statutory 6 months of practice training period under a practice training contract:

  1. The commencement date cannot be a Saturday, Sunday or Public Holiday.

  2. Holidays or non-working days declared by Singapore law practices cannot be counted in the computation of the practice training period.

  3. A break in the practice training period will be excluded from the computation of the practice training period. A break during the practice training period occurs when a practice trainee is not available to serve his practice training period. Examples of a break are when the practice trainee takes leave such as vacation leave, marriage leave, medical leave or sick leave.

  4. Subject to (e), (f) and (g) below, Saturdays and Sundays are taken into account when computing practice training period even if a break took place on a Friday or Monday.

  5. When there is a break during the practice training period due to a change in supervising solicitor, law practice or practice training contract, the Saturday, Sunday and Public Holiday immediately before or after the break will not be taken into account for the calculation of practice training period.

  6. The last day of the practice training period cannot be a Saturday, Sunday or Public Holiday.

  7. Any day taken as leave during practice training period will have to be made up at the end of the practice training period, that is, the number of days of leave taken will be added to, and will extend the end date of, the practice training period by an equivalent number of working days. When determining the end date of practice training period due to making up for leave taken, Saturdays, Sundays and Public Holidays cannot be counted. For example, if 2 days of leave were taken, then the practice training period will end 2 working days later than it would have if the 2 days of leave had not been taken. This applies similarly to days declared by law practices as a holiday or non-working day when that day is not a gazetted public holiday. For the avoidance of doubt, any leave taken in lieu of a Saturday that was a gazetted public holiday will not be counted as leave.

The following apply when computing practice training period through working as a Judicial Service Officer or a Legal Service Officer or working under the supervision of a relevant legal officer (as referred to in Rule 14 of the Legal Profession (Admission) Rules 2011

  1. The commencement date cannot be a Saturday, Sunday or Public Holiday.

  2. A break in the practice training period will be excluded from the computation of the practice training period. A break during the practice training period occurs when a practice trainee is not available to serve his practice training period. Examples of a break are when the practice trainee takes any unpaid leave such as no-pay leave or study leave.

  3. Any period during which the practice trainee takes half-pay leave will be discounted by 50%. For example, if a practice trainee takes 2 months’ leave at half-pay, those 2 months will only count as one month of practice training period.

  4. Subject to (e), (f) and (g) below, Saturdays and Sundays are taken into account when computing practice training period even if a break took place on a Friday or Monday.

  5. When there is a break during the practice training period due to the practice trainee taking unpaid leave, any Saturday, Sunday or Public Holiday immediately before, during or after the break for which the practice trainee is not paid will not be taken into account for the calculation of practice training period.

  6. The last day of the practice training period cannot be a Saturday, Sunday or Public Holiday.

  7. Any day, week or month taken as unpaid leave during practice training period will have to be made up at the end of the practice training period, that is, the number of days, weeks or months of unpaid leave taken will be added to, and will extend the end date of, the practice training period by an equivalent duration, in the case of days by the equivalent number of working days, and in the case of weeks and months by an equivalent number of weeks or months, as if the unpaid leave had not been taken.

In view of the COVID-19 situation, the period from 7 April 2020 to 25 April 2022, during which a practice trainee works from home will be recognised as practice training period as long as the practice trainee is able to work from home under supervision, and the supervising solicitor is able and willing to certify that he or she did in fact supervise the work of the practice trainee in the practice of Singapore law during the period that the practice trainee worked from home. This also applies to relevant legal training in a Singapore law practice.

 

Last Updated: 15 March 2023