Applying for VS as a paralegal

[eleven14og]

Hi everyone,

I just got a paralegal role at an international law firm and I am thinking about applying for vacation schemes this cycle. I am wondering if anyone on the forum has been in a similar position as me. Would I need to use my annual leave to attend ACs and VS? I have also heard about situations where the law firm one's working as a paralegal does not allow one to attend vacation schemes while on the job. Does this mean I will need to quit to attend VS?

Also, I wish to ask when would be a good time to raise this with my employer. I am not applying for Winter VS but will do Spring & Summer. I've only just received the job offer so I'm a bit scared to raise this with them now.

Thanks!

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi everyone,

I just got a paralegal role at an international law firm and I am thinking about applying for vacation schemes this cycle. I am wondering if anyone on the forum has been in a similar position as me. Would I need to use my annual leave to attend ACs and VS? I have also heard about situations where the law firm one's working as a paralegal does not allow one to attend vacation schemes while on the job. Does this mean I will need to quit to attend VS?

Also, I wish to ask when would be a good time to raise this with my employer. I am not applying for Winter VS but will do Spring & Summer. I've only just received the job offer so I'm a bit scared to raise this with them now.

Thanks!

Is it a permanent paralegal role or a fixed term contract/temp role?

 

[eleven14og]

Is it a permanent paralegal role or a fixed term contract/temp role?

Hi Jessica, it is a permanent role.

 

[Jessica Booker]

Hi Jessica, it is a permanent role.

Ok - that does make it slightly trickier as ultimately the firm are expecting a bigger commitment from you.

There are a couple of things you can do:

1) check your employment contract for what it states about having employment elsewhere

2) when you join the firm check any internal policies to see if there are processes you need to consider.

I’d probably wait until you have settled into your job (eg a good 6-8 weeks) before raising it even informally. However, you may find that it naturally comes out in conversations instigated by your supervisor/manager. You could also look on LinkedIn to see if any other current paralegals have done vacation schemes while at the firm, and talk to other paralegals more informally about what they have done/how they they have tackled the situation.

But assuming it is ok for you to do a vacation scheme, you’ll either need to use your annual leave or take unpaid leave to attend. That is assuming your firm can also give you that specific time off (if everyone else has already booked holiday, this could be tricky, particularly during school holidays).

It isn’t unknown for people to resign from paralegal roles to attend Vacation schemes when it is not possible to get approval though. That is particularly risky in my opinion, although the job market is still quite buoyant and so is less of a risk at the moment (although hard to know how long this will be the case).

 

[eleven14og]

Ok - that does make it slightly trickier as ultimately the firm are expecting a bigger commitment from you.

There are a couple of things you can do:

1) check your employment contract for what it states about having employment elsewhere

2) when you join the firm check any internal policies to see if there are processes you need to consider.

I’d probably wait until you have settled into your job (eg a good 6-8 weeks) before raising it even informally. However, you may find that it naturally comes out in conversations instigated by your supervisor/manager. You could also look on LinkedIn to see if any other current paralegals have done vacation schemes while at the firm, and talk to other paralegals more informally about what they have done/how they they have tackled the situation.

But assuming it is ok for you to do a vacation scheme, you’ll either need to use your annual leave or take unpaid leave to attend. That is assuming your firm can also give you that specific time off (if everyone else has already booked holiday, this could be tricky, particularly during school holidays).

It isn’t unknown for people to resign from paralegal roles to attend Vacation schemes when it is not possible to get approval though. That is particularly risky in my opinion, although the job market is still quite buoyant and so is less of a risk at the moment (although hard to know how long this will be the case).

Thank you Jessica! This is super helpful!