Sick Leave & Holiday Policy

Long term students taking courses on the Internationalisation Register may require sick leave and/or holidays. Our International Register courses are designed for students to take a minimum of 25 weeks of study over an 8-month period.

Holiday

A holiday plan is arranged for each student at the time of booking, which appears on the booking invoice. Where feasible, Academic Year students are given holidays from June to September and also at Christmas. During their first week of school, new students will be given one opportunity to amend their assigned holidays. Students must have completed at least 6 weeks of their course before holidays are granted. Holidays must be for a minimum of 2 consecutive weeks.

Holiday periods granted cannot exceed 1/3 of the course time elapsed, i.e. after 9 weeks, you can take a maximum of 3 weeks holiday. The only exception to this is when the school is closed for the Christmas holiday. The holiday timetable agreed in your first week at school will be sent to the GNIB and cannot be changed.

Sick leave

Update October 2020: If a student has symptoms of COVID19 they must not come to the school building. It can take up to 14 days for symptoms of coronavirus to appear. They can be similar to the symptoms of cold and flu. Common symptoms of coronavirus include:

  • a fever (high temperature – 38 degrees Celsius or above)
  • a cough – this can be any kind of cough, not just dry
  • shortness of breath or breathing difficulties
  • lost or changed sense of smell or taste

If a student has any of the above Coronavirus symptoms, they should behave as if they have the virus and self-isolate for 14 days. They must:

  • Not return school – email academic@isi-ireland.ie to explain the reason they cannot come to class. Their attendance will not be affected.
  • Self-isolate
  • Contact their doctor by phone for a FREE CONSULTATION. Based on the consultation their doctor may recommend a FREE  COVID19 test. All documentation from medical professionals (i.e. emails, screenshots of text messages etc.) should be emailed to academic@isi-ireland.ie to ensure attendance is not affected.

If a student has any other sickness besides COVID19 symptoms and is unable to attend class, they must provide a doctor’s note that certifies the number of days’ leave to be awarded. Any certified sick leave will not positively or negatively affect a student’s attendance rate. All uncertified sick leave will be recorded as absence and will negatively affect a student’s attendance rate. Students must send all sick leave requests & certificates to the Director of Studies at academic@isi-ireland.ie

Unscheduled or emergency breaks

During the course of their studies, students may have reason to take an unscheduled break from their studies. The reasons for this could be extended personal sick leave or an emergency visit home due to the death or ill health of a close family member. In these exceptional circumstances, the above holiday policy can be altered at the discretion of the Director of Studies.

Director of Studies – academic@isi-ireland.ie