Frequently Asked Questions

Explore the categories below:


Bonding

Study Leave - When study leave is granted “with Pay’ the officers are required

to sign a Study Leave Bond as per section 7.11.1 of the General Orders. In

this regard, an officer from the Directorate will prepare necessary Bond, communicate with

the candidate directly and invite him/her to come to the Directorate to execute

the Bond.


Training Leave
- Public officers, who have been granted training leave for a

period of three months or more, will be bonded on completion of their

training (Section of 7.11.1 of the General Orders, pg. 77).

Bonded amount = salary + estimated cost of training + 4% interest

Stamp duty = 0.25% of bonded amount

The scales of bonded service are as follows:

Duration of Course

Duration of Course Period of Bonded Service

Waiver Clause

Less than 3 months

Nil

Does not arise

3 to less than 6 months

Six months

Half the cost after 3 months service, the remainder after a further 3 months service.

6 months to less than 1 year

One year

¼ of cost thereafter 3 months service, the remainder after a further 9 months service

1 year to less than 2 years

Two years

½ of cost after 12 months service, thereafter proportionate reduction of residue for each complete month of service

2 years to less than 3 years

Three years

1/3 of cost after 12 months service thereafter a proportionate reduction of the residue for each complete month of service.

4 years and over

Length of study

A proportionate part of the cost after two years complete service and thereafter by monthly proportionate reduction





In-service Training

Public officers who attend local in-service training courses are not required to submit reports to the Learning and Development Directorate.

All public officers who have been granted training leave to enable them to attend a course of training are required to submit a report on completion of the training course to the Learning and development Directorate (Section 7.13 of the general orders, pg 79).


You should submit these forms to Training Administration Division through your ministry/department.  Training Course Report Form LINK

    Applications for In-service training courses should be submitted based on the deadline date set in the circular or memorandum sent to the Ministry/Department.

Participants are expected to meet the following criteria for all courses:

Punctuality – 95%; and Attendance – 95%

The recommended attire for all training courses is business wear/business casual, as participants are still considered to be on the job and are required to dress accordingly.


Study and Training Leave

Officers should apply for study leave if they intend to pursue a course

of 
study for which they have NOT been nominated by their

Ministry/Department, but which is relevant to the public service.


Training leave is requested by the Head of Department on behalf of an

officer who is undertaking a course of study that is directly related to the

Ministry/Department.

Study leave refers to leave granted to an officer to pursue a course of study

regard or training which is negotiated by that officer on his own initiative

regardless of its value to the Service and for which study or training that

officer may not necessarily have been selected in competition with other

officers (General Orders Sections 7.1 (b), pg.75).


Training leave refers to leave granted to enable officers to pursue

courses 
of training or study which have been initiated by the Government to

meet 
its requirements (General Orders Section 7.1 pg. 75).



Consideration is given to the relevance of course of study to the wider public service.


The accredited status of institutions is considered by the relevant Services Commission. The course of study should also be recognized.


No. A three year minimum intervening period between periods of study leave is

required.

Five years is the criteria used by the Training Committee in their

recommendations to the relevant Services Commission, when considering

requests for study leave.

Temporary officers with more than one year but less than two (2) years’ service

may receive a total of two (2) weeks study leave in any
one calendar year to

prepare for and write certificate, diploma or professional examinations.

Temporary officers with more than one year but less than two (2) years’

service may receive a total of two (2) weeks study leave in any one calendar

year to prepare for and write certificate, diploma or professional

examinations.


I. Degree (including Associate Degree), Certificate, Diploma or Professional

Examinations.


(i) A total of four (4) weeks in any one calendar year to prepare for and write

degree, certificate, diploma or professional examinations.


(ii) In cases where the semester system is in operation, the study leave

should be granted as follows: a. Two (2) weeks only for the first semester

examination b. Two (2) weeks only for the second semester examination.


II. Degree (including Associate Degree), Certificate, Diploma or Professional

Examinations through Distance Learning

The same conditions should apply as those outlined above


III. Departmental Examinations

One (1) week should be granted in any one calendar year for departmental promotion examinations.


IV. Other Examinations


One (1) week should be granted in any one calendar year for any other

examinations including Ordinary and Advanced Level examinations. At the

Ordinary level, leave should be granted only to persons who are preparing

for at least two (2) subjects.


2. In considering whether to grant requests for short periods of study leave,

the following guidelines should be taken into account:


(ii) If the examination falls outside the period of study leave, then the officer may be required to take vacation leave to write the exams.


(iii) Those person who have NOT been granted training leave to pursue the

Executive Masters in Business Administration (EMBA) should be granted

short periods of study leave to take examinations and this leave should be

granted on the same basis as recommended for officers pursuing degree

programmes.


(iv) Those persons who have been granted training leave would not be

eligible for short periods of study leave.


(v) Only those persons who are pursuing recognized programmes at

educational and training institutions should be granted short periods of study

leave.


(vi) A Study Leave Year is equivalent to one (1) calendar year, that is,

January to December.


(vii) At the beginning of each calendar year, the Heads of

Ministries/Departments should ensure that there is a roster which would

indicate the schedule of short periods of study leave which would be

required by officers. Applications for short periods of study leave should be in

conformity with the leave roster prepared and approved for that purpose.


(Viii) Applications for short periods of study leave should be submitted in

writing and the appropriate forms should be duly completed.


(ix) The onus would be on the officer to provide satisfactory evidence to the

Heads of Ministries/Departments that: a. He/she will be pursuing a

course/programme of study which leads to examinations. The officers should

also provide a schedule of the examinations to be taken. b. He/she will, in

fact, be preparing to take the particular examination(s) for which study leave

is requested.


(x) An officer who fails an examination should be granted study leave on only

one (1) occasion thereafter to prepare for it.

Study Leave is not granted to write a dissertation.

This type of leave request is made directly to your permanent secretary or

head of department.

Learning and Development Directorate requires that all completed applications

for 
study leave be submitted through your Permanent Secretary/Head of

department to its office 
on or before:

28th February for programmes commencing August – October of the same

year 31st 
July for programmes commencing in January of the following year.

All requests for extensions of study leave must be channeled through the

parent ministry for comments and recommendations, accompanied by official

correspondence from the institution corroborating the request, and stating

reasons for the extension, exact period of leave required and the courses to be

undertaken and a progress report. See section 7.13 of the General orders, pg.

79.

All public officers who were unsuccessful in their request for study leave may

request a review of the decision.


Public officers who were granted study leave may request a review of the

condition under which the study leave was granted.

Study Leave is processed by the Training Committee.


Thereafter the relevant Service Commission, through the Director, People Resourcing and Compliance, considers the recommendations and makes a determination pending confirmation of acceptance by the institution and the signing of a bond.

When the Learning and Development Directorate receives a response from the People Resourcing and Compliance Directorate of the approval or non-approval of the required study leave, this information is channeled to the Ministries/Departments with an invitation to inform the respective candidate.

All annual training requests should be submitted to the Learning and Development Directorate by September 30th for inclusion in the training proposals to be submitted at estimates.

The Learning and Development Directorate also processes offers of training received from other agencies and Governments. These offers are sent to relevant ministries or circularized within the public service.


Training Loan Fund

Simple interest at a rate of 4% is charged on each loan.

  • Evidence of employment in the Barbados Public service.
  • Acceptance letter from the institution of study or copy of last academic report if already attending a course of study.
  • An official cost sheet from educational institution
  • A course online
  • Proof of income (employment and current pay slip)
  • Signed avidavits from two sureties

When a training loan has been approved, the applicant is required to enter into

a bond to repay to the crown the amount of the loan. Two sureties are

required.