22.1. Notwithstanding the provisions of Regulations 21.3 and 21.4, a trainee accountant who is studying
towards an accredited degree or an accredited bridging programme is permitted to take one recess
period of a maximum of 12 (twelve) months from his academic studies, at any point in his contract,
with the restriction that only one recess period per contract term is allowed.
22.2. The trainee accountant will be exempt from the academic progress requirement during the academic
recess period.
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22.3. The permissible grounds for an academic recess are:
22.3.1. financial hardship;
22.3.2. severe illness; or
22.3.3. family responsibility.
22.4. The trainee accountant must apply in advance (unless not practically possible) for the academic recess
via TCMS.
22.5. In the case where the training officer declines the trainee accountant’s application, the trainee
accountant may appeal to SAICA within 30 days of being notified of the final outcome if, in their view,
the training officer has unreasonably withheld his approval.
