(1) An employee who has worked for at least three years and who has worked for the same employer for the last two years shall be entitled to full or partial leave for up to three years to attend organised courses of education. Beyond the level of the lower or upper secondary school, leave will only be granted for vocational studies. Vocational studies include all types of continuing education and training of relevance for the labour market.(2) Educational leave may not however be demanded when it would constitute an obstacle to the employer's responsible planning of operations and personnel assignments.(3) An employee who has taken educational leave is not entitled to further educational leave until the time that has elapsed since the commencement of the previous educational leave is
a.equal to twice the duration of the leave and
b.at least one year from commencement of the previous educational leave, except when this was for under one month's duration.
(4) An employee who wishes to make use of his or her right to educational leave must notify the employer of this in writing. The notification shall include information concerning the academic content of the course, the duration and, if appropriate, admission to the educational institution. When the course involves education beyond the level of the lower or upper secondary school, grounds must be given for vocational relevance.(5) An employer who maintains that the conditions for educational leave have not been fulfilled shall as early as possible and at the latest within six months notify the employee of this in writing. When the leave applied for is of a shorter duration than six months, the employer's reply shall be given within three months following receipt of the employee's request for leave but, when the leave applied for is of a shorter duration than one month, the reply shall be given within two months. Until the employee's request has been answered, the employer shall on request inform the employee of what has been done to make all possible arrangements for the educational leave.(6) The Ministry may by regulation wholly or partly exempt undertakings from the provisions of this section.
