F-15: Time Off for Professional Activities

 Statement of the Case: Engineer A, a recent university graduate, moved to a small town after

obtaining the P.Eng. designation and was hired by Engineer B, who had a small civil engineering

consulting firm. The firm included a technician and a secretary. Within a few months of arriving,

Engineer A was elected to the executive of the local chapter of the Association. There were

several towns in the chapter territory, and the evening meetings were in different towns

throughout the year. To get to the more-distant meetings on time, Engineer A had to leave work

early to allow travel time.

Engineer A asked Engineer B for permission to leave work an hour

early, but offered to make up the time by working late on other days. Leaving early would occur

about twice per month (including executive meetings) but would not be a major disruption, so

Engineer B agreed. Engineer B rarely attended the monthly chapter meetings.

After a year of employment with the firm, Engineer A expressed interest in taking a computer

software course at a nearby college. Although it was not a university-level course, it was directly

related to the work that Engineer A was performing. It would have required attendance on the

college campus, three hours per week, for 10 weeks. Engineer A asked for permission to attend

the course, offering to work late on other days to make up the lost time. Engineer B refused the

permission, saying that the work schedule was already disrupted when Engineer A left early to

attend the chapter meetings. Engineer A decided not to take the course.

Question: Does the employer have an obligation to assist Engineer A in his professional

activities?

Outcome: A few months later, Engineer Engineer A resigned and moved to another engineering firm in

the same town. No explanation was given for leaving the firm, but the reasons, as confided to a

few of the other members on the Chapter executive, shortly after the resignation, were as

follows:

 “I found it surprising that my boss did not attend meetings of the local Chapter, and I was

even more surprised that he wouldn’t let me re-arrange my time to take a college course

which was intended to make me a better employee. I felt that he just didn’t want me to

improve my skills, so that I would be attractive to other employers. I realized that I didn’t

want to work for a boss with such a poor professional attitude. My new job pays me precisely

what I earned with Engineer B, but my new boss is far more professional, encourages

employees to participate in Association activities, up-grading education and engineering

societies, and even allows a reasonable amount of time off with pay.”

Authors’ Comments: Engineers and geoscientists should encourage other professionals,

technologists, and technicians to participate in continuing education to improve relevant

engineering, geoscience, and management skills. In fact, most Codes of Ethics specifically state

that practitioners should provide opportunities for the professional development of their

associates and subordinates. Employers should permit reasonable time off with pay, for

professional purposes. However, what is “reasonable” depends on circumstances. Such time is

rarely billable to clients or projects, so organizations may understandably insist that the

professional make up the time by working late on other days.