Christmas 2024 Closing and Effect on EPA Deadlines

In preparation for this year’s Christmas holiday period, we would like to remind you of our opening times over the Christmas period and how this affects apprentices’ submission dates.

1st for EPA will be closed on the 25^th, 26^th, 31^st December 2024 and the 1^st January 2025. This means our office will be open as normal on Friday 27^th and Monday 30^th December.

Effect on our SLA Timescales

All pending gateway and project approvals, reasonable adjustment requests and statements of results scheduled for completion on a recognised UK bank holiday or on a day that we are closed will be processed in line with our normal SLAs and on the next available working day.

Effect on Submission Deadlines

Any EPA project return dates that are scheduled to fall on any recognised UK bank holiday will be scheduled to be returned on the next available working day as per the normal process.

Any apprentice EPA period that includes any recognised UK bank holiday will have the EPA period increased by the number of recognised UK bank holidays that fall within it.

For example, for an apprentice with an EPA start date of 23^rd December 2024 who has 4 weeks to complete their EPA project, will have 3 additional days added to their project return date to take into account the 25^th, 26^th December 2024 and the 1^st January 2025 bank holidays.

Annual leave

Apprentice annual leave scheduled to be taken over the Christmas holiday period in addition to the recognised UK bank holidays, will not be taken into account when calculating EPA project return dates. This is also normal practice for all apprentices that have EPA periods that fall outside of the Christmas holiday period.