25 July 2025
Gotcha! Regarding stipend during exam leaves for articled assistants (like CA students):
**Legally, are you entitled to stipend during exam leaves?** There’s no explicit law mandating firms to pay stipend during exam leave. It mostly depends on:
* **Your training contract/agreement** with the firm * **Firm’s internal policies**
**Common practice:**
* Many firms **do pay stipend during exam leave** as they recognize exam time is crucial for the trainee’s career. * Some firms don’t pay during exam leave, treating it as unpaid leave.
**What you can do:**
* Check your appointment/training letter or contract to see if exam leave stipend is mentioned. * Talk to your principal or HR and request stipend for exam leaves, citing that it’s common practice in the profession. * If nothing is written and they refuse, unfortunately there may not be a strict legal recourse.
In summary, it’s mostly a **matter of agreement or firm’s discretion**, not a statutory right.
If you want, I can help draft a polite request letter to your firm for stipend during exam leave — would that help?