Mandatory Training being charged to attend

One of the more annoying aspects of this was the way this woman thought she could frighten a 19-year old. So, when my g.daughter (on advice from her Mum - a very highly qualified NHS professional), dared to send a message querying charges for Mandatory Training and saying she would be going to Ofsted about this - she received a return message threatening her with legal action if she did so.

Of course, when my daughter spoke to her over the telephone, it was a completely different attitude she got!! Do these people not realise that these young people often have highly qualified and knowledgeable parents behind them. Why do they think they can use these tactics on these vulnerable youngsters?

Thank you for updating us. Great news.

Good for her. She sounds like a very sensible, confident person and resourceful young person .

Ah, that is excellent news, especially if she can work each time she is off from university.

Hope she has a happy first day.

Just to say that my g.daughter starts this morning at six week holiday job with a long-established company running Children's holiday activities. (One, she actually attended as a young child). Did all her mandatory training on-line over the weekend, no charge.

She was so upset last week, determined to find some way of earning some money before returning to Uni. Spent every day going round companies, shops, etc. So please it has all worked out well for her now. AND....this company runs schemes at both Christmas and Easter, so she can probably be assured of holiday jobs each time she comes home during Uni vacations for the next two years.

The other company, is dodgy - to say the least - My daughter checked out their credentials and found it not very good, she had a long talk with the single person owner of this company over the 'phone, and found some of the 'explanations' not very satisfactory. She will be reporting them both to Ofsted and to local Council.

Just to add something about how kind some people can be. One of the shops my g.daughter approached asking if they had any work - asked what Uni course she was doing - she told them she had just completed her first year training as a Social Worker. They said they did not have anything to offer her, but then took ten pounds out of the till to give to her!!!

Think this whole thing has been an excellent experience of the problems and difficulties the adult world. Just so pleased it has worked out okay in the end.

There are so many job vacancies now that firms cannot waste time and money training someone only for them to move on after a week. Charging for training means candidates are more likely to stay in that job.

I've not heard of companies charging for mandatory training. If you are at work the normal terms seem to be that you get paid.

It does sound a bit excessive although, if she would be working with children, she would need advance DBS checking and that cost is usually paid for by the candidate for the job role - I don't think it is that expensive though.

Some jobs will cover the cost as long as you stay with the company for a certain length of time.

If you leave before, you have to reimburse them.

Seems very unfair, but it is very common. Grand-daughter applied to be a pool guard, but was told she had to attend a life-saving course. This lasts a whole week and costs £450. Thankfully, her parents could afford to sign her on- but it seemed to unfair to me as clearly only those with parents who can afford to pay can access those jobs.

It's pretty common in care, to make sure you don't take your shiny new certificates off to pastures new.

Mandatory training once you're in a job is not usually charged to you, I think, but if you need a certain qualification before you even can start a job, that seems like a different matter (seems being the operative word).

There's nothing dodgy about requiring people who don't yet work for you to pay for their own mandatory training - I expect the company has no shortage of applicants if that's their stipulation.

A decent company would offer to reimburse you after so many hours of employment, and pay for additional training.

I think it depends. If it says in the job description that you must be CPR/first aid certified, then it's my job to make sure that I meet the qualifications of the job. That's a transferable skill too, so benefits me.

Speak to CAB (Citizens Advice), or free advice from solicitor, or Trading Standards.

Well I suppose they can charge for mandatory training but whether they should is another matter. Highly unethical I should think. Their loss in respect of how hard it is to fill low paid jobs. I hope your GS finds something else soon

Is this like a first aid qualification provided by an outside body? If so, that's a general qualification it would be fine to require as part of the appointment. Some applying might already have current first aid training.

If the training is useless outside the role and maybe to do with something like the organisation own processes and procedures, then I think it's off.

What chewbacca said.

That sounds a bit dodgy to me Franbern. Would the training course have resulted in an accredited qualification that she could have taken with her to another similar role? If not, I think I'd be doing a bit of digging to find out a bit more about the background of the company and perhaps email their CEO to ask if this is their usual method of training temporary staff.

That’s disgraceful. If it’s a UK company you might be able to complain to Trading Standards. Sounds dodgy to me.