How much notice for courses?

Avril65

Can anyone tell me how much, if any, notice does my employers have to give me to attend a training course please? I had 8 days short notice and had could not attend, now i am being told i have to pay to do one myself, and i have 3 months to produce a certificate for it, i feel i was not given sufficient notice to attend! :mad: The course was mandatory.

Torry_Quine

What was the reason you couldn't attend eg was it meant to be a day you weren't working and so had arrangements? I would normally think that 8 days is adequate notice but not if you weren't working then

WestonDave

There isn't a formal timescale on something like that - if it came to it, it would come down to what a court or tribunal felt was reasonable, which will be as much about why you felt you couldn't do it with 8 days notice. For example a course within work hours at or near your place of work shouldn't require any notice particularly as you'd be there anyway, but one which would require you to be travelling or "working" outside your normal hours might suggest some time for adjustments if you have other commitments.

However bottom line is if you haven't been employed there for 2 years, then you can be fired if they want to (providing there isn't a discrimination issue) especially if you need the certificate to do the work e.g a food hygiene certificate.

Avril65

Torry_Quine wrote: »

What was the reason you couldn't attend eg was it meant to be a day you weren't working and so had arrangements? I would normally think that 8 days is adequate notice but not if you weren't working then

The first day i was working, and no cover for me to take it off, and the second was a day booked off before courses were announced and i was away

Torry_Quine

Avril65 wrote: »

The first day i was working, and no cover for me to take it off, and the second was a day booked off before courses were announced and i was away

Getting cover wasn't your problem as they obviously wanted you to attend but if you were off the second day then they shouldn't have booked you in.

Avril65

Torry_Quine wrote: »

Getting cover wasn't your problem as they obviously wanted you to attend but if you were off the second day then they shouldn't have booked you in.

There was a week between the 2 dates, my day off was booked before the course was announced

anamenottaken

Avril65 wrote: »

There was a week between the 2 dates, my day off was booked before the course was announced

Was it a one day course where there were two opportunities or a two-day course split over two weeks?

If it was a one-day course then you should have attended the first one as if your employer wanted you to do so they should have arranged cover for your work. If it was a two-day course then, if they wanted you to attend, they could actually have cancelled your day's leave. (Not generally a good idea for employers to cancel leave but they can legally do so if they give notice.)

What is the mandatory training in question?

paddedjohn

Did you tell them you weren't attending when they informed you of the course?