Expect to get in bother if caught looking for another job?

JustAnotherSaver

On the back of the other thread i have, i enjoy my job, but i don't enjoy the way in which many of the people i work with speak to myself & others.

One thought i had was to seek work elsewhere, but in a different field. So i was thinking of re-training as something else.

The local training centre/school however, deals with the company i work for. One argument could be that i could be looking to train with hope of just moving sideways at the company i work for as they also have the role in which i'm looking to re-train & i actually wouldn't mind working in that department. I know though that there isn't any position available there & that in reality i'd have to work elsewhere.

I just wondered if this somehow filtered back to my employer - can i get into any official trouble for seeking to re-train & work elsewhere? Or is the best they can do just to shout at me (again) as to why i'd want to work elsewhere?

I've worked for the company for a number of years.

Southend1

Of course you can't get in trouble for undertaking training outside of work hours. Go for it!

mum2one

go for it, at one of my old jobs I went back to college part time, I changed jobs half way though, and said I'm x at college, cant work this shift - no probs, x

bristol_pilot

This depends a lot on the firm and the industry. In some industries - particularly small companies in creative sectors - if there is the slightest suspicion that an employee is thinking of leaving the person is often sacked with no notice (and hang the consequences). If it is a large corporate you will probably be OK.

JustAnotherSaver

No it's a small business.

Can they sack & get away with it just for looking for alternative employment?

browneyedbazzi

JustAnotherSaver wrote: »

No it's a small business.

Can they sack & get away with it just for looking for alternative employment?

That doesn't sound like reasonable grounds for dismissal to me so if you're been there long enough to qualify to be able to put in a wrongful dismissal claim I think they'd shy away from giving that as the reason for sacking you...that doesn't mean they won't look for other grounds that would be reasonable though.

Provided that the training doesn't get in the way of your job and you aren't looking to move to a competitor (and therefore potentially poach customers) I don't see why they'd have a problem with it though.