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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Can my boss refuse me mandatory training?

99 replies

Advicewel · 12/10/2019 00:45

I told my boss I was looking for a new job, which could take months due to finding it difficult to travel to work as I don't drive and local public transport has been cut, which would mean an hours walk from a train station which isn't bad during the day but at 10pm finishes could be risky.
My boss was putting me through a qualification which would of had me stay for 2 years which was why I had to tell her that I couldn't do it and was looking for something closer to home, I thought that by telling the truth everything would be OK until the other day when I was due to go on a mandatory training course with a few other staff members to be told it was cancelled to another day and that I was excluded from it. I just feel down, I've always done overtime and in my own time done alot of unpaid work for the company.
AIBU for feeling a bit depressed by being treated that way?

OP posts:
Oct18mummy · 12/10/2019 07:46

You’ve told them you are going to leave...why would they invest anything further into you?

It doesn’t matter about what you have done in the past, what overtime you have done or how hard you have worked.

pooopypants · 12/10/2019 07:50

Presumably you were paid for your overtime?

YABU. They're investing in your future by training you. You don't have a future with them as you're leaving. It makes zero business sense for them to pay for training you if you're leaving shortly.

Seriously OP?

StepAwayFromGoogle · 12/10/2019 08:01

YABU. I've spent my entire working life doing unpaid overtime - I don't expect special favours for it. Never, ever tell an employer you are planning to leave before you get a new job. Otherwise they will do things like not send you on training courses

Unknownanon · 12/10/2019 08:08

Well now you know not to go above and beyond. Yabu about mandatory training unless its H&S and you have to do it by policy so would be chased by HR for not complying- pp are right, they won't want to invest in you as you are looking to leave. And on the other side, stop doing unpaid overtime as you are looking to leave.

Monty27 · 12/10/2019 08:11

But you don't intend to stay for 2 years Confused

LoudBatPerson · 12/10/2019 08:16

What is the training?

Will you be unable to continue to carry out your job if you don't do it? If so then you may have a point.

However if you can continue with your job YABU. The company will not spend money on someone's development when they know they won't be the company to benefit from it.

Many people do extra hours unpaid, and companies can't treat everyone specially because of it. I highly doubt you have done significantly more overtime than your colleagues.

AJPTaylor · 12/10/2019 08:32

It's rubbish but it is very much life.
Crack on with the job search.

FrancisCrawford · 12/10/2019 08:39

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

insancerre · 12/10/2019 08:52

Yabu
They owe you nothing

Why would they spend money on training you when you intend to leave?

It’s business, not a personal relationship

anxiouswaiting · 12/10/2019 08:56

What job do you do and what is the training? I agree that you shouldn't expect to get any non essential training if you are leaving, but if it is classed as mandatory training and you have no leaving date I can see why you would still expect to do it.

I work in healthcare and mandatory training for me is things like moving and handling, personal safety, infection control etc. Even if I were leaving I would totally expect to still be put on this training especially if I had not handed in my notice because they are essential training for the safety of my patients and myself.

If yours is something similar I would point this out to manager, you could after all be there another 6 months as you haven't even found another job yet.

So really it depends what the training is and what the potential consequences of you not doing it would be.

PippiDeLena · 12/10/2019 09:00

Why would you tell your employer that you're looking for another job? Obviously they will mark your card and not offer you any further opportunities now. That was really daft of you. Now, even if you decide to stay, they will know that you're not committed.

This job is ruined now, but for your future job, try to be more professional. Don't do unpaid overtime, don't tell them you're looking for another job. It would also be a good idea to learn to drive so you can look for jobs in a wider geographic area and your options aren't so limited.

MzHz · 12/10/2019 09:03

what woman wants to walk an hour in the dark to get to a train station to take her home

The kind who removes the ridiculous vulnerability by learning to drive a car or motorbike/scooter...

Why can’t you see why a company wouldn’t want to throw money away on someone who’s not invested in staying long term?

Why can’t you see that your best chances in life are all down to the amount of effort you’re prepared to make in removing barriers to success?

Mummyshark2018 · 12/10/2019 09:06

I took for the op that the two sets of training are separate. One mandatory and the other isn't. If the mandatory course is needed for your role (e.g safeguarding or data protection) then you should have gone. Have you even found a new job or handed in notice?

OMGshefoundmeout · 12/10/2019 09:12

I wouldn’t use the woman walking alone in the dark argument. People have been fighting for years to establish that women are equal to men in the workplace. It would set the cause back to suggest a woman is less capable of getting to a work place or training centre than a man is.

Teacakeandalatte · 12/10/2019 09:21

To be honest I think you are making a big deal about not being sent on the mandatory training course. I don't think the employer is excluding you or being funny and it doesn't mean they are necessarily going to treat you badly in the course of your normal work. They are just being practical; if you are planning to leave, there's no need for you to do this course and they may as well save money by not sending you on it. If they start treating you badly during normal work then that is different, but it doesn't follow that they definitely will because they didn't send you on the course. I'd just use this as a bit of motivation to really crack on with the job hunt. Also agree with other posters about looking into learning to drive as transport is clearly limiting your job options in the area you live.

Comefromaway · 12/10/2019 13:10

what woman wants to walk an hour in the dark to get to a train station to take her home

My only just turned 18 year old cycles or gets a taxi until she has passed her test). (To walk would be a country lane with no pavements part of the way)

It’s not your employer’s problem.

Waveysnail · 12/10/2019 13:55

Uber, folding bike, electric scooter - all options to reduce commute time

swingofthings · 12/10/2019 14:06

My understanding of mandatory training was that it wasn't so much somethnig that the company offered their employees for their own benefit, but something the company had to ensure so that they could run their business safely.

If you work in a restaurant, and give wrong information to a customer who has allergies, and the person dies as a result, Health and Safety Boards will be looking closely as to whether you had received training. If it turned out that you asked for it but it was refused to you, the company would be in big trouble.

It's putting themselves in a vulnerable position by refusing you mandatory training, unless it's training that has no legal repercussions.

ElizaDee · 12/10/2019 14:37

Why can't you learn to drive?

Or get a bike?

HeadintheiClouds · 12/10/2019 14:40

Why would you tell your boss you’re planning to leave? Confused. As far as they’re concerned, you’ve effectively already left; you’ll be gone as soon as someone else will have you.
They’re not going to invest a further penny in you, why would they?
Foolish thing to do.

Original poster
Advicewel · 12/10/2019 15:13

Mandatory as in moving and handling.
The walk itself to my home is 3 hours, the closest train station is an hours walk away. By walking home I'd be walking down narrow lanes next to a main road that has high hedges either side, in a not so nice part of the city. I'm on a low wage and can't afford driving lessons as I have 2 children that my money goes on for food and clothing.
I'm basically stuck, if I did the course they wanted me to do I'd have to pay 650 pounds back if I'd left.

OP posts:
FrancisCrawford · 12/10/2019 15:16

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster
Advicewel · 12/10/2019 15:20

Due to a rotational rota that has no set days

OP posts:
Teacakeandalatte · 12/10/2019 15:29

I'm not saying you shouldn't leave if transport is difficult, but you can't expect your employer to be happy about it.

SoreThroatToday · 12/10/2019 15:38

Ah meh! Who cares! Those mandatory training sessions are usually incredibly boring, and anyway, you're leaving.

Don't sweat it, it doesn't make sense for them to pay for your training when you're leaving, and it's not really a big deal.

Have a glass of wine and some chocolate tonight and forget about it Smile