Can my boss refuse me mandatory training?

[Advicewel]

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?

My husband cycles home late at night. An hour’s walk would take you what, 20 mins on a bike. A good time saving. Also even people in 9 - 5 office jobs who cycle commute will be doing so in the dark soon

and cycling is so good for your health

Those that say millions cycle to work, correct they do in daytime hours not at night. And how many of you do cycle?

I alternate public transport and cycling.

Provided it is nice weather I generally cycle to/from work and I finish at 10pm. It is a 40minute cycle journey so on a 10pm finish I am cycling at night.

Could you not cycle to the station (to cut your walk time) and leave your bike locked up at the station? When I was in 6th form I used to cycle 10/15 minutes to the station and then get the train to school and then when I got the train home my bike was there for the cycle home. That way it was only a 15 minute cycle rather than a 45min/hour walk.

@PrincessRaven I don't work, I'm now housebound looking after a very sick adult who cannot be left. I had to give up work 6 years ago. When I did work i didn't live where I live now but closer to a station I did it in various ways depending on the job I had (I am now 61 and I've held many jobs). Most recently I drove the 40 minutes to the school I taught at. Before then I drove to the DDs school and dropped her then to the station ( 10 minutes) and got the train which took 56 minutes into London. My DH would always drive his hours and a half to his job as the trains don't run across country and he couldn't find work nearer to home but he would lift share with someone who didn't have a car but worked close to his office ( he used an app to find people). I was 33 before I could afford to learn to drive and run a car so I always worked out how to get to work by public transport and to and from my flat for other things. My eldest DD lives in a flat and walks 20 minutes to her station and catches the train to her workplace which is 50 minutes by train. Currently DH lives in a different county 3 days a week because the only job he can find is a two and half hour drive away and he's too old to do that twice a day! People do what they can to cope with needing a salary

The sore arse stops after about a week.

@PrincessRaven my original post was just suggesting that many people don't have a huge range of options for work. They get the jobs they can that fit in with qualifications and experience, child care and transport availability. It's not always as easy as just finding something else

It depends what you mean by mandatory training really. If I had you down to do a first aid course I would find someone else to give that training to. If someone needs to know how to use a certain programme then again I would consider not including you.

If it's a team building or how to present course, if you did the training you would have to pay when you leave. It's normal to have to commit to staying when offered training paid for by the company.

We live about half an hour's walk away from our local station and then where dh works is approx 40 mins walk from the station the other end. Door to door it's an 60-80 minutes drive which dh used to do.

Then he lost his licence due to a medical condition so not he gets taxi's to and from home to the stations. (He isn't safe to cycle as he has a balance disorder).

It's just what he does in order to get to work. Long term he is hoping to work from home but in the job he is in there are no closer workplaces. But that's his problem, not his employers. Taxi's are expensive but the alternative is to not be in work.

What I'm saying is that people all over the country have to make decisions and sacrifices regarding being able to get to work especially if circumstances change.

You have obviously made the decsision that for you the journey isn't worth it and you need to look closer to home. That's totally understandable, but it's also understandable that your employer isnl;t going to now fork out for training for you.

Moving and Handling training, are you hoisting people? I would've thought it was in your employer's best interests to keep your training current. I take my hat off to you, walking an hour each way before and after a very long shift.

Mandetory training that you have to pay for out of your own pocket if you leave? That is unusual.

Those that say millions cycle to work, correct they do in daytime hours not at night. And how many of you do cycle? It's easy for those to make comments but probably don't do it themselves.

I cycled to work this morning. I'll cycle home in the evening... In the dark. In a month or two I'll be going both ways in the dark. They have this thing called "lights" you might have heard of which really, you know, light things up.

You can cycle that distance in 20 minutes and there's no reason you can't. You could have a second-hand folding or hydrid bike cheaply in two days and then you'd be set.

You've really been very naive here. If you tell your employer you have a foot and a half our the door you can hardly expect them not to change how they react to you. And your commute is really not their problem.

The training the OP was having to pay for if she left is separate to the mandatory training.

The former is very common espeically if it's a qualification that costs a lot of money and one that also for the employee's personal development.

Manual handling trainign is not mandatory in that an employer does not by law have to provide it. However they do have tocarry out a risk assessment and communicate with you as to ways to reduce the risk and safe methods of working. It may be that your employer has decided that you will no longer be expected to carry out those tasks or that you are already aware of all the correct procedures.

I've done it off my own back.

The expression is off your own bat back makes no sense. It's a cricket metaphor, referring to runs you've scored by striking the ball, as opposed to wides or byes.

20 minutes cycling after dark is completely doable. I used to ride home from work after midnight regularly.

Your are cycling in the evening not night time, if I had to cycle all the way home I'd be in my home around 12am. Do you consider it safe for myself and car drivers for a cyclist to be out at that hour? if you think so then please try it yourself and then let me and everyone else know.

I'm asleep at 12am, but I can't see any reason why it would be more dangerous for you to be doing it then. I used to cycle at that sort of time all the time as a student. If anything the roads will be much quieter than at rush hour and you'll be safer than walking. Lots of people do cycle at night time, and it's a much more practical solution than telling work you're leaving before you even have another job, or expecting them to do something about your commute.

It'd be cold in winter, I grant you, but probably no colder than my January commutes at 6am.

Your are cycling in the evening not night time, if I had to cycle all the way home I'd be in my home around 12am. Do you consider it safe for myself and car drivers for a cyclist to be out at that hour?

Yes I consider it safe, provided you are wearing the appropriate clothing, have lights on your bike etc then there is no reason why it is unsafe to cycle just because it is night - if anything it is safer as the roads tend to be quieter. You are making excuses.

I finish work at 10pm and live a 40 minute cycle from work. By the time I have finished work, clocked out, nipped to the loo, put on my cycle gear - waterproof jacket, hiviz vest, helmet and trainers -packed my bag, unlocked my bike, made sure the lights are on and get on my way it is about 10:30pm so I am most definitely cycling at night (and that is on a good day when I get out on time - some nights I dont finish till 10:30pm) and I do not think it is in any way unsafe riding my bike home at 11pm at night than it was to ride my bike to work at 11am in the morning.

You've already told them you're leaving, why on earth do you expect them to fund a course for you...they would gain nothing. The travelling to work issue I don't see what that's got to do with it if you're leaving anyway?

I would bet you are in the same industry as I am, the reference to the training is a Mandatory in my field.

However , unless you are actually out of compliance, for some employers those courses are expensive. If you were in compliance and its just the time of year they update, no sorry I wouldn't include you as well. Those training places can be precious depending on the company and the set up. If I know someone is leaving then I would not waste the place on them.

Saying that, if you are over the year update time then you shouldn't be delivering without that course, so the employer is silly.

I may be wrong and you are in a different industry, but if its mine and you are not out of date, No I am afraid you would not be on the list.

It sucks fine, but in reality there are a hundred reasons you could have avoided that qualification (You are correct it would have been pulled back , as dependent on the size of the company it would have cost them a payment).

If it is the industry I am in, the second someone has one foot out the door, it makes them unreliable for shifts because so few people are prepared to work their notice period. Its not the sort of thing you can leave to chance , if someone is intending to leave they can often go extremely quickly leaving people in the proverbial. It can genuinely be unsafe, so I am afraid when I know people intend to leave, I don't rely on them any further, I have been burnt so many times.

@Comefromaway They most certainly well do if she is moving and handling service users!!!

Also you need to check your contact regarding paying back training fees. I have come across many care providers, more often Dom care providers, who are paid a lot less by the local authority, who then do set out a clause in the contract, that says if you leave within x amount of time from training that you pay back your training fees. How much this is depends on the company- do they have their own trainers or are they out sourcing? If they are out sourcing it will be a lot more expensive. Have they provided you with training through an accredited body? If so you will also be paying examination fees on top of this, and so on.

They normally deduct the money from your last salary. I’ve seen employees leave numerous companies, and be paid less than £30 as their final salary. It’s heart breaking. But they signed and agreed to the contract.

I have worked in the company a year and never had manual handling training, I was supposed to have it at end of October but they removed me from it, I could still be working there months down the line, I have to apply and have interviews like everyone else. I don't earn enough money for taxis, I'm part time on a low wage. I work earlies to very late and I don't fancy riding bikes in the dark, there's no many cycle lanes, I noticed one at a set of traffic lights.
When people are concerned I think training should be given though, I'm dealing with human beings not pallets of paper, I've never been taught how to use a hoist. Wouldn't know how to use one. It's a joke.

Re the training - YABU. These things cost and your company will not invest in you if you are leaving.

However the cycling at midnight brigade- seriously? I wouldn’t do that either.

@Comefromaway not accurate in many workplaces, it is required by law or regulation.

If any member of my team doesn't complete their mandatory training then I am required by law to raise a breach which is reported to the financial ombudsman.

On the other side I'd be in serious hot water with my manager and I would then have to go through remedial action to ensure that it didn't happen again.

It's called mandatory for a reason. Not 'preferred'.

You should absolutely still be put on your mandatory training OP. You could still be working there for months or years really. I'm sure your workplace wouldn't have a leg to stand on if someone you were moving was injured and they were sued! It protects your employer as well as yourself so I don't understand their thinking.

@Comefromaway ignore me, just reread your post and see you specifically mention Manual Handling! Apologies.