Does anyone know about employment law please!

[Unicorn1981]

I was due to start a new job tomorrow 11 miles away. I did a total of 7 hours training on two days before I started so I could understand the job before the current person left. This cost me in childcare and fuel for my car. Over the weekend our car broke down and will now be scrapped. I called my employer and explained the situation. He said to look into my options and call him tomorrow. I told him the truth, that I didn't feel I could borrow money to buy a new car and public transport will take nearly two hours. I have to collect my child within an hour. I also employed a childminder for the one day she isn't at preschool as he wanted me to work that day. Anyway he called me back a couple of hours later and said he felt my heart wouldn't really be in the job and I'm not willing to use public transport. I agreed that I thought it would be too much. He said he'd be happy to re employ me should the situation change. However when I asked him who I should give my details to pay me for the training he said he couldn't pay me because I hadn't started the job. Is this right?

New ideas that's not what I mean. I may not have explained it right. I was merely trying to say that he asked me what hours I wanted to do. I explained the hours I had childcare for and I wished to have the two days free to spend time with dd. I made a compromise by agreeing to the other day and employing a childminder (with a mornings notice) meaning I had to lose dd for one day and pay the childminder. Both myself and this employer made compromises. We had worked together to make it work for everyone.

Excuse me how am I suppose to bike along motorways?

Oh this is the worst thing about recruiting staff. It's so time consuming and then for someone not to even start! Nightmare.

The training will presumably have meant someone giving up 7 hours when they could have been getting other stuff done to train you up. Plus all the interview time, paperwork blah blah. And now they have to offer someone else the job and wait for them to be able to start.

Paying you would not be my priority. It's a bit different where people do a "trial shift" which is basically them doing the job.

As everyone has said, he didn't "push" you into getting a childminder.

Do you have much experience of employment?

Oh and by the way the childminder thought he was out of order too and I felt terrible letting her down.

The childminder thinks this guy is out of order not to employ someone who can't get to the office?

I appreciate all the intelligent helpful comments on this post. I am a hardworking person who always goes out of my way as much as I can. This time I didn't want to borrow money to buy a car to get to a job yet I'm being roasted by people. You should be ashamed of yourselves.

You sound like hard work

I had to lose dd for one day

I wonder if you are not really ready to take on a job, if that's how you feel about being away from your DD?

yet I'm being roasted by people

What? Who has roasted you?

Do you mean people didn't agree that your not-any-more-boss was unreasonable?

Actually, OP, YOU should be ashamed of yourself. You've wasted someone's time and money in recruiting you for a job you really couldn't commit to travelling to with hours you didn't actually want (WTF?). If you truly wanted the job that much you'd make the arrangements. You're excuses are pretty poor TBF.

You've cost the company man hours in interviewing you and training you, and you expect them to pay you for training for a role that you're not even starting? The world doesn't owe you a favour, you know.

Here's a grip for you, as it seems you don't have one.

I am recruiting at the moment and people like you are driving me mad!

Employer offers Job A on X days for X money

Employee accepts Job A on agreed terms.

Employee can no longer fulfil Job A's terms and insinuates it is the employers fault and they should pay them anyway. Arghhhhh!!

I understand from your later posts that you have other stuff going on, and your heart wasn't in it - but understand that flakey people have a knock on effect when you are running a business and it is not all about you.

Have you ever had a job OP?

Employment solicitor here, Mumsnetting while I have a tea break, so I'll keep it brief.

Legal position - If the only agreement re pay for training was the verbal one over the 'phone (and there was no stipulation that payment would be made only if you actually started the job) then technically, if you can prove what was said, the employer would probably be bound to pay. Savvy employers, or ones who are wise to this problem, would have provided paid training subject to a written agreement that you would not be paid if you gave back word on the job before you started.

"Moral" position - as PPs have said, I wouldn't have the gall to ask for payment. If you take a job, how you get there is your problem, not your employer's. If you want to retain any credibility with this employer/in the industry, if it's a "small world" where people talk, I would not push to be paid.

Other posters have dealt comprehensively with the question of being paid for your training time.

Whatever you do about claiming/not claiming for that, don't then ask for your petrol money. It is only in the very rarest circumstances that employers paid for employees to get to work. Paying your own fares/petrol and parking is par for the course.

Errrr.... how have you got to 35 without knowing how a job works?

I assume you've already resolved the situation by not taking the job but in similar circumstances I would just hire a car and that's what we've done when DH has been travelling for work and there were issues with his car. It's a pain in the arse but needs must

My car broke down the day before I was due to start a new role. I was travelling all over the country and had to provide my own vehicle. I got a new car within four days on credit, I didn't want to buy on credit but had no choice. If you want the job badly enough you'll sort out the car. Sounds like you're not too fussed about it.

Also I agree with the PP that how you get to work is your problem, and you accept the hours when you accept the job, no one forced you to get a childminder.

I'm with the people feeling sorry for the guy who was briefly your boss.

You are the one who has let the childminder down, not your boss. As others have said, you clearly don't understand how employment works. Legally you may be entitled to the pay, but morally, you don't deserve it; you've wasted a lot of people's time.

Op move on from this and go and look for a job that you really want and feel comfortable doing.

Once you find that you will always find a way to get there.

I think a fair compromise, had you chosen to suggest it, would have been you leaving an hour early in the 1-2 weeks it took you to arrange a substitute car

Or hiring an Avis car for that period, Or getting a lift with friend/family (again, asking him to be patient on your exact hours as far as possible.

It actually sounds like he would still be interested if you wanted to sort out one of those options even now.

In what way do you and the childminder think he was "out of order"?

I'm with Queen and I hope you never expect to work for me.

As others say, I think you have a skewed idea on how employment works and hopefully the job now goes to someone who makes a contribution that benefits everyone in the company.