Can a job offer be based on unpaid training?

[BlueCookieMonster]

Bit of an odd one, a friend has received a job offer but due to issues at interview they have said that she has to attend a mandatory course which is unpaid or the job offer is withdrawn.

Just wanted to know if it’s even legal to have mandatory training that you’re not even paid for.

If it was a reasonable request eg attend first-aid training for a nanny role and a fairly convenient time/location then I would consider it.

However, I once had a situation where an organisation was going to charge me for going on one of their own courses before possibly getting work from them. That I did not do!

My 17 year old had to do unpaid training before starting a job. It was for 4 hours so he decided to suck it up. (They got free pizza at the end)

No, it is categorically illegal for mandatory training to be unpaid.

Non-mandatory training can be unpaid.

I had this exact situation in my organisation and the advice/law was crystal clear.

No, it is categorically illegal for mandatory training to be unpaid

But it's not illegal to require certain qualifications/certificates as a condition of employment. The OP's friend isn't yet employed.

Is it an H&S requirement? Did she say something at interview that might merit diversity training? Are they not convinced re her skills and are asking for proof e.g. Project Management qualifications?

I had to do an unpaid trial shift once. They got 4hrs hard work from me at one of their busiest times of the year... never heard from them again and they kept advertising every few days so assuming they just wanted some free labour while extra busy!

It’s two weeks that they want her to do. It’s more to do with the skills portion of the job as far as I’m aware.

They have said that unless this is done, they’ll withdraw her offer.

If it’s like a day, I can understand, but two weeks worth of childcare and transport costs leaves them significantly out of pocket.

due to issues at interview they have said that she has to attend a mandatory course which is unpaid or the job offer is withdrawn

The key statement here is "due to issues at interview". If by issues you mean they determined at interview that her qualifications weren't up to scratch but they were willing to give her a conditional Offer of Employment provided she addressed her skill gap with some additional training, they aren't doing anything illegal.

She has two choices at this stage, either complete the training or find a new job.

If she is serving her notice period at her current employer (if any) could she use any annual leave entitlement to reduce the cost?

If she hasn't yet handed her notice in, she can choose not to.

She isn't necessarily out of pocket, surely the training is of value to her and would be added to her CV. Sometimes in life you have to speculate to accumulate, make an investment to advance. Depends whether she feels it's a worthwhile job and if the company has opportunity she can exploit in future.

WaywardOn3 what that company did to you was highly exploitative and immoral. They were in a position of power where they dangled a carrot of a possible job in front of you, likely with no intention of seeing through their side of the deal.

A reputable company wouldn't do that on a 'trial basis', nobody's time is without value. They should have remunerated you for the hours you worked unless you were sitting there reading a magazine or gazing into space, which I'm sure you weren't.