Unpaid training, is this lawful?

[Samcj02]

Hi,
I work in a nursery and I’m contracted to 24 hours over 3 days a week, we do a lot of training at least once a month but we do not get paid, we do get TOIL for staff meetings though.. for example over the last 4 weeks I’ve had to got training 3 hours a night and I haven’t been paid, I’ve looked in to my contract and it does state that training will be unpaid and if we leave within a certain amount of time we must repay the training. So even though the contract dates that training is unpaid, is this unlawful?
Thanks.

I worked in a nursery a few years ago so can see where you're coming from. We had two or three inhouse training events over the year (so not as many as you) that were evenings or Saturday mornings Our contract said something vague like we had to attend mandatory training which occasionally may fall outside business hours. Of course they were never in business hours because when we were open there were children to care for. Anyone who didn't attend training (the only excuse was a pre-booked holiday) was threatened with a disciplinary. It was awful.

I think many nurseries treat their staff like rubbish, presuming they can get away with it because noone pulls them up on it. Because often many staff members can be young and inexperienced in the world of work, they also may not know any differently, which is good for management who like to take the mick to their advantage.

I'd definitely pursue this and make a note of what was said about family and that you felt threatened. Are there other nurseries around you could apply to? Do you want to stay if you can? What are the 'benefits' they mentioned?

You absolutely should not put up with this. Call the ACAS help line. 0800123 1100.

Personally I would be looking for a job with a new employer and once I had secured that, write to these employers and demand payment for all the extra hours you have done that have not been paid because it is 'training'..

If they don't pay up, full in an IT 1 and take them to tribunal for your unpaid wages. Until people stand up to shysters like this , they will continue to get away with it.

if you are not paid for training and it is mandatory you can't be forced to pay back cost, ( minimum wage stuff applies)
if it is optional and employer agrees to pay for it or allows you time off in addition to annual leave to do it , it can stimulate something like you need to work for company for at least 12-24 months after qualification or else you need to pay it back ( this scenario would not be covered by minimum wage stuff)

@FrancesFlute yes I’m looking for another job! And you’re right in everything you say unfortunately the childcare industry is becoming less and less appealing! oh the benefits are that training is paid and I get a discount on childcare which in my area is big standard anyway! X

@TeacupDrama thanks for that information, very informative! X

@Thehouseintheforest yes that’s exactly what I’m doing, looking for something else , then claw back costs that way, I don’t want to feel intimidated at work!
It was awful I had two people in there against me, I was on my own I had no notice of the meeting so couldn’t have anybody with me!

Wankers. Definitely pursue it.

Thank you @Queenoftheashes I will be doing so, I was wandering whether to but why let a bullying manager win and do this to lots of other girls?!

Yeah it’s terrible !

Sorry to post again..So the HMRC have sent me
A questionnaire/ form to fill in. I’m so nervous after this has been filled in is there a time scale that they will respond to
Or investigate the company? X