Only employee denied performance review/training opportunities

LegacyUser

According to my employer's equal opps policy, everyone is entitled to a performance review once a year, which incorporates identifying training needs and arranging courses (at the company's expense) to meet those needs. They are due in July/August of each year, which was a couple of months after I joined the company. I job-share with a girl who started about a month after I did.

At the time of the reviews my manager was very sheepish about it and said I didn't 'need' one. I took this to mean that because I hadn't been there very long, the review process didn't apply, and took his comment at face value. However, it effectively meant that I was not put forward for any training for the forthcoming 12 month period, whilst other employees availed of expensive courses and had their time paid for whilst on these courses.

As I am friendly with one of the HR administrators I mentioned I thought this was a bit unfair for me not to get any training for a whole year, as there were a couple of job-related computer courses I would have liked to have done. She replied that I was entitled to have been included in the review process, and the girl I job-share with had been, and had been put forward for a number of courses which had all been approved.

I asked my manager about this and he said he knew I was supposed to get one but he'd been going on holidays and hadn't had time to do one :rolleyes:. He had managed to do everyone else's, except mine. I asked then if it was too late to ask to go on a couple of courses and he told me to ask the HR manager. Her response was that I can obviously use a computer and so don't need to go on any computer courses. (Incidentally the girl I job-share with is the same grade as me and all her courses are computer related).

I've since enrolled in an evening course in my own time and at my own expense, though my manager has offered a token 30 euro toward it. In the meantime other employees are getting a raft of courses paid for and get paid time to go to them (not just financial qualifications etc. which are fair enough, but computer courses, interview prep courses, management courses etc. etc.) while I had to self-fund and do it in my own time because my boss couldn't manage his own time more effectively.

Is there anything I can do about this as I really don't think it's fair? I don't want to do a ton of courses, but I think I should have at least been given the option that every other employee got and I was supposedly entitled to under the equal opportunities policy. I've raised it with my line manager and the HR manager informally who both think it's totally reasonable I should miss out, but I don't.

PS: I know it's a recession and I'm lucky to have a job!