Job qualifications changed.

Starfleet Student

If anyone could help with an answer to this question it would be great. My other half has worked as a career for the last 14 years. In the last 6 months the company have been recruiting new staff. However now they are looking for people with degrees in social care for the same role my other half works in. My other half doesn't have a degree along with a few of the other staff that work there with her over that time. They now fear they might be let go as they don't have the degree qualification for the job. So my question is can they be let go after that long of service because their employer has changed the job qualifications?

Mrs OBumble

Not directly.

But if the positions are restructured, and they do not meet the requirements of the new positions, they can be made redundant. If this happens, they will need to be paid at least the legal minimum redundancy

That said to have worked in a field which is becoming increasingly professionalised for 14 years, and to have not bothered to get qualified in that time is ... umm ... interesting. Unless your partner is ready for a career change, I would suggest enrolling in a part-time course ASAP.

Clashmore

They should be covered by something called a Grandfather Period, which allows unqualified people a chance to get qualified before registration with CORU comes in. We in the industry have known about registration coming for years. Your partner and their colleagues should have at least attempted to get a basic qualification.

Clashmore

beauf

Seems to be a huge shortage of carers. For great work they do, and there is great social need for it. The wages do not reflect this. What qualifications are coming into force for it.

Tell me how

Mrs OBumble wrote:

That said to have worked in a field which is becoming increasingly professionalised for 14 years, and to have not bothered to get qualified in that time is ... umm ... interesting. Unless your partner is ready for a career change, I would suggest enrolling in a part-time course ASAP.

Why do some people always seem to want to get a dig in.

The following would have given same message without having a go.

It is a field which is becoming increasingly professionalised over recent years. I would suggest enrolling in a part-time course ASAP.

Xterminator

Has your partner asked the job about them paying for her to train up?

she should do so in writing & get the response in writing.

Tell me how

Xterminator wrote: »

Has your partner asked the job about them paying for her to train up?

she should do so in writing & get the response in writing.

If doing this, I suggest preparing by researching available courses first. Determine duration, cost and qualification associated with them so if the company asks what had they in mind, they'll be prepared.

Don't be afraid to map out an x number of years plan to get to the current required level of qualification. It won't happen overnight.

Easiest way to get clear information might be to speak with the course coordinator for one of the degree courses in a college or training institution.

They should know the legality for prior working staff, current industry practices and available paths to qualifications. There may be courses which take in to account extended time served as a form of training.

Tell your partner to keep their head high, be proud of the work they've done. With those amount of years experience, they will likely be more knowledgeable than many degree graduates. It just isn't measurable.