Is an employer legally obligated to fund mandatory training?

DonnaMarieAva · 04-03-2021 6:56pm #1

My partner's employer has requested that all employees complete a manual handling course on their own time i.e. the employer will not be paying for this. The course is mandatory due to the nature of the role and sector. Is the employer allowed to ask employees to complete mandatory training on their own time and not be paid for it? There seems to be a shortage of Irish results when I try to find an answer on Google.

2Mad2BeMad · 04-03-2021 7:13pm

Any employment ive been in, Manual Handling training was always paid for by my employer.

But in saying that when applying for jobs and they say its essiantial for you to have a manual handling cert well then that comes out of your own pocket.

I've honestly no idea if your employer can make your partner pay for it considering hes always working there but it seems like bad form to me.
How greedy can you be to be honest to not pay for your employees training.

Personally if my employer was looking for me to pay id refuse, not like he can sack him for refusing to do it on his own time because hes not being paid to do it. (Unless hes working there under a year, if thats the case maybe he will have to bite the bullet and do it in his own time to keep good relations?)

You might ask your partner to check his contract too, if it says something along the lines of that hes required to keep an upto date certificate well then he might have to get it himself.

DonnaMarieAva · 04-03-2021 7:26pm

2Mad2BeMad wrote: »

Any employment ive been in, Manual Handling training was always paid for by my employer.

But in saying that when applying for jobs and they say its essiantial for you to have a manual handling cert well then that comes out of your own pocket.

I've honestly no idea if your employer can make your partner pay for it considering hes always working there but it seems like bad form to me.
How greedy can you be to be honest to not pay for your employees training.

Personally if my employer was looking for me to pay id refuse, not like he can sack him for refusing to do it on his own time because hes not being paid to do it. (Unless hes working there under a year, if thats the case maybe he will have to bite the bullet and do it in his own time to keep good relations?)

You might ask your partner to check his contract too, if it says something along the lines of that hes required to keep an upto date certificate well then he might have to get it himself.

Funnily enough, he doesn't actually have an employment contract. I know that's illegal but he's been employed there now for a couple of years and that's just the way it's always been. The employer is paying for the course but expects my partner to sit the course at home on his own time so he isn't paid to sit the course. I think it's entirely unfair and so does my partner but there doesn't seem to be anything that exists legally that can make the employer allow my partner to sit the course on company time.

C3PO · 04-03-2021 7:35pm

If the employer is paying for the course then I don't think it is unreasonable to expect the employee to take the course on their own time. Just my opinion.

mikep · 04-03-2021 7:37pm

As far as I understand it the relevant legislation states that employers must provide training, so in my opinion that would mean they pay..

C3PO · 04-03-2021 7:41pm

mikep wrote: »

As far as I understand it the relevant legislation states that employers must provide training, so in my opinion that would mean they pay..

The employer is paying for the training but expects the employee to undertake the training on their own time rather than during working hours.

mikep · 04-03-2021 7:47pm

C3PO wrote: »

The employer is paying for the training but expects the employee to undertake the training on their own time rather than during working hours.

Sorry, didn't see that in the reply..
Once employer is paying they can probably make them sit the course on their own time alright.

Sparkey84 · 04-03-2021 8:03pm

manual handling is a legal obligation to have the employer covered and reduce the amount an employee can claim for after an incident. i wonder if your partner refuses the training would that also limit the amount he may be able to claim for if an unfortunate event did occur? i am only guessing but there is a legal term called contributory negligence that might be relevant

Sparkey84 · 04-03-2021 8:13pm

the point i am making is that providing manual handling reduces employer liability. Does having an employee refuse supplied manual handling also reduce said liability?

i do not know enough about employment law to know if that is correct, just a guess but if its near the mark your partners boss may not care if the course is taken on not and that why no incentive to pay.

Snotty · 04-03-2021 8:20pm

If the course and certification is of benefit to the employee and could be taken to a new employer then I think your current employer paying for the course but you having to do it on your own time seems entirely fair.
However if the course was specific to the company then no I wouldn't think it is fair.

DonnaMarieAva · 04-03-2021 8:48pm

Thanks all. Some very valid points made. My partner will sit the course in his own time. It's probably best anyway by the sounds of it.

Is an employer legally obligated to fund mandatory training?

Comments