Question
Q – “I work in a private nursery setting. I need to do certain courses to be able to work in the setting ie first aid. Is it right to have to pay for your own course? Surely the setting should have to pay as it’s something you have to have to work there”
Answers
A – “I had this discussion with our eyda a few weeks ago, she said it was fair for the setting to pay for the course but that it should be in a written agreement that if member of staff left before course needed renewal they would be liable to pay a percentage back for length of time left (agreed before course started) We are a PV setting”
A – “The setting is required by law to ensure all staff have first aid. If they are recruiting they need to state applicants must be qualified. Existing staff ought to be able to negotiate as it is the settings’ responsibility to meet standards not the individual. If challenged by ofsted it wouldn’t be the worker in trouble for not being qualified but the owner/manager for not ensuring staffing complies. Worth noting if going in to discuss who pays!”
A – “also in the small print of a contract it can say that you need to be willing to progress your own professional development relating to your role. So it is worth confirming it with your manager to see if they have a programme in place to provide first aid.”
A – “Settings don’t have to pay for your qualifications as they are yours and you can take them with you if you leave it would depend on your settings policy if you don’t do them though you could be making yourself unfit for the job? At my nursery we do pay for any training that will benefit the nursery as it’s best practice but it’s not essential”
A – “It’s the nursery’s duty to train the staff and keep them updated with all the necessary courses to ensure their performance is of high standards. However you have signed an agreement”
A – “We pay for the training and always try to do course in work hours but it is in our contracts that we have to attend any training required and if this is outside our normal work hours it will be unpaid .”
A – “In my setting the manager pays for it but if we leave before a year of receiving our 1st aid training we have to pay the money back which I don’t see a problem with.”
A – “Usually you shouldn’t need to pay for courses such as first aid. Unless you leave near to when you did the course. Then you maybe liable for the course cost.”
A – “West Sussex adviser tells us that it is up to individual staff members to pay for their own training courses and not paid hours attended or travel. It’s up to the owner or committee if they pay anything towards it”
A – “Every setting is different I have worked in 3 different settings and in one I paid for my first aid course in the other 2 the company paid for the course”
A – “I got unpaid for this over 2 Saturdays but I got it back as lo time so I got 12 hours lo time”