As we see the end of the furlough period and the job retention scheme (expires on 31st October 2020), many employers will are bringing employees back to work. For some employees, they may have been off work for longer than 3 months, if they have been paid additional leave by their employers and now maybe the time where employers are considering requesting training to be carried out.
The Job Retention Scheme was launched with very strict guidance on what an employee could and couldn’t do whilst on furlough leave. Employees were permitted to undertake training whilst being paid to be on furlough leave.
Many of our clients have reported they have found it difficult to actually enforce and manage training to be undertaken by employees when on furlough and are at the point where they need employees to undertake the training before commencing work.
We are currently in a WORLD CRISIS. Un-employment levels in the UK are at a record high. We have regions, counties, cities and towns all being put into lockdown. We have employers letting even their best people go from the organisation, due to redundancy or the uncertainty that this new lockdown and pandemic may bring. So employers are in the strongest position they have ever been regarding who they have in their business. It’s an EMPLOYERS MARKET now! Employers have the pick of the bunch. They can employ only the best and remove the bad eggs from the business. And the best time to remove those bad eggs is now, as replacement will be a lot easier and there will be more demand for the roles.
If you have employees not wishing to undertake training and not keep their skill set up, then the employee should be informed that this is a very uncertain climate and jobs are not safe. They need to be doing everything they can to show their worth to their employer. If they become disruptive or fail to carry out a basic management instruction, then you can follow your disciplinary and dismissal procedures and take appropriate action. Disciplinary action will have less effect on the existing workforce whilst the pandemic is upon us.
Employees are not entitled to any additional pay for training unless you are asking them to undertake it outside of their usual working hours. So it’s recommended that you ask them to do it in their work time. Some employees may request overtime pay for carrying out training outside of their usual hours. You are not obliged to pay any overtime rates unless it is expressed in their employment contract.
If you have any concerns about a situation with any of your employees, please don’t hesitate to get in touch, tel: 0843 1760266 / email: hello@specialisedhr.co.uk.
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