Rank: New forum user 
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I have been asked a question relating to training that hopefully someone here can clarify for me as I'm not 100% sure on the answer.
The background is as follows:
A friend who is a self-employed floor layer has been sent for Asbestos Awareness training by the company that he works for 99% of the time.
They have paid the cost of his training but will not pay for his time to do this, this has effectively cost him a days labour.
I believe he should have been paid for his time as well, given that the guidance states:
"You must provide training during working hours and not at the expense of your employees. Special arrangements may be needed for part-timers or shift workers."
Have I misunderstood this? Any advice appreciated
Brian
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Rank: Super forum user
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The clue is in 'self employed'.
You friend, if he has a contract with the company he works for - will probably have a 'contract for service' NOT a 'contract of employment'. He probably isn't an employee, although there could be a h&s argument for saying he is, given the large amount of work done for this company.
Maybe you should look at the IR35 rules and speak to HMRC as to whether your friend is tuly self employed. No thought not ....
If he was an employee, then yes, the company would still pay him.
Your friend hasn't been hard done to. You takes the advantages/disadvantages of being self employed
At least they have paid his training costs. They simply could have said by x date, prove that you have received asbestos awareness training. You pay all costs.
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Rank: New forum user
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Hi,
Thanks for the prompt reply.
I have limited knowledge of IR35 to be honest but my understanding of his situation is that he is NOT obliged to work for them so therefore no IR35. As far as contracts go I don't think there is anything in place but will clarify.
I just wanted to see if he was entitled to paid time as well. I do not deal with contractors or the self-employed on a day to day basis and was looking for how others deal with this situation, I wasn't suggesting he is hard done by.
Brian
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Rank: Forum user
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In my last job, if we were running training courses that were also applicable to our contractors either through in-house or on a per course basis, then subject to the number of attendees we allowed our contractors to attend the course simply as it made our lives easier as we knew then that they were fulfilling the competence requirements for their jobs. We never paid for their 'time' to attend to the course and never charged the contractor anything for the training as it wasn't actually costing us anything extra to have them on the course.
If the course was paid for on a per delegate basis, the contractors were offered the chance to attend the course and we would invoice them for their employees.
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Rank: Super forum user 
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As a consultant I have been invited by one of my "employers" to undertake some specific training which I then used for their benefit, as well as other clients'. The headline cost of the training was borne by the "employer" but my time was self-financed.
I think this is unusual and I certainly do not expect my clients to pay for me to expand my skills & knowledge further.
However, if the opportunity presented itself again I would jump at the chance!
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Rank: Forum user
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Brian,
What you've described is normal, in my experience. As a contractor there's no obligation on a client to pay for training time.
It's up to the client, they pay the hours and I wouldn't press the matter either. You have a client that pays for 99% of your time, it's not really that big an ask to take one day out of that for training.
Mick
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Rank: Super forum user
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Rank: Super forum user
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If your friend is truly self employed sounds like the company have done him a favour. He should really have asbestos awareness training to do this kind of work - they could have made him pay for it himself or found another contractor with the relevant training instead!
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