I wonder what people think about a care company offering employment to someone who is required to attend four days training unpaid. Also a DRB check at the prospective new employee's own cost.

It could be looked at as providing free training to enable a person to take up a role they would not otherwise be able to do . The DRB check ? I don't see why should a company pay for them

Depends if they need a full DRB check or just the a basic disclosure you can get one of these yourself. If its just the basic disclosure then I think you can use it as often as you want - providing you supply it with 3 months of the check being made - not 100% sure of that so check it out if you need to. As for not being paid for training or even paying for it yourself its always a difficult question, but my current role wanted me to have NEBOSH diploma or equivalent (pre chartered days) which I did - I had paid for the course and exams myself - they did not offer to pay me back fort them - so is it any different to advertising a qualification as a pre-requisite for a job? If a need for training arises in a current role that requires training for you to do the job safely then I thinks that's a different argument.

Watson thank you for updating us on the DRB check. The reason why a new one is needed by a new employer is because they simply want a new check. The person already has one for a school but the new employment involves adults therefore a new check required. Or so they say. IMO four days training that may be essential for the role is a bit off. Four full days unable to do anything else is a lot of time to demand. The job offer has been refused because of the requirements above. Can a CRB be transferred into a DBS?

Invictus is right, since the demise of unions, employers are pretty much free to return to this sort of Dickensian practice. However: If the training mentioned includes fire awareness training - and is based in England or Wales - then they are breaking the law The Fire Safety Order states that employees must receive fire training and that training must take place during working hours. Article 21(2)(e) refers I reminded a manager of a well known retail sport clothing shop of this law when their idiot manager tried to force my daughter from her sick bed under threat of being sacked, to attend unpaid staff training on a Saturday evening between 7 and 9pm. He excused my daughter but the training went ahead. Coincidentally, he received a surprise visit from a fire inspector the next week!

My interpretation is that 'working hours' means within the employee's contracted working week (ie not after work) and paid, if the employee's normal working week is paid employment and not voluntary I'd be interested to seek other's views on my interpretation