Trainee charges: questions raised

A senior councillor has questioned why trainees are being threatened with “fines” if they fail to complete their course to become low-paid benefit advisers for Oldham Council.

Councillor Dave Hibbert, Labour’s Cabinet member, is concerned that the trainees, recruited in July, may be asked to pay for the cost of their training if they fail to complete the course.

And he told Maura Brooks, the council’s assistant executive director for customer and business change, the recruitment is an unnecessarily complicated exercise for such a low level and poorly-paid position. He said: “I understand they start on the minimum wage and if they fail to complete the course they will have to pay for the cost of their training.”

The recruitment was carried out by Oldham Council’s private partner, Unity.

Simon Bailey, director of the exchequer at Unity, said: “It is not unusual for such companies to limit their exposure to risk by levying a charge if the new recruit does not follow through with the training or give the training sufficient focus.”