Health and Safety for Apprentices

My daughter is a dental nurse apprentice just over a year and a few months. She’s been recently been criticised by the manager (not constructive criticism) since the change of ownership as both owners had a fall out and the Dr who recruited my daughter sold his share to his partner and left. Since then one by one all that nursed for that dr were treated so bad they all left one by one and as my daughter is an apprentice she held on tight taking all the criticism which really affected her mentally and she broke down everyday saying she couldn’t do this anymore. The manager looks for reasons to blame her for not working right and tells her she’s good for nothing and that no dentist wants to work with her, she is a bright student and has always been praised by the previous dr who she was nursing for. Today she got bullied so bad by the manager in front of two other nurses who stood by the manager that she had to come home crying. She’s wrote a resignation and handed it to her now boss stating all the harassment she’s getting but I don’t know where she stands now with only 5 months before her exams she’s got no work and so mentally disturbed. Please can anyone advice what to do? Thank you

My daughter is a dental nurse apprentice just over a year and a few months. She’s been recently been criticised by the manager (not constructive criticism) since the change of ownership as both owners had a fall out and the Dr who recruited my daughter sold his share to his partner and left. Since then one by one all that nursed for that dr were treated so bad they all left one by one and as my daughter is an apprentice she held on tight taking all the criticism which really affected her mentally and she broke down everyday saying she couldn’t do this anymore. The manager looks for reasons to blame her for not working right and tells her she’s good for nothing and that no dentist wants to work with her, she is a bright student and has always been praised by the previous dr who she was nursing for. Today she got bullied so bad by the manager in front of two other nurses who stood by the manager that she had to come home crying. She’s wrote a resignation and handed it to her now boss stating all the harassment she’s getting but I don’t know where she stands now with only 5 months before her exams she’s got no work and so mentally disturbed. Please can anyone advice what to do? Thank you

My daughter is a dental nurse apprentice just over a year and a few months. She’s been recently been criticised by the manager (not constructive criticism) since the change of ownership as both owners had a fall out and the Dr who recruited my daughter sold his share to his partner and left. Since then one by one all that nursed for that dr were treated so bad they all left one by one and as my daughter is an apprentice she held on tight taking all the criticism which really affected her mentally and she broke down everyday saying she couldn’t do this anymore. The manager looks for reasons to blame her for not working right and tells her she’s good for nothing and that no dentist wants to work with her, she is a bright student and has always been praised by the previous dr who she was nursing for. Today she got bullied so bad by the manager in front of two other nurses who stood by the manager that she had to come home crying. She’s wrote a resignation and handed it to her now boss stating all the harassment she’s getting but I don’t know where she stands now with only 5 months before her exams she’s got no work and so mentally disturbed. Please can anyone advice what to do? Thank you

My son is a plumbing apprentice. He has from the start of his second year been left alone on jobs everyday, not supervised at all, while his boss tells him not to tell people he is an apprentice. Last week he had to isolate as tested positive to covid. His boss told him to take off the names of people on contact tracing, on a site he had been working with because in not so nice words it was inconvenient and the job wouldn’t be finished in time. He is now preventing my son from finishing his course on time because he is not booking in the work he needs to finish purposefully.He is also saying he has to pay a tiler some money for a job that needed re-doing as one of the other partners of the firm gave him the wrongmeasurements to pipe up a job, again on his own all day, while no-one checked the work before getting it tiled. My argument is yes a mistake was made but not by my son, he had done as he was told, which was wrong as they gave him the wrong measurements, and also left everyday to work when he is an apprentice. The boss is charging out plumbers rates and the customer or developer is then getting an apprentice to do the work for £30 a day! What are his rights as an apprentice?

My 16 year old son has started an apprenticeship as an electrician, only a small business, he gets paid monthly and will attend college 1 day a week. His employer has said he needs to do a health and safety course but my son has had to pay for it himself is this correct or should his employer pay for his training?

Do apprentices have a legal right to travel expenses? My son travels in his own car as an electrical apprentice for job to job every day and it’s costing him a lot of money. Should his employee be paying expenses for this?

My daughter started her apprenticeship with a NHS hospital last year. So far she has not had any study days and I do not know whether she is even going to receive a certificate at the end of her apprenticeship year. She is 20 and being paid 3.70 an hour. They said they had problem getting them a study base and have asked them to sign up for a second year for a level 3 apprenticeship. It seems like they are exploiting her and using her for cheap labour as apparently they don't have the funds. Where does she stand

My daughter is an apprentice in a drs surgery. She is nearly finished her apprenticeshipbut over the last few weeks has become very distressed. The surgery was taken over by an other company who want to connect five surgeries and ha e o e hub which appears to be the norm now. But oseveral occasions my daughter has been left on her own to do her job when I say on her own there is no one else about. Is this illegal as she is an apprentice?

I am concerned about my 16 year old who is doing a Child Care Apprenticeship.This is her first experience of a full time job but so far, the impression of the Nursery is falling short for her.So she was taken on at the same time as another girl - they are both the same age and both doing the same Apprenticeship.My daughter is meant to be based in a particular room - as is the other girl - however, my daughter has so far been made to work in other areas and seems to be floating between where she is them told she is not needed and has nothing todo.She doesn't know the children, the routines or therules of the room and so far, no-one has explained anything to her.The other girl has also been issued with her room entry key yet my daughter hasn't so she has to keep asking for help to get in and out of the rooms.No-one talks to her at lunchtime - there is a lot of gossiping in the staff room and she is just feeling uncomfortable.

My 18 yo is an apprentice in a private nursery.She is also insulin dependent diabetic.She was assured she would be given regularly spaced breaks to allow for insulin etc but this us not happening. There seems to be regular illness among staff but as there is only ONE staff toilet my daughter inevitably becomes ill too. She has been in hosp 3 times in 9 months due to this..and had only been in hosp once in previous 10 years. No proper staffroom or relaxation area for staff and often asked to do work related things when in a break. College tutor says none of this anything to do with her...it is nursery business. Also....should apprentices be vlunted un staff ratios? Is all of this normal practice?

My daughter started her apprenticeship in September.For the last 3 weeks gas been ill . She has got 3 sick notes of the doctor.Now they have sacked her and not paid her

My daughter started an apprenticeship about 5 months ago with a big company, she is starting work at 8am and and not finishing till 7.30-8pm every night sometimes without a break at all she also works every other Saturday, she was told she would have 5 clients a day and has on average 11 she has been coming come stressed and crying and we live down lanes with no lights and she came home the other night crying and whaling that she was all dizzy and nearly had an accident, I told the boss who gave her 4 days off due to stress with the job! Yesterday they told her she would not be getting paid for the time off either, now she is back and it has started all over again and I am really worried about my daughters health and well-being.

My daughter turned 19 on the 8th September 2018.She is a 2nd year apprentice.She is querying her pay as she was only paid the £3.70 ph in Septembers months wages. Her employer said she is not entitled to the higher pay of £5.90 ph as herbirthday fell on 8th September, and it would only begin in the next months pay. Should they expect the higher rate of £5.90ph from the date of the 19th birthday? I would assume so.

Hi, my son is at the end of his 2nd year apprenticeship as a carpenter, he got this job via a company called Skills Group. Throughout his apprenticeship his wages has been hit and miss, he loves his job however since the end of June 18 he hasn’t received a penny for his work. He has approached his employer many of times and is told the same story every time “Work is slow or just haven’t got the money to pay you” yet he puts in a full days work for his employer. I’ve approached the collage (skills group) who tell me they are investigating it!! Yet the financial (wages) is down to the employer not the collage. Please can you advise on the next step, as my son remains loyal to his employer, but it’s starting to become an issue.

Hi my daughter started an apprenticeship within the Equine Industry & she's not received a fully break down of her employment plus she's not done health & safety....along with that she's actually being left to open up the business in most mornings on her own & she's having to deal with 20 horses which includes her having to feed & enter there stables ...my concern is what happens if God forbid any of these horses had to cause her injury as it would be that would have to find her when collecting her at finishing times meaning there's days where there is nobody there for the fully day so she's not seeing any management & it seems it's just cheap labour as far as we are concerned. My daughter loves it & she's very quite so has a problem asking for anything her wages included ...she's not bn paid for 5 weeks with only in the last 2 days asking for her National Insurance number so I believe she was working cash in hand original ...so my question is ...is she allowed to work on her own ? I'm actual want to leave as nothing seems to be done she doesn't even have a breakdown of the written work & what will be covered in set years so I need some help because I'm losing the will to will ?

Hi there I think there are taking advantage of me because I am transgender and saying I am not aloud in the same toilet as they say I am not aloud and I have to yous the same tiolet

My grandson is 3yr apprentice can an employer tell him to take a day off if there is no work And does he have to pay him for that day

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If your son is unwell, then your son would have to visit his doctor. If his doctor thinks he should be signed off, he will be. You can see more via the link here which will tell your son all he needs to know about claiming sick pay and whether he is entitled to it.

My son works as an apprentice Chef.He works very hard in a place that is very contradictory and doesn't have it all together.He is often roped into the gossip and drama of the place which is not his problem.There is talks if the boss selling and people walking.they all slag each other off and don't seem to have a clue about loyalty and such.The place is a shambles.This and other circumstances in his personal life ha e left him feeling very depressed.He is suicidal right now and finds one more shift at work unbearable.His boss told him to just snap out of his depression which I'm afraid isn't as easy as that.He needs to see a doctor and has told me he will.How does he get time off sick with such a non understanding boss?He needs a week away to see a doctor and be looked after.I fear for him and it's making me Ill aswell.Thankyou

Hi, I have concerns that an apprentice I know who has worked for the same employer for a number of years is taken on regular all expense paid holidays, weekends away, meals out. He also takes her boyfriend with her and pays for him too. He will often stay in the same room to save costs. Should I raise this as a concern or is not my place?

I starter on apprenticeship as a chef on the 18 Oct but have been told I won't be payed for six weeks is this right.

I started on the 18 of Oct on an apprenticeship as a chef. But I have been told I have to work for 6 weeks before I get any pay then I will only get paid 2 weeks on the 27 Nov. then the month after a month's pay so on and so fourth. Is this right.

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You don't say how long you have been in the job, and/or what your job offer specified. Therefore, it makes it difficult to advise. In this case, you may wish to speak to ACAS directly to see whether you have any rights to claim unfair dismissal.

I been working as a apprentice assistant site manager. My company didn't send me to college they used a company to assess me. I've never had a apprentice agreement I've never had a approved training programme I havent signed a document saying I'm willing to work over 48 hours on average I work 7 days a week 70 hours a week. It turns out they also haven't registered me with a reconoised training provider or registered me and they pay me 12k annual salary. I have gotten very ill from working on many occasions 20 days straight. Had time off and was given a written warning without a meeting or representation. I now feel like I'm going to have a break down from exhaustion and my boss handed in my regisnation when I didn't hand one in What shall I do I been exploited and losing my job

I was working as a nursery nurse apprentice at a local nursery I was only allowed to work 8 hours a day but once they made me work over that to do the dishwasher. After 40 minutes of working over my allowed time the deputy manger told me to go as it was illegal for me to work over 8 hours she told the manger but the manager still wanted me to stay to finish the dishwasher. Also I was made to carry very heavy furniture out of a room into another. This room was very dangerous. I have left now without completing my apprentiship as I couldn’t qualify unless I passed my maths and I know I wouldn’t after failed twice before. I wasn’t happy and the work place was making me depressed so I left. Is this acceptable the way the treated me?

Me and my work mate have been painting a house all week but he isn’t here for two days, so my boss was going to bring another painter in to get the job finished, but due to lack of employees I’m expected to finish the job by my self. I’m a qualified painter but haven’t done it in a while and I left my company so I could start a plastering apprenticeship with this new company but they’re expecting me to finish this painting job which I don’t agree with. Have I got to get the job done even though I’m on apprentice money?

My son is in his 3rd year of a retail management apprenticeship. Whilst his wages are good for an apprentice, that is where it stops. He has never been expected to attend college as he was told the assessor would come out to him. During the first year of his apprenticeship, I believe he saw his assessor a maximum of 6 times. The second year probably about 3-4 times and since Sept 2016 when he started his final year, he hasn't seen anyone. He's basically being labelled as an apprentice and getting the wages to match, but is treated like a standard employee. His day generally consists of stacking shelves and sitting on the tills. He has actively volunteered to help out at other stores in the region in the hope of gaining more experience and this has only highlighted how far behind he is with his apprenticeship compared to others who started at the same time. Despite him raising his concerns about his training (or lack of), the college appear to have lost his details and therefore weren't aware they shouldn't been visiting. This was addressed over 4 weeks ago now but still nothing further has happened. He doesn't receive any training over and above what a normal store assistant does and ironically is currently receiving some training from another apprentice who commenced with the company a year after my son started! He has been expected to work night shifts as the duty manager, but as he is only an apprentice they have advised that they can't pay him the duty manager allowance for running the shift. In addition to this, on his last pay slip his hourly rate of pay is less for a night shift than it is for working during the day. During Dec 2016, there were some weeks where he was working 50 hours! How are employers allowed to get away with exploiting youngsters like this? For an employer to class him as an apprentice, how much training should he be doing? In my eyes, they are using him as cheap labour. Any advise would be gratefully appreciated.

My 19 yr old daughter is frequently working on her own and is doing late nights also on her own in a hair salon out of a town center. Her shifts are changed on the day from 8 hour to 10 hour shifts. Is this all right? She is very unhappy and is expected to have hours reduced or increased to suit the salon sometimes with no notice. She went into work today at 10am thinking she was working until 6pm only to find it has changed to 8pm. Only one break if she gets it.

Thank you for finally replying to my daughers request for help in need of support.It was my mistake as I looked at previous replies posted on your site and saw with at least 5 comments posted that you did reply within 24 hrs! but having seen your comments "Firstly, we are a general guidance service that receives hundreds of comments across our sites per day and cannot get to them all. Likewise, nowhere on our sites does it mention we answer all comments, we can only try to get to them where we can." And indeed after my posted comments you did manage a reply?! My daugter did mange to reconcile her problem without your help.

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Firstly, we are a general guidance service that receives hundreds of comments across our sites per day and cannot get to them all. Likewise, nowhere on our sites does it mention we answer all comments, we can only try to get to them where we can. We are neither an apprenticeship provider, so if your daughter has a complaint about an aspect of her job, in the first instance she should complain informally both to her employer directly and her apprenticeship provider, please see link here. With regards to your daughter's comment about 'cheap labour', this has been an ongoing critisism of apprenticeships for many years. However, some see apprenticeships in a positive light i.e, they are learning on the job and earning at the same time. Likewise, they do not have to pay college or university fees towards their qualification. Others think they are being financially abused by their employers and therefore refuse to enroll on an apprenticeship because of the low wage. Before your daughter started her job she would have been briefed on the amount of pay she would receive, so could make an informed decision. If your daughter wishes to remain in her job and has tried solving the health and safety problem and other concerns informally by talking to her employer, but she is still not satisfied, then she can make a formal grievance complaint in writing, please see link here. I hope this helps.