Community Chat

[hyacinth003]

On 3/11/2015 moonchilde said:

My thoughts echo others who have posted. Fast food employment, even in a national chain, is most likely not going to offer the same benefits as typical corporate America.

This is a promotion for the OPs daughter in that she previously was a typical shift worker in a typical fast food place, which means there aren't many requirements for that job. She was given the opportunity to apply for the management position, but did not meet the requirements of the position yet (the certifications). I would think certifications like those would be absolute requirements for a manager at any place selling prepared food, not just her chain - so not just necessary for her specific job at her specific chain, but a requirement of the *type* of job she applied for.

Then, she has never been a supervisor before. She has no experience as a supervisor and the company doesn't know if she will work out. She will be on probation to see if she can do the job. At any time during her probation they could tell her it wasn't going to work out, and let her go. So they would not give her a supervisor's pay until she demonstrates she has supervisory abilities.

Pretty much all their management is promoted from within.

So, it would be RARE for anyone to come in with those certifications in place.

Paying only minimum wage, I think it is the least they can do to pay these workers for spending their whole day in class for a work related class.

Hyacinth

[CelticCrafter]

On 3/10/2015 hyacinth003 said:

As an RN, I have always been paid for any classes taken outside of work if they were mandatory for the job.

I have been paid for meetings that I had to come in for.

Whatever position I have held, I was paid in full for the orientation period.

One of the criteria I have heard is that if the class has value to only your particular job, it must be reimbursed.

The only exception was that if you were say pursuing an advanced degree, the employer would pay for the classes (tuition reimbursement), but not your time. That was considered a job benefit.

Same with continuing education credits. To obtain relicensing, you must have continuing eduction credits, but the employer does not necessarily pay for it.

In my opinion, she should have been paid for this class. She would have had no reason to take it other than for this particular job.

As to a union, I think things like this would be spelled out in the contract.

Hyacinth

While I do agree that she should have been paid her current hourly wage for taking the class, it's not a certification specific to only her place of employment.

She can take that certification with her should she decide to pursue food management with another employer.

[Anniecamp]

Moonchilde and CelticCrafter's posts explain it best. OP's dd is not yet a manager, and has been given this class to improve herself, with the certification also useful for employment at other companies. As some mentioned, other professions such as teachers (several in my family) are required to take classes just to even qualify for license renewal, to keep the job they have! Tuition and time spent attending classes, as well as mileage, certainly are not paid for by the employer. To get higher pay, advanced degrees are also a must, and the time and expense is all on the employee.

Also it would be morally and socially nice for the company to have paid her for the time there, it certainly isn't wrong for them not to do so, either. People often have to bite the bullet to grow in their work situations. I would absolutely not make an issue out of it. There is always someone else willing to take her place, if she left because of it. Complaining would also demonstrate a lack of being a "team player" (an older term, but they still watch for it), and a lack of loyalty to the company. If a company detects a potential "troublemaker-complainer", they usually wouldn't even pass probation.

[Chrystaltree2]

I think the question should have been ""is this common in the fast food restaurant industry"". I suspect it is and it seems fair to me. I wouldn't like it but it is what it is.

[blackhole99]

I would view this as free training that I would need to have if I want to advance in food service. The only thing I would request is proof that I took the course successfully.