Why is Mandatory Training So Important?

Whether you’re planning a career move, developing a business, or moving into a role with training responsibilities, if you’re involved in industries like health and social care then there’s a good chance that you’ve come across the term mandatory training. While you might not have given the term much thought, it’s actually a really important part of workplace effectiveness and safety - not just a box-ticking exercise. 

All kinds of industries require workers to undertake staff mandatory training, including education, health and social care, and hospitality. In this article, we’re going to consider the importance of mandatory training, what it covers, key mandatory training legal requirements, and how mandatory training in the workplace ensures a competent and safe environment.

What is Mandatory Training?

Mandatory training is any type of training that is essential to a role. It’s so important that it’s usually given as soon as (and often before) someone starts their employment in a particular role. 

We often think of training as being something that increases your skills and makes you better at your job, but mandatory training is essential. If you don’t have the training, then it’s likely that you’re not fully prepared for your role, or there may be elements of it that you cannot undertake until you’ve had the necessary training. 

Often, mandatory training has a regular element to it, and those who require it will need to demonstrate their knowledge or skill at regular intervals, such as yearly. This ensures that training is kept up to date and any new procedures or things to be aware of are communicated to everyone whom they might impact.

As many types of mandatory training are focused on ensuring the safety of employees, customers, clients and more, you’ll generally find that it’s more common in industries where this is of significant concern. A marketing agency for example is unlikely to have any essential training requirements, whereas a hospital or manufacturing plant will have many.

Mandatory Training Legal Requirements

Generally, legislation does not insist that mandatory training has to be taken. If it did, then it would be classed as statutory training, which is a slightly different concept. 

There are various types of training that certain people are legally obliged to take, and therefore it is seen as statutory. For example, UK law mandates that all people working with food should have training appropriate to their role. 

While the type of training is not explicitly given in legislation, this is still often seen as statutory training. Similarly, certain elements of health and safety are also statutory, and employees must have the requisite training.

Note: It’s very important to be aware of the uses of the words statutory and mandatory, because they can sometimes be used differently in certain environments. For example, in the health and social care sector, it is very common for people to refer to mandatory training as including both mandatory and statutory training. Be aware of how the word is used, and you’re less likely to be confused between the two.

Types of Mandatory Training

There are many types of mandatory training which vary significantly from sector to sector. As well as the specific types of mandatory training in the workplace that we mention below, other types of training that are generally considered mandatory also include the following:

• Manual handling
• Equality and diversity
• Human rights
• Information security and governance
• Complaints handling
• Conflict management
• Consent training

Is Safeguarding Training Mandatory?

We know about all of the major qualifications that someone must have in order to be a qualified teacher, but this isn’t quite the same as training. There are lots of things that a teacher might need to know and skills they might need to have, but perhaps the most common type of mandatory training is safeguarding. 

This is generally not a legal requirement specifically, but the school needs to meet its obligations, whether legal or otherwise. All teachers must know how to safeguard the children that they’re responsible for - it’s an essential concept to the safe running of a school and is therefore considered a mandatory type of training. 

Take a look at all of our online safeguarding courses to find out more about what is required.

Other types of mandatory training could be in food safety and hygiene if the member of staff teaches in a kitchen environment - this might be statutory by law in business, but in a school it might not be legally required, though a local authority might mandate it.

Is GDPR Training Mandatory?

Understanding and complying with GDPR is a legal requirement for businesses that handle their customer’s data. Whilst training isn’t specifically mentioned in this, making sure that all staff have completed GDPR training is the best way to ensure compliance with this obligation.

You can find training resources for GDPR and more on our Business Compliance Training Courses page.

Is First Aid Training Mandatory?

First aid training is mandatory for those who work in a healthcare environment and is often strongly recommended for people who work in social care and education. For all other industries, first aid training is only mandatory for a couple of people on the premises so that there’s always a qualified first aider on site.

If you’re responsible for employee’s health and safety then you must make sure that enough employees have been first aid trained so that there’s always between one and several first aiders in the event of an incident. This ensures that you’re complying with general workplace health and safety regulations that keep staff safe when they’re at work.

Our First Aid at Work Course: Primary Survey is a great resource for employees who need to refresh their first aid training or just learn the basics.

Is Fire Safety Training Mandatory?

Fire safety training is a mandatory part of workplace health and safety and should be provided by employers whose teams work onsite the majority of the time. According to The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, employers must give employees fire safety mandatory training when they start their job and if their role or risk of interacting with a fire changes.

Different levels of fire safety training are required depending on your role; an office worker will only need basic training but a construction worker will come in contact with many more fire risks and will therefore require more comprehensive training. Larger companies may have designated fire wardens who are in charge of running drills and keeping risk assessments up to date, but all employees should be trained to know what to do in the event of a fire.

If you’re looking for mandatory training courses in fire safety, our Fire Safety Training online resource is CPD-certified and an ideal way to ensure that all your employees are informed about what to do in the event of a fire.

Is Health and Safety Training Mandatory?

Health and safety training is quite an umbrella term that can be used to describe a range of different training courses. In the case of a care home employee, health and safety training would include infection prevention and control. 

The latter is very important in care home environments where vulnerable elderly people can be made particularly ill with commonplace diseases, and where they’re living in close proximity which makes the transmission of such diseases far easier. 

Healthcare training often packs in many different types of mandatory training into one course. In other professions, general health and safety training may do the same, covering topics such as manual handling, the safe use of equipment and things like fire safety and first aid.

If you’re looking for general health and safety mandatory training for employees, take a look at our full selection of online health and safety courses.

Why Mandatory Training Is Important

Now that we understand what mandatory training is, and have seen some examples of it, it’s easy to see why this type of training is critically important. It’s not just helpful training that might help you do your job better, it’s training that is essential for you to be able to carry out your role to a safe and effective level.

Without statutory and mandatory training, workers would not be able to ensure that they are safe, that those they work with are safe, and that their clients and those they’re responsible for are safe. While many elements of mandatory training might seem like common sense or a natural part of the role, they must be taught to ensure that people have the knowledge and skills that they need.

Where to Take Mandatory Training

Traditionally, many types of mandatory training are given when you start in your role. Larger organisations such as the NHS will have their own training teams whose job it is to help ensure that all staff have been on the right courses and have the right certifications and qualifications. 

However, smaller businesses may need to look outside to have their training needs accommodated. Usually, this means inviting training providers in to take sessions with groups of employees or sending people out to be trained remotely.

E-learning is another alternative that’s growing in popularity. This means that individuals can sit at their computer or even on a tablet and work their way through interactive and engaging courses. 

These courses are usually favoured by businesses because they’re cost-effective, don’t require taking time out of work to travel, and can be worked through over a flexible period of time. At Virtual College, we’re pleased to be specialists in creating courses for those requiring mandatory training. Take a look at our Statutory and Mandatory online courses to find out more about the resources we offer.

FAQs

Do I get paid for mandatory training?

Your employer should pay for you to complete mandatory training for your role, but whether you get paid for the time spent on this training will depend on your contract. In many cases you will be asked to complete the training during working hours, but in some scenarios these courses will be required to complete in your own time, which you should also be paid for in most industries.

Does mandatory training count as CPD?

Mandatory training is different from CPD because it is essential for a role, as opposed to just enhancing someone’s ability in their role. However, you can count mandatory training as part of CPD if you record and reflect on it in the same way that you would with other types of training.

Do employers have to pay for mandatory training?

Employers have a legal requirement to provide their employees with mandatory training, which means that they should pay for these courses. In the majority of cases, you will complete this training during working hours which also means that you’ll get paid for undergoing the mandatory workplace training.

Summary

Understanding the requirements for different industries can be confusing, but failure to complete mandatory training could result in severe consequences. It’s important to understand why mandatory training courses are important so that you can get employees fully on board with completing them and ensure that they put their learning into practice, which is easily done when you choose courses that are engaging and concise.

If you’re looking for mandatory workplace training resources for your business, our collection of Healthcare and Statutory and Mandatory Training Courses is a great place to start.