COMMON ISSUES
DURING A TRAINING CONTRACT
Problems during a training contract are not uncommon. Often there is a certain amount of ignorance as to what obligations trainees and firms have towards each other. The current Training Regulations and the Law Society's guide "Training Trainee Solicitors" should be made available to you by your firm. A copy of the guide is available on the Law Society's website.
1 Stress
Particularly as a result of workload, lack of supervision, harassment and bullying:
Make sure that your Training Principal is aware of the situation.
If you are unable to approach your Training Principal, or your Training Principal is the problem, try to approach other solicitors in the firm if at all possible.
Try talking to other trainees at the firm to see if they are experiencing similar problems.
Make sure that you keep a record of all work undertaken in addition to appraisal records.
If you are worried about getting tongue tied when talking to your Training Principal and or Supervisor, it might be an idea to write down specific situations which you have been in for your reference and to illustrate the difficulties you are facing.
Contact the Law Society’s Education and Training Department on 01527 504433 to find out about your options and clarification of the training contract regulations. The Law Society is able to provide mediation service between employees and employers. In addition a monitoring scheme is in operation and subject to your willingness, the Law Society may instigate a monitoring visit.
[Every firm that employs trainees is monitored at some stage as part of the monitoring process. A firm that receives a visit from a monitor will not necessarily have had a complaint made against them – it could be a random visit. Nor will the monitor be told why s/he has been sent to a particular firm. Firms will receive notice of a monitoring visit, asked to complete a questionnaire and then interviewed during the visit. The entire process is entirely confidential and if a complaint is made the trainees name will not be disclosed. The firm will not be told that they have had a complaint or who made it].
Consider taking out an internal grievance and complaint to the firm’s Human Resources officer, the managing partner, or another partner. The scope for such processes will be limited if your firm is very small however.
For your personal well being contact LawCare on 0800 279 6888 (www.lawcare.org.uk). They have trained and experienced staff who have experience of the legal profession and will be aware of the issues involved.
Depending upon how extreme the treatment has been, you could consider making a complaint to the Office for the Supervision of Solicitors (OSS). This is an extremely serious step to take and involves raising an allegation that this person is not fit to be a solicitor. Please consider carefully be taking such a step.
If you have tried all of the above and you don’t want to instigate monitoring / a formal complaint and you feel that you are in an unbearable situation, remember to try and keep things in context and that NO JOB IS WORTH RISKING YOUR HEALTH FOR.
2 Transfer or Termination of Training Contract
Trainees often find that due to personal circumstances or due to the inadequacy of the training provided by their current employers, that transferring or terminating their training contract is the only option. If this is the case, we would advise as follows:
A training contract may only be terminated by one of three ways:
1 By mutual consent of both parties
2 By operation of a cancellation clause in the employment contract with regard to the conditional passing of exams
3 By application to the Law Society by either party.
Should the firm wish to clawback any LPC funding provided to you, you must refer to your individual employment contract to ascertain your position. Bearing in mind that any derogation from the Law Society model training contract must be notified and approved by the Law Society.
If you are dismissed from your training contract, you may be able to claim unfair dismissal. We would in this instance refer you to an employment lawyer or for an overview as to this area of law, to our TSG Guide to Employment Law.
If you are considering transferring your training contract, please note that an application to the Law Society will be required. This application will require you to set down those reasons for transfer and will involve an adjudicator of the Law Society dealing with the application. Contact the Law Society’s Education and Training Dept on 01527 504433.
If your current firm is unable to provide you with appropriate experience in three areas of law, the firm is obliged to arrange a secondment for you to ensure that you receive adequate training during your training contract. Please check with the Law Society for further details as to the operation of secondments.
3 PSC Payment
Your firm is obliged to pay for the professional skills course, in addition they are also obliged to permit you to have paid leave to attend the course and any reasonable expenses in connection with attending the course.
4 Pregnancy
Some trainees have been faced with the predicament of becoming pregnant during their training contract. If this is the case we would advise as follows:
Make sure that you keep good records of any comments made to you in respect of your work and future prospects at the firm. If there is a sudden change in attitude towards taking you on, these records will prove useful in any subsequent claim.
Please note that you are entitled to four months Maternity or Sick Leave during your training contract – if you take any longer off work for the aforementioned reasons then the training contract will need to be extended by the equivalent amount of time.
The TSG is unable to advise you as to your employment rights specifically, however we would refer you to our Employment Law Guide We would also advise that you approach an employment law specialist if you are in any doubt as to your rights. The Law Society will be able to provide you with names of those lawyers in your area.
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