I will take a look and see what I can gather from it. They did get funding for him to begin with. Originally, he was placed in this workplace by the college - they helped him find this job. To be honest, every time I have visited our local CRB, it is shut - even during their opening hours... As he earns so little, he may be entitled to legal aid so I think I will see if we can get a lawyer to look at it if you think that is best.

Sorry Emmzzi - I misunderstood your question. I thought you meant an apprenticeship agreement was a different document to the contract of employment.

Fantastic news - thank you.

Sorry, I should also mention that his contract of emloyment states that he is an apprentice - but yes they did pay him more than a minimum apprentice salary. Not sure this makes a difference? Thank you

Hi again, I do get your point - it seems that this could be quite a mooted subject - I will see if I can gather funds to pay myself. I have told him to start looking for another employer. It just seems a shame because he loves his job and takes great pride in it too. Many thanks

Hi Pusillanimous, Yes, the employer attended the interview at college with him and booked the course for him. They raised a purchase order and provided the numberto the college as evidence of intention to pay. Now he has completed the course, it appears the purchase order has not been approved... I will go to the college Monday and see if I can get a copy of the enrolment form.

You would think so right? But the other guy that was an apprentice and passed his exams (the year before my son), got put straight on to the same salary as the other people. They do the same work load regardless of experience. My son is left on call by himself without supervision and all work is divided equally. Thanks again.

He only has a contract of employment from a few years ago - given to him by the original employer. Since been TUPE'd twice.

Thanks Emmzzi for replying. 1. He is on NMW 2. The fees are £2k - he cannot afford this and unfortunately, neither can I. 3. The decision to no longer attend his course was not made alone and reversely, was fully supported by his employer. Long story short, the course was not right for the career path that both the employer and he had wanted for him. 4. Until yesterday, nothing was put in writing which is why I told him he should write to HO HR department. Is this just what we should be doing and can do no more - or can we do something more? Many thanks again....

Hi everyone, I appreciate any help you can give - I have two questions: 1. My son was employed as an apprentice Gas and Heating Engineer and was sent on day release to college - all good. After some months, he was no longer on day release for various reasons, including that he no longer wanted to attend as he discovered a different course he could do that would be more beneficial. Shortly after, he was then TUPE'd over to another company and in September of this year, he attended a course to become a qualified Gas & Heating Engineer. During his course, his company was taken over by a larger company and once again, he has been TUPE'd over. He passed his exams in December and has been informed by his company that until he gets his certificates through, he cannot be classed as fully qualified - they do know he has passed. He attended college on Wednesday to do a days course and discovered that the reason he has not yet received his certificates is because his company are refusing to pay the course fees - no-one told him this. He has spoken to his line manager and nothing is being done about it - he is getting nowhere with his line manager. My question here is - can they refuse to pay the fees, even though they sent him on the course? 2. Also, he is still earning the same salary as he was an an apprentice - £4.98 per hour. He has no new contract, despite being TUPE'd over to two different companies and is being paid minimum wage. He is fully qualified and the average salary for his skill set is around £35k. He has spoken to his line manager and the manager above him about a pay rise as he has a company van; his own workload and works solely alone now. His line manager today told him that his payrise has been put on hold by the new company and cannot advise him of how long he will have to wait. He has tried to speak to HR, but to no avail. We have tonight, drafted a letter to the HR department, hoping that someone might contact him. We have asked for a copy of the grievance policy as, despite asking his line manager many times, he has never received a copy. My question here is - all his fellow workers are earning three times the amount he is and he does exactly the same work. Can we do anything about this? Anything you can help me with is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Hi everyone, Just hoping that someone can please advise me... So, as you know we requested the SAR. After much batting backwards and forwards because they could not locate my partner on their systems, we finally got a letter dated 15th November 2012 stating that they had now located him and they were processing his request. This was over 40 days ago and I am wondering if I should chase them, or go back to court right away to get this now struck out. If the latter, can you also tell me exactly what I need to do i.e. what forms to fill out? Thanks so much.

"Yes he did bring up SAR issues, but before he went into court, the lawyer for the defence provided" Sorry, that should have said, the Lawyer for Welcome provided - not defence because that is my partner. Doh!

Hi DX, Yes he did bring up SAR issues, but before he went into court, the lawyer for the defence provided him with the personal loan reference number so we could request the SAR with the correct number. It was an absolute joke to be honest. The Judge had really made up his mind before he even entered the court room - that much was obvious. The lawyer had absolutely no paperwork with him whatsoever - he called someone else in the court waiting area to get the account number. We have written to welcome again to request the SAR, quoting the number, so we will see what they come back with. Very frustrating to be honest, but I guess that the same for everyone who gets themselves in this mess... I will update as soon as I have the information, but determined now to at least get the PPI back. Thanks so much

Thank you Rob. My partner decided he had to do this himself - worried me slightly because I have been dealing with all this for him. Suffice to say, the judge would not set-aside the judgment. He said that by paying the CCJ, my partner had not helped himself. He asked what would have happened if he had not paid the CCJ and the judge said that a bailiff would likely have been sent around, or an attachment of earning order made. So, I am, as always, confused really. It seems as thought he was damned if he did, and damned if he didn't. Anyway, we are another £190 lighter for the priviledge and now are still trying to get the SAR information from Welcome. I just want to really say thanks to everyone for all the help you have given me so far. I would have been completely lost without you. Will post again, with a plea of more help no doubt, when I get the info from Welcome. Emma.

Hi, just a quick update. We have a hearng date to try to have the CCJ set-aside, that next Tuesday. Apparently, I may not be allowed in and even if I am I will not be permitted to talk...! still waiting to hear back about the SAR although they have written to my partner saying that 'whatever action has been taken, can be undone' and would he like to discuss with them? They were no help at all before and I think we will wait for the SAR documentation before contacting them. Hopefully have some good news next time I post.