I work in a field where one needs to constantly update their knowledge, and it definitely helps to get certifications from reputed institutions for credits and better employability.
My boss, a veteran in this field conducts workshops about certain topics for her employees and sometimes allows non employees to enrol as well.
It’s nice that they like to share their knowledge in a world where people want to keep trade secrets and only care about personal success.
However- the majority of the employees are seriously underpaid (the pay is based on our educational experience, the highest pay someone with a college degree (the entry level qualification) can get is 220 rupees per hour (that’s 2.93 USD). These workshops cost around $80 approximately and are held every 4 months.
The management makes it sound like it’s completely optional, like it should be; but they constantly ask us to pay for it and register for it. People have been taunted in the past for not attending these. The “HR” actually said that she’s going to keep asking us until we pay for it.
What really annoys me is that they do not accept a lack of funds as an acceptable reason, a problem they already know they’re the cause of.
I would have loved to attend the course as it will be a wonderful learning experience but I am just so mad at my employer for making me(and some of my colleagues) pay at least half of my salary this often.
Should I just suck it up and pay from my savings or find a way to not attend this?
Ps. We might not be allowed to handle certain clients if we don’t attend certain workshops dealing with such clientele.