What to do if…
you have a mandatory work training deadline approaching but have not been scheduled or assigned to complete it

What to do now

1. Confirm the exact requirement and deadline in the official system. Check your learning management system or training portal, your email and calendar invites, junk and spam folders, and any internal policy page or memo that names the course and due date.
2. Capture proof that you are not scheduled or enrolled. Take screenshots showing the missing assignment, no available sessions, no booking, or access error. Note the date and time you checked.
3. Message your line manager right away with a simple request. Include the course name, deadline, what the system shows, and what you need: enrolment, a session booking, access to the module, or a written extension. Ask them to confirm in writing what you should do before the deadline.
4. Contact the course owner or admin in parallel. This may be Learning and Development, HR, Compliance, Information Security, Health and Safety, or the named course owner. Use the internal ticketing system if there is one, mark it urgent because of the deadline, and attach your screenshots.
5. If self-paced completion is possible, ask for protected work time today. Give a specific option, such as “I can complete this between 14:00 and 15:00 today if access is granted,” and ask your manager to confirm that this is acceptable.
6. If it is classroom or live training and no sessions exist, ask for the exception route. Ask whether they can add you to an urgent session, put you on a priority waitlist, give you an equivalent online module, or document an extension until the next available session.
7. If the training is linked to safe working or authorisation, reduce risk immediately. Tell your manager if you think you should pause certain duties until trained, such as operating equipment, lone working, handling specific data, or driving on work business. Ask what alternative duties they want you to do for now.
8. If you are being blamed or invited to a formal meeting, keep the process clear. Ask what the meeting is about and request the concerns and any evidence in writing. In the UK, workers generally have the right to be accompanied at disciplinary hearings that could result in a formal warning or other disciplinary action, and at some grievance meetings about legal or contractual duties. The companion is usually a work colleague, a certified or trained workplace trade union representative, or an official employed by a trade union. For investigation meetings or informal chats, there may not be a legal right to be accompanied, but you can still ask.