Paying For Continuing Education For Your Staff

All dentists know the value of continuing education for themselves and their staff. But you may be asking yourself where your responsibility lies when it comes to paying for your staff to attend continuing education classes. Below are a few important things to remember when considering this issue.

If a continuing education meeting or class is mandatory, you will still be required to pay for the employee’s time. This is not only true if the meeting is during working hours, but also if it’s during their own personal time.

The exception to this rule is if a staff member needs to take a class in order to maintain a license. In order for this to become an exception, though, you will need to allow your staff to attend continuing education classes whenever they want. As long as you let them choose when to take classes, you meet this exception and won’t need to pay wages during the class.

In order to prevent any misunderstandings, make sure you and your staff have a discussion regarding your decisions about paying wages during a continuing education class. It’s also a good idea to have a signed form from each staff member clarifying these points.

Because continuing education classes and meetings are such an important part of your dental practice, you may want to consider including them as a part of your yearly budget. Remember to include any seminar costs and meals along with your employee’s wages during the class.

To speak with a dental consultant regarding any staff issues or questions regarding continuing education classes, please contact CTC National today!