Depends on what it says in the contract. Personally I think any mandatory training to do with the job should be paid, otherwise you increase than chances of your employess taking their new qualifications to a different employer.

If it is mandatory training and you are not paying them for their time you could be in danger of breaking the law on minimum wage.
www.acas.org.uk/getting-paid-for-mandatory-training.

I was the HR manager for a care consortium. And I held the budget for training. If it is "compulsory", then I would certainly not expect staff to do it in their own time and not get paid for it.

It is after all going to benefit the company and the residents - isn't it?

Thank you everyone for your helpful advice, it is much appreciated.

In reply to David Perry:

Always good to get the advice 'from the horse's mouth' (so to speak).

A previous related thread...

 Compulsory monthly training sessions outside of regular hours 

Hi Samantha

I've no specific knowledge of usual practices within the care sector, but would think that if you normally pay these staff according to the hours or shifts or whatever they work then any training sessions you wish them to attend are 'work' too, and they have a right to be paid for them. Unless of course there is contractual provision that they won't be paid for them, in which case their total earnings for the applicable period must nonetheless not drop below the national minimum wage.

I'm somewhat curious to know why any employer might reasonably expect rank and file eg care staff to attend employer-mandated off the job training sessions without being paid for doing so?