Training costs

charlie_2015 · 9 February 2018 at 4:55PM

Hi there,

I am posting this on behalf of a friend, lets call her Betty.

Betty has been working for her at her company for over 2 years. The company agreed to pay training costs for her to become qualified in her profession. The company signed her up on the training course at a local college and she started in January 2017. In February 2017, Betty found out she was pregnant and informed the company.

In February 2017 (after finding out Betty was pregnant) the company asked her to sign a document saying that she will be liable for the training costs if she leaves the role, is dismissed or fails the training exams. The document does not outline the costs associated to the training course.

Betty signed the document and has said herself she felt pressured and that it was sprung on her after she informed the company she was pregnant.

Betty is now coming to the final few months of her maternity leave. Ideally, she would like to quit her job to become a full time mum but is terrified of the costs she could be liable for.

Has her employer acted lawfully here? Has she signed her life away with this document?

Any help would be appreciated

nicechap · 9 February 2018 at 6:53PM

charlie_2015 wrote: »

Hi there,

I am posting this on behalf of a friend, lets call her Betty.

Betty has been working for her at her company for over 2 years. The company agreed to pay training costs for her to become qualified in her profession. The company signed her up on the training course at a local college and she started in January 2017. In February 2017, Betty found out she was pregnant and informed the company.

In February 2017 (after finding out Betty was pregnant) the company asked her to sign a document saying that she will be liable for the training costs if she leaves the role, is dismissed or fails the training exams. The document does not outline the costs associated to the training course.

Betty signed the document and has said herself she felt pressured and that it was sprung on her after she informed the company she was pregnant.

Betty is now coming to the final few months of her maternity leave. Ideally, she would like to quit her job to become a full time mum but is terrified of the costs she could be liable for.

Has her employer acted lawfully here? Has she signed her life away with this document?

Any help would be appreciated

Presumably the answers to your previous thread would help "Betty" too.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=5615239

charlie_2015 wrote: »

Just after a bit of advice if possible.

I have worked for my employer for just under 2 years. I was promoted to a new role within the same company around 5 months ago. Part of this role is to attend college on block release. I started the college course 4 months ago. I have recently found out I am pregnant and informed my employer. My employer has now presented me with a contract that stipulates I will have to pay back the course fees should I leave the company or drop out of college.

Is this fair? I was never informed about paying back course fees until now.

Any help would be great

Thank you

marliepanda · 9 February 2018 at 6:56PM

If you, sorry, Betty signed it, then one of you has signed and agreed to it.

The company invested in your future hoping they would benefit from it, and now they will not.

bigisi · 9 February 2018 at 6:59PM

nicechap wrote: »

Presumably the answers to your previous thread would help "Betty" too.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=5615239

Facepalm :T

sangie595 · 9 February 2018 at 7:17PM

nicechap wrote: »

Presumably the answers to your previous thread would help "Betty" too.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=5615239

And, surprisingly, it's a year later!

OP, no, of course you haven't signed your life away. You have loads of years left, and unless your employer actually is the Devil, then I'm sure the employer just wants their money back. If they want their money back, fair enough. If they want your life, I'm afraid employment tribunals have no jurusdiction over the Devil (or God)!

Ja7188 · 9 February 2018 at 7:52PM

You might want to directly ask how much you'll be liable for if you do leave - it may not be as high as you fear (see the comments around the sliding scale in the other thread) - although this would have the downside of making the company aware that you're thinking about quitting, which isn't ideal.

If it's more than you can/ will swallow, perhaps you could go part-time (which should not trigger the repayment clause) with a view to leaving completely at a later date?

charlie_2015 · 9 February 2018 at 9:22PM

Sorry about that I forgot I posted, as you may guess Betty and I have been a bit busy.

The amount is around £5000 which I cannot afford to pay back in one sum. Is it normal for companies to accept this back in installments? What happens if we cant agree terms? These are not part of the document I signed.

Thanks

pinkshoes · 9 February 2018 at 9:34PM

charlie_2015 wrote: »

Sorry about that I forgot I posted, as you may guess Betty and I have been a bit busy.

The amount is around £5000 which I cannot afford to pay back in one sum. Is it normal for companies to accept this back in installments? What happens if we cant agree terms? These are not part of the document I signed.

Thanks

Why not just ask?

Or why not return to work for a while? What does the contract say about the time period you need to stay with the company to not have to pay it back?

Did you complete the training?

charlie_2015 · 9 February 2018 at 10:40PM

The reason why I posted is to gain a better understanding on what is normal, before I mention it to my employer, this must not be a unique situation

I cannot return to work because I cannot afford childcare. I was relying on a family member for childcare but that situation has now changed, catch 22 I suppose. Time periods will not apply because I have only completed 6 months of the 3 year course (college).

nicechap · 9 February 2018 at 10:44PM

charlie_2015 wrote: »

The reason why I posted is to gain a better understanding on what is normal, before I mention it to my employer, this must not be a unique situation

I cannot return to work because I cannot afford childcare. I was relying on a family member for childcare but that situation has now changed, catch 22 I suppose. Time periods will not apply because I have only completed 6 months of the 3 year course (college).

I suspect a lot will depend on what you actually signed last year.

Do you think its fair your employer invested £5k in you for a course you only did a bit of?

charlie_2015 · 9 February 2018 at 10:54PM

Double post

Training costs

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