Training clawback fees

kiyonebabe

Hi guys,

I have a question and I hope someone here can help.

I've been studying a professional qualification at work and now I'm leaving the company they're looking to clawback the training costs.

When I originally signed up to do the qualification about 18 months ago I submitted an online form to get approval and apparently by doing that I agreed to the company's policy which included clawback of fees.

I'm not disagreeing with the premise - I understand they'll want to recoup their investment, but I disagree with the amount they want to charge.

I originally submitted a form saying I wanted to do this qualification, which can take anywhere from 3 years upwards depending on how often you take exams, and I submitted a broad outline of what I wanted to do.

From that point on, I had to submit a new form for approval for everything that cost money, so I had to get approval for each course and exam and they're all detailed on the information my employer has sent me.

I therefore assumed that each time I submitted a form this was a new course of study and that when I left the sliding scale of fees would kick in e.g. I wouldn't have to pay back 100% of fees for a course I completed over a year ago.

My employer though is trying to charge me 100% of all course fees as I haven't finished the entire qualification and therefore they're saying the sliding scale doesn't apply.

I find this unfair as I took some of these exams about 18 months ago and I'm sure the company has seen some benefit from them. Based on the scale I should be paying about 50% of fees for these but they're saying this wouldn't kick in for potentially another 2 years.

I would appreciate any advice anyone has to offer as this could leave me out of pocket by quite a bit of money

Timpu

I think it comes down to the agreed policy and the wording. What exactly does the policy say?

I did a professional qualification which was expected to take 3yrs. The deal with my employer was if I left before finishing the qualification, they could take back 100% of the courses they'd paid for. That meant the costs from the very first course onwards. If I left within 12mths of completing the qualifications, then a sliding scale would be applied to the total costs of the courses and exams over the 3yrs.

It sounds like you may have something similar and could it be the norm I wonder?

stevemLS

To be brutally frank with you, your interpretation of what you were doing in submitting requests to approval each element of the training is rather odd - this is a course of study leading to a single qualification.

I think you are on thin ice.

Obviously without seeing your company's policy and the online declaration you made no-one can say for certain but based on what you have said, i would say your employer has every right to demand repayment of 100% of the fees. Sorry.

Takeaway_Addict

I believe the sliding scale is upon completion of the whole course normally.

Have they actually had any benefit from you completing part of the course?

asajj

My company clawback 100 % if you leave within a year and 50 % if you leave in 2 years. It depends on the agreement you "signed" so you need to check and see what it says.

kiyonebabe

It talks about "completion of the course of study" but as I was submitting forms for each module I took that to mean each module. I passed the first exam about 18 months ago and I would absolutely say that they have had the benefit of the knowledge I've gained since then.

stevemLS

It is utterly immaterial to the recovery of the fee whether the employer has benefited from the training thus far.

asajj

As far as I understand, completion of the course of study refers to the qualification. It wouldn't make much sense if it did refer to each module to be honest.

Undervalued

stevemLS wrote: »

To be brutally frank with you, your interpretation of what you were doing in submitting requests to approval each element of the training is rather odd - this is a course of study leading to a single qualification.

I think you are on thin ice.

Obviously without seeing your company's policy and the online declaration you made no-one can say for certain but based on what you have said, i would say your employer has every right to demand repayment of 100% of the fees. Sorry.

As I understand it this is one of the very few circumstances where a signed agreement is required before training fees can be recovered. This is different to most aspects of employment law where turning up, working and getting paid is more than enough to establish a contract and it is largely immaterial whether a document is actually signed or not.

As you say, without seeing exactly what (if anything) the OP has signed and how they may attempt to incorporate other documents and policies we cannot say for certain but it is well worth checking very carefully.

Even then there still remains the practical considerations. They may well just deduct the amount leaving the OP to sue to recover it if they dare. Win or lose it would also kiss goodbye to any decent reference.

Here is one of many articles on a solicitor's website....

http://www.reculversolicitors.co.uk/can-employers-claw-back-training-costs-if-the-employee-then-leaves/

Even if a proper agreement is in place the amount recovered must be reasonable and proportionate.

bamgbost

Sounds like this could possibly be an Accounting Qualification.

And if so, everyone I know has the clause to 100% payback if leaving part way through course, or within a year of full completion.

Sorry OP, but your employer may be right. Doesn't seem fair, but if that's their rules...

DandelionPatrol

kiyonebabe wrote: »

It talks about "completion of the course of study" but as I was submitting forms for each module I took that to mean each module. I passed the first exam about 18 months ago and I would absolutely say that they have had the benefit of the knowledge I've gained since then.

I am with you on this one. I think you have a fair point.

Yes it is probably normal for the claw back to be on the qualification, hence the line that the others are taking. Your employer seems to be doing it right by having you sign explicitly for the course and presumably agree to the clawback. As I understand it, if you do not sign to acknowledge the clawback, the employer cannot force it.

So, I would argue that, unless the clawback clause that you signed for specifies the whole course, then by default the clawback should only be on the module specified on the form.

I think it is worth arguing the point and making an offer based on your understanding.