paying back training fees?

jimmi

hi
I will do my best to keep this short.
I started working for my employer in April and am on a 6 month probation.

our employment contracts state we must pay back any course fee's if we leave within a year of completing the course. today we were sent a new page to sign as part of our contracts adding that if we fail a course or do not complete it then we'll be charged whilst still working for the company.

1 course i did-fine i get that, i see how its beneficial and could benefit me in the future (though i'd still like to know how much it cost).

another course most of us (staff) are on- we recieved an email with a course contract to sign and return ASAP for a course which would start the following week. I had to ask where and when the lessons would be held and was told Fridays 10.30-12.30.
I was aware the contract needed to be returned quickly so didn't get to take in everything. I misunderstood (as did many other staff) the contract. I thought it was a 10 week course. I work waking night shifts 8.30pm until 07.30am. i have a set rota.i thought ok, its only 5 weeks of no sleep after a night shift (after work i take my kids to school/nursery as my husband goes to work when i get home, every other week I work both the Thursday and Friday nights). Part way through the course I found out there would be 2 more blocks of lessons- both 11 weeks long. though it took a while to be given the dates for these lessons.

i can't keep going into a course after a waking night as im only getting 2 hours sleep between shifts by doing so (once ive done school/ nursery runs etc).
I wasnt told of the course dates.
I didnt have it made clear how long the course would be.
i felt rushed to sign the contract to do the course.

is there any way i can get out of completing the course, or of not having to pay it back as i didn't know what i was signing up for?

i don't know but think the course cost £600-700.
I found a letter at work stating that the local authority was funding the course-so can my employer even claim back the fee from me if they didn't even pay for it?

should i have been put on a 32 week course which finishes February 2017 when i'd not even been working there a month and am still on probation?

apologies for all the typos, I'm trying to type quickly.

none of the staff are happy, everyone wants to leave but feels trapped by the contract (some people will owe a lot more than me for other courses).

any advice gratefully received.
it's not a nice place to work in general.

sangie595

You signed the contract? Then I am afraid that it is a contract you have agreed to. It's a tough lesson, I agree, but you should read and understand a contract before you sign it, no matter how much someone else wants it signed and returned. Who has funded the course isn't really relevant - if it is a course that is deemed necessary then failing it means it has to be retaken, and if you leave, someone else has to be trained. And a year is not an unreasonable time to expect someone to stay after training. I'm not seeing a good reason why the contract isn't valid.

I don't understand why you only get two hours of sleep. If you finish at 7.30am and return to work at 8.30 pm, even with a school run, that leaves a lot of hours.

[Deleted User]

I realise its not ideal, but you will have to try cat napping on the sofa once you have picked up your kids from school.., arrange play dates for them (exchanged for play dates with you when you aren't on the course or weekends).

Or discuss the hours you work with your employer and see if they can be changed.

It will be hard, but you can leave after a year and will have the benefit of these courses for a long time afterwards, hopefully.