Training fees

Mrpainter

Hi guys and gals!!

Hope everyone is well!!

Basically I have to resign from work with immediate effect on 04/11/16 my company who I work for sent me to a site (I'm a decorator) to a job 2 hours away from my house with no reason or explination! I tried to contact my contracts manager who arranges placement, he did not answer my calls.

Seeing that that travel cost and the time it took me to get to the job made it not worth to go to the site.

The foreman on the job then rang him and he answer he explained that I was not going to attend the next day due to travel etc he said there was no where else which I know there was plenty.

This was tuesday I didn't go to work that week and tried to contact him on Friday again he wasn't answering my calls. As I needed to work I resigned with immediate effect and gained employment elsewhere.

They have now sent me a letter asking for £2256 in training fees they have paid for specific health and safety course which I completed on the last year.

The letter is very treating in nature

Any advice would be great help as I'm not sure where I stand

Thanks

elsien

When you started the job or attended the training did you sign anything with regards to repaying training costs if you left within a certain timescale?

steampowered

Read your employment contract to see what it says about this. If you don't have it, ask for a copy.

Mrpainter

No I was supposed to sign an agreement but the lady who was supposed to organise it left and I didn't sign anything it does state in my contract and I quote

"The full cost of any external training/qualifications are reimbursable to the company if the employee leaves or is dismissed within 1 year of the company paying for the course."

But people have been saying because no payment plan or arrangements are within the contract nothing stands

Mrpainter

Also I'm 99% sure the course was paid for before I started my start date was 5th October 2015 and I got sent confirmation on 19/08/15

sangie595

If you haven't signed anything, you don't owe them anything.

Just write back politely, telling them that you did not sign any agreement to repay training costs, so you do not owe them anything.

Mrpainter

Even if it states in my contract about training??

steampowered

Mrpainter wrote: »

No I was supposed to sign an agreement but the lady who was supposed to organise it left and I didn't sign anything it does state in my contract and I quote

"The full cost of any external training/qualifications are reimbursable to the company if the employee leaves or is dismissed within 1 year of the company paying for the course."

Does it say that in your employment contract? And did you sign your employment contract?

ohreally

If there is a contractual clawback you need to be careful.

Will post later.

sangie595

ohreally wrote: »

If there is a contractual clawback you need to be careful.

Will post later.

It still has to be signed. The law on training agreements is very clear. If there isn't a signed agreement, they cannot claw back payments.

Although walking out on a job without notice for any reason, with that in your contact, is a damned stupid thing to do without checking it out first.

One thing that dies occur to me. OP, were you actually an employee? Or a contractor? Because I can't understand why you would be paying travel costs to jobs. Isn't that the employers problem? The costs of travel wouldn't come out of your pocket, would they?

Undervalued

Mrpainter wrote: »

Even if it states in my contract about training??

Broadly yes for the reason Sangie has stated. Virtually all other aspects of an employment contract are valid whether you have signed it or not. Turning up, working on agreed terms and getting paid establishes a contract.

Keep in mind though they may have a valid claim against you for any costs they incurred as a result of you walking out without notice. If you had worked there for a month or more then you are obliged to give a week's notice (or more depending on your contract).