Training Contract - Legal?

misha-k

Thank you for all your replies, it's much appreciated. To give you a bit more insight, I'm also leaving the job because my boss is being very rude with me and other employees. She's had a few complaints put in about her. That and the fact that an intense amount of work has been placed on my shoulders because a lot (20+ people) have left the company in the last 6 months. Because we're understaffed, more work is being piled onto us, and because there's less people, there's less chance of getting support from colleagues. This is a large company with over 200 staff in our branch alone, and they've several offices across the UK.

The contract did not mention a price, and it was given to me after I started. Yes, I get what most of you are saying about how it's my own fault for not knowing the price beforehand, but I thought that contracts involving monies MUST quote a price and how recouping that money is to be carried out. Is my understanding wrong?

I've also discovered that out of the 7 of us who were being trained for this qualification, only 2 of us signed the contract. The others refused to sign it because of how it was given to us a month after starting the course and yet they were allowed to continue the course through to the end along side the other two of us who signed the contract. I don't believe that is fair - Surely that pretty much means the contract is irrelevant or invalid? Is this not something I could throw at them along with the fact they gave us the contract so late in the game?

I am not going to fight to get out of paying this, however I do believe if they are going to fight for the money, that they should either let me pay it off over say a year or two, or only pay a portion of the price due to how unprofessionally they handled the entire thing.

EDIT: I've just hunted out the contract and it appears I was wrong. They were in fact several months late! I started the course in May, there was no mention of having to pay the fee, then at the end of September, they handed us the contract.

sangie595

Yeah. But you still signed it. What other people didn't do, or how rude your boss is had nothing to do with that. You can point ask of these things out, and try to negotiate a price. But in the end they have one thing you don't. Your salary!

lippy1923

Take it as a life lesson. You signed an agreement as an adult stating you will stay with the company for 2 years after you qualify or pay a % of the money they have invested in you, back to them.

I would wait and see if you are even offered the jobs before kicking up a fuss over it. There is no harm in politely asking to get out of paying if/when you leave. They can say yes or no. Staged payments back to them may be your best bet.

The fact you were half way through the course when they gave you the contract won't invalidate the agreement. You still signed and continued to finish the course. Look on the bright side, they have now made you potentially more employable for the rest of your career.

bugslet

misha-k wrote: »

The contract did not mention a price, and it was given to me after I started. Yes, I get what most of you are saying about how it's my own fault for not knowing the price beforehand, but I thought that contracts involving monies MUST quote a price and how recouping that money is to be carried out. Is my understanding wrong?

Just on that point, no, not necessarily. My staff undergo various training throughout their employment, it's not possible to accurately predict what courses they will and won't do, and the costs can vary. They may do something after a year or more, no one could predict that far ahead.

getmore4less

Good practice is to itemize each element individually if you want do deduction from wages.

Especially if there is a mix of mandatory and optional where some should not be covered by any deductions agreement.