owing money for a training course and want to leave

InNeed_3

Hi

I’m just wondering what the consequences are of me leaving my employer when I owe them money.

I signed an agreement to take a professional development course. They paid 80% and I paid the remaining 20%, which means when I leave I will owe £2876. The agreement says If I leave within 12 months of me passing (which I will be), it will need to be paid within 28 days or longer if agreed, to repay the whole or a proportion of the financial assistance.

• Are they allowed to take the majority of what I owe from my final pay? If so, up to how much can they take?
• I’m absolutely fine with paying this back, as I accept responsibility that leaving would have some consequences, but I am on a really low salary and a realistic figure of £30 a month is all I could afford long term. Could they reject this offer?
• Could they take me to court if I don't pay before I leave or not pay at all?
  
  The reason I am looking to leave is because they have allowed me to take a professional development course, with no scope for me to develop in to a higher role and higher salary anytime soon (which was unknown to me at the point of signing the contract). I’ve been with the company for 2 years and 4 months with no pay rise but receive a bonus each year for being a great employee (hopefully they will be nicer to me for this reason?). : /

steampowered

Are they allowed to take the majority of what I owe from my final pay? If so, up to how much can they take?

Yes they can do this if you signed a piece of paper allowing them to.

I’m absolutely fine with paying this back, as I accept responsibility that leaving would have some consequences, but I am on a really low salary and a realistic figure of £30 a month is all I could afford long term. Could they reject this offer?

Yes, the reality is they are likely to deduct it from your final salary.

Could they take me to court if I don't pay before I leave or not pay at all?

Yes, or just deduct it from your final salary and let you take them to court.

Better to stay for the 12 months if you can. 12 months isn't that long.

marliepanda

£30 a month would take almost 10 years to pay back. Do you think this is reasonable? Would your employer?

Highly unlikely. They'll take it from what they owe you...

ssparks2003

Well you signed the agreement with out thinking, you have a couple of choices:

1. Ask VERY nicely for longer to pay, but £30 a month is not a starter. they are not the bank of mum and dad. you are going to need to give them a sensible offer (i.e payment over 3 months) because there is no reason for them to accept £30 a month and will cost they money to administer.

2. Hang around to 1 year and 1 day then find a new job, thus you owe them nothing.

Undervalued

InNeed wrote: »

Hi

I’m just wondering what the consequences are of me leaving my employer when I owe them money.

I signed an agreement to take a professional development course. They paid 80% and I paid the remaining 20%, which means when I leave I will owe £2876. The agreement says If I leave within 12 months of me passing (which I will be), it will need to be paid within 28 days or longer if agreed, to repay the whole or a proportion of the financial assistance.

• Are they allowed to take the majority of what I owe from my final pay? If so, up to how much can they take?
• I’m absolutely fine with paying this back, as I accept responsibility that leaving would have some consequences, but I am on a really low salary and a realistic figure of £30 a month is all I could afford long term. Could they reject this offer?
• Could they take me to court if I don't pay before I leave or not pay at all?
  
  The reason I am looking to leave is because they have allowed me to take a professional development course, with no scope for me to develop in to a higher role and higher salary anytime soon (which was unknown to me at the point of signing the contract). I’ve been with the company for 2 years and 4 months with no pay rise but receive a bonus each year for being a great employee (hopefully they will be nicer to me for this reason?). : /

Providing a proper agreement is in place (and it sounds as it is) then they can deduct what is owing from your final salary, right down to zero, then demand the rest within 28 days.

So, you need to ask very nicely if you can come to an arrangement! Sorry, but £30 per month is far too small an offer.

Geoff1963

Try getting a loan, for the amount you need, at the rate you can afford.
If you can't, then stay with the company.

catmanscoop2810

InNeed wrote: »

Hi

I’m just wondering what the consequences are of me leaving my employer when I owe them money.

I signed an agreement to take a professional development course. They paid 80% and I paid the remaining 20%, which means when I leave I will owe £2876. The agreement says If I leave within 12 months of me passing (which I will be), it will need to be paid within 28 days or longer if agreed, to repay the whole or a proportion of the financial assistance.

• Are they allowed to take the majority of what I owe from my final pay? If so, up to how much can they take?
• I’m absolutely fine with paying this back, as I accept responsibility that leaving would have some consequences, but I am on a really low salary and a realistic figure of £30 a month is all I could afford long term. Could they reject this offer?
• Could they take me to court if I don't pay before I leave or not pay at all?
  
  The reason I am looking to leave is because they have allowed me to take a professional development course, with no scope for me to develop in to a higher role and higher salary anytime soon (which was unknown to me at the point of signing the contract). I’ve been with the company for 2 years and 4 months with no pay rise but receive a bonus each year for being a great employee (hopefully they will be nicer to me for this reason?). : /

hi, there.

Im in the exact same predicament. just completed my second year of three year course, where they have paid out a fair few thousand for the training. I've been offered and accepted a new role simply because I've become miserable and frustrated here with my role and my development, I am now off to a bigger company who have a plan for me, room for promotions, better package, better job satisfaction. They will also pay for my final year and any subsequent training I wish to do on top of this.

my agreement says I have to stay for a minimum of 5 years so to accept being here frustrated and plodding along as an anonymous spare part for another 3 years just wasn't an option, especially for someone who has suffered with anxiety/depression due to a old job that got the better of me, and now I have a family to think about.

They seem to automatically think my new company will reimburse them but that's not how it is and I will not be asking them to either as it will not paint me in a good light if I'm asking them to pay an extra money for them to take me over when they have already outlined their offer.

I understand why companys put these agreements in place but for someone like me or yourself who have worked hard in your time there, want to better themselves with other opportunities (as they dont always come round!) and dont want to stay in a job where they have not delivered on the role as per their promise, I think is a little unfair and corners a person, certainly how I feel.

I am still waiting on my current employer to see on what they want to do regarding the costs, all I know is I do not have the thousands to just hand over, neither do I want be paying £500 a month back as I have mortgage, living costs and kids to think of so something is going to have to be arranged. I researched if there's a student loans/grants available that I can use to pay back, specific credit cards for training fees but have not be successful yet so wondered if you have got any further?

I know this thread has the potential to attract the cut-throat people who will deem "you should of thought it through" - "you have no case" - "deal with it" but im hoping there's something out there a little more positive and appreciative of a situation like ours.

spadoosh

catmanscoop2810 wrote: »

hi, there.

Im in the exact same predicament. just completed my second year of three year course, where they have paid out a fair few thousand for the training. I've been offered and accepted a new role simply because I've become miserable and frustrated here with my role and my development, I am now off to a bigger company who have a plan for me, room for promotions, better package, better job satisfaction. They will also pay for my final year and any subsequent training I wish to do on top of this.

my agreement says I have to stay for a minimum of 5 years so to accept being here frustrated and plodding along as an anonymous spare part for another 3 years just wasn't an option, especially for someone who has suffered with anxiety/depression due to a old job that got the better of me, and now I have a family to think about.

They seem to automatically think my new company will reimburse them but that's not how it is and I will not be asking them to either as it will not paint me in a good light if I'm asking them to pay an extra money for them to take me over when they have already outlined their offer.

I understand why companys put these agreements in place but for someone like me or yourself who have worked hard in your time there, want to better themselves with other opportunities (as they dont always come round!) and dont want to stay in a job where they have not delivered on the role as per their promise, I think is a little unfair and corners a person, certainly how I feel.

I am still waiting on my current employer to see on what they want to do regarding the costs, all I know is I do not have the thousands to just hand over, neither do I want be paying £500 a month back as I have mortgage, living costs and kids to think of so something is going to have to be arranged. I researched if there's a student loans/grants available that I can use to pay back, specific credit cards for training fees but have not be successful yet so wondered if you have got any further?

I know this thread has the potential to attract the cut-throat people who will deem "you should of thought it through" - "you have no case" - "deal with it" but im hoping there's something out there a little more positive and appreciative of a situation like ours.

The business you work for employs x amount of people. It provides a living to x amount of families. It pays x amount in tax. It clearly values staff enough to offer to cover the cost of training. It sounds like a fantastic organisation to work for.

And because you want training provided free to you at quite an expense to your employer to then offer no return for that expense its unfair?

Youre right it is unfair. Unfair that because you want free training every stakeholder with the company should suffer. From the directors in reduced profits, to suppliers being offered smaller contracts, staff being paid less and customer being charged more.

Staff are solely and investment for any business. A business will expect return from a member of staff otherwise its not worth employing them. You taking the investment and wanting to leave will be a negative investment. This cost the business and everyone associated with it. So who do you want to pay for your training? Your work colleagues? The customers? The directors?

martinsurrey

catmanscoop2810 wrote: »

I know this thread has the potential to attract the cut-throat people who will deem "you should of thought it through" - "you have no case" - "deal with it" but im hoping there's something out there a little more positive and appreciative of a situation like ours.

You'll get the right answer here, not just the nice-what-you-want-to-hear answer.

Both look to have signed a contract, that legally entitles the employers to deduct the final pay cheque to nil and request any balance as per that contract, they can take failure to pay that balance to court as they could any other debt.

catmanscoop2810

spadoosh wrote: »

The business you work for employs x amount of people. It provides a living to x amount of families. It pays x amount in tax. It clearly values staff enough to offer to cover the cost of training. It sounds like a fantastic organisation to work for.

And because you want training provided free to you at quite an expense to your employer to then offer no return for that expense its unfair?

Youre right it is unfair. Unfair that because you want free training every stakeholder with the company should suffer. From the directors in reduced profits, to suppliers being offered smaller contracts, staff being paid less and customer being charged more.

Staff are solely and investment for any business. A business will expect return from a member of staff otherwise its not worth employing them. You taking the investment and wanting to leave will be a negative investment. This cost the business and everyone associated with it. So who do you want to pay for your training? Your work colleagues? The customers? The directors?

if it was such a fantastic organisation to work for I wouldn't of looked to move would I? Im in a situation where my workplace have made me unhappy EVEN after expressing my views earlier in the year about my role and responsibilities, with assurances, which didn't happen. Hence my frustrations and my next move.

There's many ways you could look at it and I agree as a business they have to value their ethos as you point out but I've also saved them the cost of ANOTHER year, and 2 subsequent years after that. Once that was finished, I would of been more than likely off anyway.

Alternatively, I can stay and it being a torrid next couple years for us all.

Just explaining my views, not looking for a dressing down hence why I'm asking the original poster if he had done any research on any student loans/grants that could help pay back?

catmanscoop2810

martinsurrey wrote: »

You'll get the right answer here, not just the nice-what-you-want-to-hear answer.

Both look to have signed a contract, that legally entitles the employers to deduct the final pay cheque to nil and request any balance as per that contract, they can take failure to pay that balance to court as they could any other debt.

Appreciate that thank you. My post isn't just me stomping my feet saying it's unfair, also asked if there's any ways round it for a happy ending, student loans/grants etc. I haven't got the money they require back sitting in my bank, so something needs to be arranged