Want to leave my company but unsure about a clause in my contract....Please help

paul285v

Hello,

Basically i've been with my company for just under 2 years on what they call a 'graduate programme' however they promise employment upon finishing. Upon joining I was to believe they would pay for training courses etc but they haven't but I decided to stick it out.

Recently I have been offered a new job with a multinational firm in a completely different industry and have accepted with my start date being after my two year period with my current company is up.

I notice a clause in my contract that state:

'Should you terminate this contract for any reason, you shall be liable for all costs and expenses incurred, by the Company for your graduate programme, in the previous two years before your termination. This includes but is not limited to any amount spent on training as well as any amount contained in any personal development agreements signed between the parties'

The only expenses incurred in my 2 years with the company are:

-Business expenses (travel with my job for work purposes)
-Housing allowance to be relocated to perform my job as originally I was told I would be based near home and then this changed to all around the UK and the salary I accepted would not be sufficient for me to live and pay rent (This was class as a benefit in kind)
-In house training (majority of my training which has been poor and a lot of it has been me learning on the job with little help)
-2 courses that I needed to perform my job which cost £600 in total (obviously my salary too)

My question is upon reading this...what are your first thoughts ? Could they (if they wanted too) reclaim any of the above if I leave bang on when my two years is up? Could they claim all housing allowance back, the 2 courses and business expenses?

Please help, it would be greatly appreciated

Thank you

Alter_ego

Are you really unsure, seems plain enough to me. I don't think they could reclaim salary though

paul285v

Yes I am unsure (maybe paranoid) , what do you make from it ? Do you think they could ask for the housing allowance back ?

nicechap

paul285v wrote: »

Hello,

Basically i've been with my company for just under 2 years on what they call a 'graduate programme' however they promise employment upon finishing. Upon joining I was to believe they would pay for training courses etc but they haven't but I decided to stick it out.

Recently I have been offered a new job with a multinational firm in a completely different industry and have accepted with my start date being after my two year period with my current company is up.

I notice a clause in my contract that state:

'Should you terminate this contract for any reason, you shall be liable for all costs and expenses incurred, by the Company for your graduate programme, in the previous two years before your termination. This includes but is not limited to any amount spent on training as well as any amount contained in any personal development agreements signed between the parties'

The only expenses incurred in my 2 years with the company are:

-Business expenses (travel with my job for work purposes)
-Housing allowance to be relocated to perform my job as originally I was told I would be based near home and then this changed to all around the UK and the salary I accepted would not be sufficient for me to live and pay rent (This was class as a benefit in kind)
-In house training (majority of my training which has been poor and a lot of it has been me learning on the job with little help)
-2 courses that I needed to perform my job which cost £600 in total (obviously my salary too)

My question is upon reading this...what are your first thoughts ? Could they (if they wanted too) reclaim any of the above if I leave bang on when my two years is up? Could they claim all housing allowance back, the 2 courses and business expenses?

Please help, it would be greatly appreciated

Thank you

What things are in the personal development agreements you've signed?

Who paid for the training courses? You say they didn't but then say they cost £600 - how would you know if the company paid.

I would have thought business travel expenses for the purposes of work would not be reclaimable, though any for training would be. As would housing allowance (very strange terminology for a company that has graduate programme).

Have you been offered a job at the end of the programme? If not, maybe just let it end.

C+

paul285v

I've had no job offer yet but a promise of one but it is not what I want (company hasn't grown). I have signed no personal agreements for the courses but the company did pay for them (if I only had to pay £600 back then to be honest that is not a problem). All my training has been in house.

See with the salary I am on it would not have been feasible for me to live in London and Birmingham without the allowance in all honesty and I did make that clear. I have also not signed any agreements for the housing, it is just classed as a expense/benefit in kind?

I am also leaving after my two year period ends...does this mean then the contract is fulfilled as i am not terminating it early and within the two years?

nicechap

paul285v wrote: »

I've had no job offer yet but a promise of one but it is not what I want (company hasn't grown). I have signed no personal agreements for the courses but the company did pay for them (if I only had to pay £600 back then to be honest that is not a problem). All my training has been in house.

See with the salary I am on it would not have been feasible for me to live in London and Birmingham without the allowance in all honesty and I did make that clear. I have also not signed any agreements for the housing, it is just classed as a expense/benefit in kind?

I am also leaving after my two year period ends...does this mean then the contract is fulfilled as i am not terminating it early and within the two years?

I suspect your company will take a different point of view and seek the housing money back too.

What do you expect them to put in your reference for the new company?

Do you think they will treat future graduates differently as a result of you leaving after all the time & money they have invested in you?

ScorpiondeRooftrouser

Hang on.

That says

"you shall be liable for all costs and expenses incurred, by the Company for your graduate programme"

Costs spent on housing allowance to allow them to do the job and in-house training necessary for the job are not costs for the graduate programme. They are costs that they would have to pay for any employee.

I certainly wouldn't go along with repaying any of these without looking into it much more closely.

nicechap wrote: »

Do you think they will treat future graduates differently as a result of you leaving after all the time & money they have invested in you?

They haven't invested anything in him though; that's the whole point. These are not costs due to taking him on as a graduate trainee. They are costs that they would have had to pay whoever they employed to do the job.

Kayalana99

Most people are pretty understanding. I'd just ask them directly, say you've been head hunted and are considering it but would like to know where you stand on any costs before making a decision.

JReacher1

Don't worry about it you will be fine. These clauses are standard for graduate recruitment schemes and are to cover the company if they pay for some expensive training courses and the person then leaves the company very quickly.

Based on what you have posted there has been very little financial outlay spent on you in the last two years so they won't reclaim anything.

Also do not worry about a reference as a company will not give someone a bad reference just because they resigned after two years. It is frankly laughable to even suggest they would!

nicechap

ScorpiondeRooftrouser wrote: »

Hang on.

That says

"you shall be liable for all costs and expenses incurred, by the Company for your graduate programme"

Costs spent on housing allowance to allow them to do the job and in-house training necessary for the job are not costs for the graduate programme. They are costs that they would have to pay for any employee.

I certainly wouldn't go along with repaying any of these without looking into it much more closely.



They haven't invested anything in him though; that's the whole point. These are not costs due to taking him on as a graduate trainee. They are costs that they would have had to pay whoever they employed to do the job.

Possibly, but possibly not. Someone local with the pre-existing skills or knowledge would presumably not be entitled to a housing allowance. They have left with more experience and knowledge than they had (as most people do in their careers). Just have a cloud on the horizon when the new company receives a reference saying they left owing the company £x. So nice for future grads too, why should firms ever train anyone.

As Kayalana99 suggests, the OP needs to talk directly with their employer rather than rely on strangers on the internet who have no stake in the OPs choice.

hyubh

nicechap wrote: »

Do you think they will treat future graduates differently as a result of you leaving after all the time & money they have invested in you?

At the very least, that is occupation dependant. For many small to medium accountancy firms (for example), that's just a fact of life.

nicechap wrote: »

They have left with more experience and knowledge than they had (as most people do in their careers). Just have a cloud on the horizon when the new company receives a reference saying they left owing the company £x. So nice for future grads too, why should firms ever train anyone.

For the same reasons they do now, in particular to get the labour of clever, eager people on the cheap.