Paying back training cost

Moneysaving1234

Hello everyone.

Looking for some advise regarding paying back training cost from training I have received from my place of work.

My company has put me through various courses since I started at the company last May. (All of which I have never used any of the Qualifications since gaining them)

Just before Christmas my company come out with the surprise announcement that, they are relocating the whole Depot to a different area. They have decided to move to a different County all together.

I wasn’t made aware that they were even thinking of moving and I most certainly wouldn’t of agreed to the training if I knew they were thinking of moving.
They are now moving to far away from me to make it viable to travel to and from work every day.

Do I have any rights regarding training repayment as I was not made aware they were thinking of moving.

Many thanks

Unicorn_cottage

So are they asking you to pay back?

Moneysaving1234

Yes they will do when I hand my notice in.

couriervanman

Normally when a company moves some distance away staff are offered redundancy or am i wrong.12 years ago i worked fro a company which moved from Newcastle upon tyne to County Durham an extra 20 miles down the road,we were all offered the chance of redundancy

couriervanman

Moneysaving1234 wrote: »

Yes they will do when I hand my notice in.

So hold off handing it in until things become clearer.......although i would be surprised if they tried to make you pay it back

LilElvis

Did you sign a contract agreeing to repay training costs if you left their employment within a given timeframe and is there anything about what happens in the event of redundancy?

You say that they are moving to a different county but what distance is it from the current site? Are they offering redundancy as an option of have you all been guaranteed your jobs art the new site?

WhenIam64

... and what does it say in your employment contract about paying it back.

Or what did you sign when the training was agreed.

Employers can certainly ask but it depends on the wording of the agreement. Even then, a signed agreement may be open to argument depending on its construction.

And as CV says above, you might be entitled to some money if you are unable to relocate to the new location. Work out your entitlement here (plus holiday pay)

https://www.gov.uk/calculate-your-redundancy-pay

Edit: Wo 'e says above

Moneysaving1234

I did sign a contact when I started regarding training and pay back but nothing in that contract said they were planning on moving. They are moving 25 miles away which were I live will add 1-1.5 hours driving time to get to work and then the same home again, compared to the 5 minutes it take me now.

WhenIam64

I did sign a contact when I started regarding training and pay back but nothing in that contract said they were planning on moving. They are moving 25 miles away which were I live will add 1-1.5 hours driving time to get to work and then the same home again, compared to the 5 minutes it take me now.

If you believe that the term is unfair, then you could go to the Small Claims Court (rather than an ET). The scope of an ET can be restrictive but the SCC is not so.

25 miles is not an unreasonable distance for commuting so it would be down to whether the term is considered fair - were they to apply it.

Wimbrel

Wait and see if you can volunteer for redundancy. In the circumstances, I don't believe that the company could enforce repayment of training expenses though a 25-mile commute might not be considered unreasonable either so give ACAS a ring 0300 123 1100 and ask their advice.. don't resign until you have the facts!

middleclassbutpoor

My suggestion would be to talk through the situation with your HR team or Manager.

I don't think its unreasonable to expect someone to travel 25 miles to work, or to have a commute of a 60-90mins each way.

However I appreciate the inconvenience it may cause and how it may feel to what you experience now.

Do you have another job that you can go to which will pay the same and be closer to home?

How much are you talking about here in terms of costs - £00's or £000's?

Its natural to feel upset but please don't approach this in a militant style of digging your heels in. Good dialogue is the key here and to see whether there is any flexibility in either making it worthwhile for you to commute or to reduce the repayment required if you have good reason to leave.