Employers right to reclaim cost of a training course as part of an apprenticeship

Fozzie_Bear

My son works for a local authority and has just completed a university course for vocational training as part of his apprenticeship. However he is unhappy in his current role and desperate to change jobs. His contract states he must pay back the cost of any training course if he leaves within 2 years of the course. Under normal circumstance this would be understandable if the employer had paid for the course however in this instance as it is an apprenticeship the authority receive a grant to cover the costs.
Clutching at straws here but would the employer be within their rights to claim back the cost of the course even though the expenditure was covered by the government grant? 

Lomast

You will need to ask them,
it is not a grant that funds it, its the apprentice levy that the LA will almost certainly pay into, they can either use this to fund their own apprentices or it goes into the national pot.

Marcon

Fozzie_Bear said:

My son works for a local authority and has just completed a university course for vocational training as part of his apprenticeship. However he is unhappy in his current role and desperate to change jobs. His contract states he must pay back the cost of any training course if he leaves within 2 years of the course. Under normal circumstance this would be understandable if the employer had paid for the course however in this instance as it is an apprenticeship the authority receive a grant to cover the costs.
Clutching at straws here but would the employer be within their rights to claim back the cost of the course even though the expenditure was covered by the government grant? 

Yes, if that's the agreement your son entered into with them. As the previous answer points out, the expenditure wasn't 'covered by a government grant' - see https://www.apprenticeships.gov.uk/employers/funding-an-apprenticeship-levy-payers# if you need more info (although I'm afraid it won't change the answer).