Training agreement

maxingmadman

Hi.
I completed some gas training in April just my 5yr renewal.
About a month after the training was completed my employer presented me with a training agreement.
The training agreement was basically me agreeing to pay back the full cost of the training if I left the company within 12 months.
I was told to sign the agreement otherwise I wouldn't receive my gas cards.
Fast forward 6 months and I have handed in my notice.

My question is this. 
Is the training agreement legally binding with it being signed after the completion of the training.
There was no mention of said training agreement prior to undertaking the training and also the feeling of signing the agreement under duress (not receiving my gas cards).

Thabks for any help you can give.

DullGreyGuy

Was it mandatory to do your job or could you have continued to have worked without it?

What does your contract state? Normally signed forms are just repeating what the contract already stated so is more of a reminder than anything additional

maxingmadman

It's not mandatory and could have continued to do my job without it but the company wanted me to do it as not many gas engineers.

Only thing my contract states is that they reserve the right to deduct money from wages for the usual which does include training etc.
But no mention of term requiring to stay with company etc.

It's feels to me like it's something that they have forgotten to do and then decided to do it retrospectively 

DullGreyGuy

maxingmadman said:

It's not mandatory and could have continued to do my job without it but the company wanted me to do it as not many gas engineers.

Only thing my contract states is that they reserve the right to deduct money from wages for the usual which does include training etc.
But no mention of term requiring to stay with company etc.

It's feels to me like it's something that they have forgotten to do and then decided to do it retrospectively 

If it's discretionary then they are allowed to deduct for it and it appears that your contract supports that. 

Normally people factor these things in before deciding if to resign or wait it out a bit. Ultimately they will deduct it and it's up to you if you want to try and fight it or not. 

Are you going on to a new job? Its a bit late now for you but the one time I was in the earning period for a course I'd previously done I said to my future employer that I could join in 1 month if they paid the training cost for me or I could join in 3 months after the repayment period had ended. 

maxingmadman

I am going onto a new job.
I've not mentioned it to the new employer as it isn't a skill that I will be using with the new employer and as such I made the assumption that they wouldn't have assisted with it.
It wasn't my intention to leave however this is an opportunity that I simply can't turn down hence my reason to leave my current employer.

saajan_12

Were you paid during the training? 
Not definitive, but if yes then you were just asked to spend working hours doing xyz training. You didn't have to sign the agreement or receive the gas cards. However once you did, that allowed you to receive the gas cards which you might have used in future in return for agreeing to pay if you leave within 12 months. 

If no, then its a somewhat separate (verbal) agreement for gas cards if you spent your own time training (and passed). So a new contract to get what you were already getting doesn't necessarily  make sense. 

Andy_L

If you signed the agreement then it doesn't matter if it was before or after the course. You had the option to refuse to sign, and were in a stronger negotiating position, but presumably felt the consequences (not getting the qual card & probably getting fired?) weren't worth the gain

Grumpy_chap

Is the agreement to repay fees "all or nothing" or does it have a sliding scale, so only repay half after 6 months?  Is that a conversation the OP can have about the amount of deduction?  

Undervalued

This most likely is enforceable in the circumstances you describe.

From a practical point of view you cannot stop them from deducting the amount from your final pay so you would have to dispute the matter with them afterwards and / or take legal action to recover some or all of the money IF you felt you had grounds.

Yes, the exact terms should have been made clear to you before the course started. However, nothing says that has to be in writing and they will no doubt claim it was made clear to you.

The agreement itself, unusually in English law, does need to be in writing (which it is) and your opportunity to dispute any terms you were unhappy with was before you signed.

There is some argument for a sliding scale which could be grounds for some kind of settlement. Are you likely to need this firm as a reference?

FlyMeSomewhere79

When my friend and I were made redundant, my friend got a job that requires working with antisocial behaviour of housing association tenants. I know from talking to people that have worked for councils that this is sort of department that has high staff turnover & high rates of people off with stress. When he started he was messaging me that he was being offered all kinds of courses some of which were completely irrelevant to his role and I knew what they were doing! Committing him to staying there a certain length of time or having to pay all this training back like the OP here. I don't know that my friend knows that but I honestly think it's to slow down staff turnover where he is.