Am I responsible for these costs

Soninlawsprotector

Grumpy_chap said:

Soninlawsprotector said:

My son in law has an employment contract with an umbrella company for 20 hours at minimum wage doing overhead line work for the rail. He has a another company that is his main sponsor and provides the work..mainly nightshift in and around the north east. The work has dried up and the only work available is in the London area. This is uneconomical for him at minimum wage.
He asked to be desponsored so he could move companies. He has been there for about 2 years.
The company have issued him with an invoice for £1200 for training. My son in law cant remember signing any paperwork. He could not have done any of the recent work without this training.
How does he stand on the payment? I think they are being awkward because he wants to move companies

Soninlawsprotector said:

His contract of employment is with the umbrella company

You are using phraseology with which I am not wholly familiar, particularly "sponsor company".

What typically happens when working through a UC is company A requires the services of individual Z and engages through the UC.  Z has a contract of employment with UC.
The contract of employment usually has no obligation on Z do do work that is offered and no obligation on UC to offer work.
There is no work being offered by A.

Why can't he simply find alternative work with another company (B) and if that is also via a UC, go via a different UC for that assignment?

All the raising the issue of being "de-sponsored" is over-complicating a simple process.  If A / UC is not offering work, there is nothing to be "de-sponsored" from.

In order to move to another Sponsor, he is required to be de sponsored from the current company. This is, apparently, how the rail industry works. He was offered work but it was way out of the area and, on minimum wage, not economically viable

penners324

Night work on train line overhead cables on minimum wage? I'd have thought he'd be paid significantly more than minimum wage to do that.

Soninlawsprotector

This 20 hour contact business is a disgrace