Recovery of training costs

tightasafish · 9 January 2018 at 11:53AM

Hi all,
I started a new job late November 2017 (I am going to try to be a little vague about specifics as I dont want to identify the employer) and underwent some intensive training throughout December. Then in early January 2018 I went on a shadow shift which traumatised me somewhat and brought home to me that this was not the job for me.
I verbally told my new employer that I could not carry on and hoped that that would be the end of it. However they have verbally expressed their intention to recover training costs from me to the tune of around £2k. To be fair to them, this is well spelt out in the contract that I signed, but I said that I was trying to make a clean break and I could easily have gone on sick leave and strung the whole thing out (I have since got a sick note from my GP for 'reactive debility').
They are now pestering me to send them an official letter of notice, and I think they are only doing this so that they can proceed with their claim against me.
My dilemma is 1. should I send them a copy of my sicknote? and 2. should I send them formal notice?

spadoosh · 9 January 2018 at 12:03PM

If you intend on leaving their employment then im not sure why you would give in the sick note?

If you intend to leave its normally worth handing in your formal notice as that is usually the start of any notice periods needed.

If you had just spent £2000 on an employee for them to quickly decide the job isnt for them what would you think is the best course of action? Would you right it off?

So you want to stiff them out of £2k worth of training and then take them for a ride paying SSP to drag it out. Not cool is it?

tightasafish · 9 January 2018 at 12:19PM

I am not sure what kind of person would take time out of their day to post such an unsympathetic and harsh reply. I am not out to 'stiff' anyone or 'take them for a ride'. The reaction I had was totally unexpected and caused me a great deal of distress. All I want to do is put the whole episode behind me and move on. Thanks for nothing.

Cheeky_Monkey · 9 January 2018 at 12:28PM

tightasafish wrote: »

Hi all,
I started a new job late November 2017 (I am going to try to be a little vague about specifics as I dont want to identify the employer) and underwent some intensive training throughout December. Then in early January 2018 I went on a shadow shift which traumatised me somewhat and brought home to me that this was not the job for me.
I verbally told my new employer that I could not carry on and hoped that that would be the end of it. However they have verbally expressed their intention to recover training costs from me to the tune of around £2k. To be fair to them, this is well spelt out in the contract that I signed, but I said that I was trying to make a clean break and I could easily have gone on sick leave and strung the whole thing out (I have since got a sick note from my GP for 'reactive debility').
They are now pestering me to send them an official letter of notice, and I think they are only doing this so that they can proceed with their claim against me.
My dilemma is 1. should I send them a copy of my sicknote? and 2. should I send them formal notice?

So you signed the Contract knowing that the clause about repaying training costs was in it. You therefore don't appear to have any chance of getting away with not paying them the £2k.

You can either formally resign or wait for them to sack you, it's up to you.

spadoosh · 9 January 2018 at 12:33PM

tightasafish wrote: »

I am not sure what kind of person would take time out of their day to post such an unsympathetic and harsh reply. I am not out to 'stiff' anyone or 'take them for a ride'. The reaction I had was totally unexpected and caused me a great deal of distress. All I want to do is put the whole episode behind me and move on. Thanks for nothing.

Apparently this type of person.

Out of curiosity what did you want the replies to be?

TELLIT01 · 9 January 2018 at 12:37PM

You signed a contract which stated that any training costs could be recovered if you left within a set time frame. You have decided, for whatever reason, that you are going to leave within that time frame. I'm not clear why you think you shouldn't have to repay the costs.
Having a certificate from your doctor to show that you are ill doesn't change the basic facts.

Derwent · 9 January 2018 at 5:58PM

It depends on whether the training given was delivered "in house" or was by an external company that the employer had to pay for. Most lawyers advise companies against trying to claw back "in house" training costs as they are extremely difficult to quantify and there is an argument that some of the training is mandatory anyway (e.g. Health and Safety etc). If your employer pursues the claim then you are within your rights to ask them to justify the costs by way of invoices from external providers.

aife · 9 January 2018 at 8:29PM

Is there any possibility of asking to be assigned to a different role/area within the same organisation ?
Do you think you were unlucky in finding yourself in a fairly extreme situation or was what traumatised you the kind of thing you would be expected to deal with on a daily basis ? Has anyone discussed this with you ?
Has anyone discussed coping mechanisms ?

sangie595 · 9 January 2018 at 8:41PM

Assuming the training costs are justified, then sick or not you owe the money. They have six years (assuming your are in England or Wales) to pursue this to the full extent of the law. Being sick doesn't change that. If the costs are justified, you can string it out as long as you want - they'll still chase you for it and in the process may damage your credit rating and opportunities for credit or mortgages for a long time to come.

And they can so make you also jump through hoops for SSP. They can make your life hell. And then some. And we haven't even got to your lousy references.

Playing this isn't an option. You will lose. So do you have a better idea, because your current one isn't likely to pan out...?

t0rt0ise · 9 January 2018 at 9:04PM

Better to get used to whatever it is that traumatised you. I've known nurses that didn't like taking blood but in a few weeks had got used to it. Also dealing with the dead is traumatic first time but you get used to it. Why not ask for their help to get through whatever it is that you don't like. You will most likely soon find it's all fine.

es5595 · 9 January 2018 at 9:06PM

I think we need some more specifics before we can really judge. Is the training transferable? Where you paid a full salary or a training salary? What are the potential consequences of you under-performing? I imagine the company's costs alone would exceed what they could reasonably recoup.

I had a friend who was a depot driver for a train company, in their contract they had to give six months notice of leaving as well as reimburse a month's salary if they left within the first twelve months. Whilst they were there, moral dropped through the floor, the work load increased by 150%, and the staffing level dropped by 30%. Several people left, my friend included, and whilst a lot of hoo-hawing and posturing was made about not giving sufficient notice and the reimbursement, noone was actually pursued for it.

If you can see no way of returning, I'd suggest you speak verbally to them again, explaining you were either inadequately trained or incorrectly recruited as this role is utterly unsuitable for you and you have no intention of staying with them long term. You are however prepared to stay as long as the training contract stipulates, but are currently signed off sick with a doctors note. Alternatively, you are also prepared to resign with immediate effect, in exchange for a waiver from the training fees.

Recovery of training costs

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