Posted By Cr8r Where I work, if you do a course, any course, even H&S, if you then leave employment within two years, you have to pay back the course fees in full. There is a high turnover here and I'm worried that fear of being charged (having money deducted from your last pay packet) is preventing people from wanting to attend much needed courses. I also don't think this is legal but would like your thoughts. All the legislation I can find says you can't charge the employee and it has to be in working time etc, but what about asking for the money back if they leave? As the going rate for most courses is £150 - £200 per day, you can imagine that you could rack up quite a debt here. I would appreciate your thoughts on this one, have a meeting with HR on the subject coming up.

Posted By Richard Chalkley I agree with ITK, there needs to be a distinction here. Training which is essential to do the job safely must be free of charge and the employer cannot back charge the employees. Any policy which acted to deterr this would not be legal. Qualifications which are perhaps useful but optional to the job I would say that this could be charged back. The distinction needs to be made very clearly as someone charged for a course which a tribunal decided was essential... You can guess the result. Richard.

Posted By Jon B The question and relies ,ake interesting reading for me. Our company introduced the same policy as a means of protecting their investment. They however took it one step further. Even though I am safety officer I double hat and the safety part is an add on, not a core activity (yes you did read that right). I had to do my Nebosh NGC self funding and take holidays for the exams. The safety officer part is not in my contract but my name is listed in the company organisation as such. Therefore is Nebosh CPD or part of my training to do the job. The company has not nominated any competent person. Needless to say when I leave, I have nothing to lose, nor regrets. (Still trying my best - no offers yet though - I have the motivation just need the chance. I can see the logic in the theory, especially if you have a high turnover - in you case though maybe the company should some effort into finding the reason behind the high turnover in the first place, ours is down to low morale, and you can see why. As a final note, if its what you want to do then either pay yourself or sign the pay back clause, either way is a good investment in your future (If you are really lucky a new employer may even help with the payback if they really want you).

Posted By garyh I can't bleieve that this really is true - is it an urban myth? If true, I ask myself who would actually work for such a company. I think that you would be able to go to the small claims court and get the money back - unless you signed an agreement to this (and who would?)