Posted By Jan Rowney Hi Peter, When I undertook my NVQ4, I had to sign to agree! that if I left within 3 years I would have to repay a percentage of the cost back, that percentage decreasing with each year This is because in the past several people have undertaken the training, then left shortly afterwards and some people have had the course pre-paid and never completed the course and acquired the qualification. Jan

Posted By ITK Usually yes.

Posted By Paul Devlin The problems begins when you do actually try and claim it back I would imagine. If the person leaves of their own account then in all likelihood they might leave with a months salary or couple of weeks wage then how do you go about claiming the money for the training provided which will no doubt be several thousand pounds? If I were the person I would claim that I was forced to sign a contract under duress (fear of losing job etc) and that the training should have been provided as part of my job in any case. Isn't training expenses tax deductible?

Posted By Peter MacDonald But is it legal? Does anyone know the exact law? On a similar thread are probation periods legal. For example employing someone as a site labourer and saying "we'll give you six weeks to see how we get on" Peter Again. The question is hypothetical (honest)

Posted By Gilles27 I believe the practice is called 'amortisation' of training costs which is a brill word. We do it as well.

Posted By MetalMan I think this was discussed a couple of months ago in some detail. Another thing to consider is how they would justify claiming the money back if you left the company due to sickness/injury/bullying etc?

Posted By Raymond Rapp Peter Although a well trodden subject it is still interesting to note the various views. I have been told that in practice it is very difficult for the company to reclaim any costs for a training course. Taking a moral standpoint, it really gets my goat when a company can be churlish enough to claim costs when a person is leaving. The other argument for failing to provide funding for a development course is that old chestnut 'they only leave after gaining the qualification'. Rather than question why is the person leaving? If the company were to provide a commensurate raise in salary perhaps people would not leave after gaining a worthwhile qualification. Finally, many companies benefit from new employees joining the company soon after gaining a qualification. I think they call it 'swings and roundabouts.' Ray

Posted By Tony Brunskill Sorry, distracted while I was writing the last post. Should have detailed that costs for training can only be levied where the training goes beyond that which is required under the Relevant Statutory Provisions or duties under s2-7.

Posted By Pete48 Peter, you asked for a legal context. The Employment Rights Act covers the matter of deductions from wages (salaries). From memory it is somewhere around section 13, 14 or perhaps 15 that outlines the items that can be deducted and these have been noted for you already in this thread. Thus, a company is acting lawfully if they have this clawback term in their T&C of employment. If an employee knowingly signs a contract that contains this T&C, they accept it. I am not sure whether it is deemed a condition that needs to be explicit or whether it is considered a implicit T&C. As to practical application, the logic, I think is, that since responsible and loyal employees are unlikely to ever be put at disadvantage by such a T&C, where is the problem for them? The company however needs to protect itself against unscrupulous employees who might otherwise take advantage, where is the problem? There is usually a time based drop off scale that only lasts a few years. The other point is that although many companies do have such controls, the final application of them is usually more sensibly applied. As has been mooted here, the difficulties of reclaiming costs would probably be greater than that to be gained. So, as I see it, no hidden agendas, no nasty manipulative employers; just a sensible T&C that protects the sensible amongst us all.

Posted By jackw. Hi, As an LA employee I had to sign an agreement to stay for 3 years post my diploma or pay back all/part of it if I left on a sliding scale re how long after completing the course i left. No idea if this is legal re actually taking the money back. Be an interesting test case if anyone felt inclined to take an employer on. Cheers