paying back training costs

[madasamuppet]

My hubby got a new job last March with a big company who have fingers in lots of pies. They had just won a contract to do the maintenance in a well know chain of travel inns and were due to begin the contract on 1st April during the month of March my hubby was sent on various courses so that he had the necessary paperwork and training to do the job. At the time I think there were about 10 people on these courses with him all intending to the job in Scotland at various locations. At no time were any of them told that if they were to leave the employment with this company within a period of about 12 - 18 months that they would have to pay back the money that the courses cost, £700 in fact. If my hubby had been told this he would have told them to go fig. I believe that the other people would have done as well. Once the contract had begun and he had been on site working for about 2-3 weeks his Supervisor came around and said "you need to sign this so I can send back to head office, have to do it today so not able to take home and discuss with me or look it over" - it was a form he had to sign that if he left he would pay this money back. Very sneaky and devious on their part. My hubby left this job on Friday and has told them he cannot work his notice. He started a new job on Monday and couldn't work any notice any way. We left it until Friday so that he would get his pay in full as they have messed him about over sick pay, holiday pay etc. I just wondered where he would stand if they decided to pursue him for this money. They needed these men trained do the job and my hubby never asked for the training, so surely he shouldn't have to pay for it. Any help appreciated, we haven't heard from them yet and fingers crossed we won't. Also on leaving my hubby put his supervisor in touch with someone else who could do the job he was interviewed on the friday and I believe is taking the job so they not got to go find a replacement hubby has done it for them.

[old_andrew2007]

quite a lot of companies do this I am not sure if its legal or not, they would argue that they made an investment in the training so are feel they have rights to reclaim money if people leave early 12 - 24 months is the usual period.
Sorry

andy

[Ell-enn]

Hi there, although this situation is quite common in business, it is usually only applied where professional qualifications are financed by the employer which, when gained, would help the employee advance his career.

Training which is arranged by the employer in order for an employee to do a specific job and is solely for the business need is not usually included in this type of agreement.

Did your husband get a copy of the form he signed?

Kind Regards

Ell-enn

[hanzo]

If it was signed after the training was provided, then it may not be a contract but a gratuitous unilateral obligation under Scots law, and the law on these is a little tricky.
Have they deducted the amount from his final paycheque? If not, then they would have to claim any money they claimed was owed through the small claims court, and it may be that the paper your husband signed is void or voidable.
It could be that your local CAB could offer advice if a small claim is raised, or if you're in Glasgow, the University of Strathclyde Law Clinic might be able to help.

[madasamuppet]

He got a copy of the form that he signed and because the company is an english based company I reckon it will be a form that would hold up in an english court. for a large scale company they are so disorganised it beggars belief how they are still in business and I reckon they won't have separate forms for scotland and england.
They haven't taken anything out of wages as he waited until wages had cleared in our bank before phoning and handing in his notice so that they could not deduct anything. If it comes to it and they do try and pursue in small claims then let them cos I'd like to hear how they justify there underhandidness and I am sure I could get plenty testimonies from other staff members that the same was done to them. thanks for the replies.

[hanzo]

It's true that a pursuer can raise a small claims action anywhere, but unless there is a clause in the form that says it shall be governed by the laws of England and Wales, you could probably challenge jurisdiction if they did raise it in England. The point is that unless the document creates duties for both the employer and the employee it's not a contract but an obligation and the law of obligations in Scotland and England is different.

[madasamuppet]

Found a copy of the form he signed and bear in mind this was asked to be signed at least 3 weeks after the training had been completed and nothing said before hand. If I can insert the scanned image you might be able to see it. Just have to figure out how to do that.

[hanzo]

I would say that would be fundamentally invalid. Paragraph 1 states that this agreement MUST be signed together with a training application form. It wasn't.