Training contracts - has anyone ever tried recouping costs from training a staff member that has left?

[William Clifford]

I would be a lot more eager to pay for peoples training / tickets if I wasn't concerned that they might leave after a few months and take my investment with them. Has anyone had to try to recover the cost of training from a staff member if they have left within an agreed time period? How did it work out? Would it make a difference if I was paying for a sub contractors ticket as opposed employed?

 

Thanks.

[JonnoR]

Can you take on an apprentice?  It is more of a contractual arrangement I'd imagine, and provides some conditions to the training you're providing vs the qualifications they walk away with.

[Retired Climber]

You can write it into the contract if you like ( that the employee will need to repay training costs), but any half decent lawyer would take it to pieces in court. 

[William Clifford]

So does it just come down to good will then if a lawyer could pick anything apart so easily?

 

Happy to look at apprentices at some point but have people already that I'd like to invest in.

[Joe Newton]

Is this "subcontractor" working for you full time?

 

As an employer you have an obligation under HASAWA to ensure/provide that all operators are adequately trained to carry out the tasks you require of them.

 

You can add recuperation of training costs into a contract of employment, but to my knowledge this would need to be enforced through small claims court, since it's not legal to stop wages at source.

 

 

[William Clifford]

No, and I know, that's why it would be good to get people more qualified so that we can have more people starting to learn / take on more roles.

 

I'm wondering if anyone has tried to enforce a contract of recuperating training costs. I can imagine it would probably be a waste of time if the person didn't have the funds, didn't want to pay back etc. I think the contract could state that it could come out of a final pay check, but with people being paid weekly I could see that being paid over the weekend and someone just not coming backing on the Monday if they were so inclined.

 

I haven't been burnt yet, but it is a concern and I'd like to be able to get people trained with less financial risk if possible. 

[AHPP]

59 minutes ago, Retired Climber said:

You can write it into the contract if you like ( that the employee will need to repay training costs), but any half decent lawyer would take it to pieces in court. 

 

What's the law on it roughly? Restraint of trade or something particular in employment law?

 

Nice to see you back btw.

 

[AHPP]

2 hours ago, William Clifford said:

I would be a lot more eager to pay for peoples training / tickets if I wasn't concerned that they might leave after a few months and take my investment with them. Has anyone had to try to recover the cost of training from a staff member if they have left within an agreed time period? How did it work out? Would it make a difference if I was paying for a sub contractors ticket as opposed employed?

 

Thanks.

 

34 minutes ago, William Clifford said:

No, and I know, that's why it would be good to get people more qualified so that we can have more people starting to learn / take on more roles.

 

I'm wondering if anyone has tried to enforce a contract of recuperating training costs. I can imagine it would probably be a waste of time if the person didn't have the funds, didn't want to pay back etc. I think the contract could state that it could come out of a final pay check, but with people being paid weekly I could see that being paid over the weekend and someone just not coming backing on the Monday if they were so inclined.

 

I haven't been burnt yet, but it is a concern and I'd like to be able to get people trained with less financial risk if possible. 

 

It's a problem as old as time itself. The reality of recouping anything is that they'll have nothing worth taking and you'll be at the back of a queue of disgruntled landlords, child support, drug dealers etc for any incoming cash. My sympathies but that's business.

[Retired Climber]

Just now, AHPP said:

 

What's the law on it roughly? Restraint of trade or something particular in employment law?

 

Nice to see you back btw.

 

You'd normally use the restraint of trade argument to counter a non-compete clause rather than this type of case. 

 

First thing I'd try would be to argue that the recouping of training costs took the employee below NMW in a given period. 

[JLA1990]

You will have no luck and as suggested it’s shakey ground docking final pay (although companies do it). Try putting  a training plan in over say 12 months, stagger training rather then all at once and over the 12 Months they should have earnt  more then enough for you to cover the training.