My son went into work today & was told they want to send him on a 
training course Thursday & friday, but they also wanted him to sign a 
piece of paper which stated should he leave the company within the next 
2 years he will have to pay the cost of the training back. Can they do 
this? Not sure of the cost of the training.

Alan...

On 5 Aug, 21:55, Alan Smith  wrote:
> My son went into work today & was told they want to send him on a
> training course Thursday & friday, but they also wanted him to sign a
> piece of paper which stated should he leave the company within the next
> 2 years he will have to pay the cost of the training back. Can they do
> this? Not sure of the cost of the training.
>
> Alan...

Various firms sent me on "training courses" and never asked for such
assurances...

It sounds a bit "mealy-mouthed" and maybe he should be careful, but
otherwise he should go for it. Carpe diem.

"Alan Smith"  wrote in message news:g7aeii$96b$1@aioe.org...
> My son went into work today & was told they want to send him on a training 
> course Thursday & friday, but they also wanted him to sign a piece of 
> paper which stated should he leave the company within the next 2 years he 
> will have to pay the cost of the training back. Can they do this?

They can, yes.

Whether it is reasonable or not depends upon whether he needs the contents 
of the course to do his job and whether he can take the skill to another 
employer if he leaves.  If the latter is true, it is not unusual for a new 
company to agree to pay the 'fine' and roll-over the cost on the same basis 
as thenold employer.

Having said that, if the pay back it isn't graduated by length of service it 
is probably unenforceable.  Having to pay back the same if he leaves on day 
720 as day 2 cannot be a fair assessment of the cost to the company


> Not sure of the cost of the training.
>
> Alan...
>

On Tue,  5 Aug 2008 23:00:29 +0100, "tim....."
 wrote:

>
>"Alan Smith"  wrote in message news:g7aeii$96b$1@aioe.org...
>> My son went into work today & was told they want to send him on a training 
>> course Thursday & friday, but they also wanted him to sign a piece of 
>> paper which stated should he leave the company within the next 2 years he 
>> will have to pay the cost of the training back. Can they do this?
>
>They can, yes.
>
>Whether it is reasonable or not depends upon whether he needs the contents 
>of the course to do his job and whether he can take the skill to another 
>employer if he leaves.  If the latter is true, it is not unusual for a new 
>company to agree to pay the 'fine' and roll-over the cost on the same basis 
>as thenold employer.
>
>Having said that, if the pay back it isn't graduated by length of service it 
>is probably unenforceable.  Having to pay back the same if he leaves on day 
>720 as day 2 cannot be a fair assessment of the cost to the company

Maybe this goes some way to explaining why on two occasions my
supervisors were "too busy" to go on courses, and sent me in their
place.

I left about four years later; one supervisor is still there, and the
other was made redundant :-/

-- 
Humbug (a trained instructor and ergonomic  assessor)

Alan Smith wrote:

> My son went into work today & was told they want to send him on a
> training course Thursday & friday, but they also wanted him to sign a
> piece of paper which stated should he leave the company within the
> next 2 years he will have to pay the cost of the training back. Can
> they do this? Not sure of the cost of the training.
> 
> Alan...

They can ask , but unless it  is covered in his contract of employment
or he agrees to it if its not part of his contract of employment then
they cant charge him .



--

On Aug 5, 10:35 pm, "steve robinson" 
wrote:
> Alan Smith wrote:
> > My son went into work today & was told they want to send him on a
> > training course Thursday & friday, but they also wanted him to sign a
> > piece of paper which stated should he leave the company within the
> > next 2 years he will have to pay the cost of the training back. Can
> > they do this? Not sure of the cost of the training.
>
> > Alan...
>
> They can ask , but unless it  is covered in his contract of employment
> or he agrees to it if its not part of his contract of employment then
> they cant charge him .

The important bit is "or if he agrees to it" - if he does so, then
they can enforce repayment of the cost.  If the cost is flat (you pay
the full cost after two years less a day), I would refuse to sign
until it was changed to "depreciating over a two years" (and I would
probably push for "depreciating over one year").

Martin Bonner wrote:
> On Aug 5, 10:35 pm, "steve robinson" 
> wrote:
>> Alan Smith wrote:
>>> My son went into work today & was told they want to send him on a
>>> training course Thursday & friday, but they also wanted him to sign a
>>> piece of paper which stated should he leave the company within the
>>> next 2 years he will have to pay the cost of the training back. Can
>>> they do this? Not sure of the cost of the training.
>>> Alan...
>> They can ask , but unless it  is covered in his contract of employment
>> or he agrees to it if its not part of his contract of employment then
>> they cant charge him .
> 
> The important bit is "or if he agrees to it" - if he does so, then
> they can enforce repayment of the cost.  If the cost is flat (you pay
> the full cost after two years less a day), I would refuse to sign
> until it was changed to "depreciating over a two years" (and I would
> probably push for "depreciating over one year").
> 

He hasn't seen the letter/contract they want him to sign as yet. I've 
told him to ask for a copy & what the cost of the course will be & is it 
just the cost or course + his wages etc.

Thanks for the replies.

Alan...

Alan Smith 's wild thoughts were released on
Tue,  5 Aug 2008 21:55:22 +0100 bearing the following fruit:

>My son went into work today & was told they want to send him on a 
>training course Thursday & friday, but they also wanted him to sign a 
>piece of paper which stated should he leave the company within the next 
>2 years he will have to pay the cost of the training back. Can they do 
>this? Not sure of the cost of the training.
>
>Alan...

Sure they can. He doesn't have to sign it or otherwise agree
to it though.

It's quite common these days but as others have said any
expected repayment should reduce with time. In this case for
example, after a year 50% of the fee would be expected if he
left at that point. This should be in the agreement they
want him to sign.


--
Jan Hyde (VB MVP)

https://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile/Jan.Hyde