Training at work

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I have recently been asked to do training at work which is great. Unfortunately im a bit unsure what to do though as i have been asked to sign a contract saying i will pay back any training course fees in full if i leave within two years of completing a training course for any reason other than redundancy.

Have others had to sign a smiliar contract and are you always requested to pay back 100% of the costs over the two year period? Work already know that im doing self study and i have commited money to courses i intend to do already.

Just want to make sure i don't end up skint if i take up a position in a year or so

 

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If you were going to do the course/s anyway, why don't you take their money and put the equivalent sum of your money in a high interest account (perhaps an ISA since you won't get taxed on the interest).
If you leave in less than 2 years you have the money there to pay them back.

 

Hiya,

I have been asked to sign a contract on every bit of training whilst being employeed. They varied from "not using knowledge to enhance financial position" (in other words working for others!) to paying some of it, to paying all of it, to being locked in to employment for 3 years (about 12K of training)

If your happy with your position, grab it!

 

It's pretty standard to have some clause like that - amounts/times etc. vary.

If you look at it from the employers viewpoint - don't wnat to pay for someone's training and have them pop straight off to another job !

I always had this in the contract for training with any of the engineers I employed.

 

I had an almost identical thing happen to me, with one exception. After I expressed interest in a HND my current employer's HR department said I could do it with the caveat that they wanted me to sign such a document. The document was incorrectly worded though, and it said that if I left within two years of the course commencement date that I'd have to re-pay the fees. The course only lasted two years in total!

To cut a long story short, I still refused (on principle)

HR team changed staff, they forgot about it, and they happily paid.

In all honesty though, even if I had signed it, I'd still be fine (as I completed the HND), but it's a different kettle of fish for you.

A lot of companies are doing this now though, including my current employer.

Think of it this way - is it worth it? You need to factor in costs of the course, plus experienced gained, plus whether you're happy at your current employer. Lots of factors. It's not as simple as saying "do/don't".

Remember that at the very least they're offering to pay for your advancement, a lot of companies wouldn't do this at all.

Hope this helps.

Qs

 

It was the same when I started work at the Halifax back in 1981 too - not a new thing, just employers covering themselves.

 

As others have said, a lot of companies will have such a contracct clause (I was very surprised that mine didn't make me sign something similar, but then they don't get this happen a lot!).

As others have said, if your happy where you are and the gain seems worth it then go for it, and soundians suggestion sounds like a good plan as a backup.

 

Yeh i had to sign same thing.

Although when i left and they didn't ask for it back

 

The request is reasonable. Many companies don't want to invest that kind of money in you and then you take your skills elsewhere. That said, you need to analyze whether you want to be on the hook for a certain amount of time or money. There's no right or wrong answer - the choice is entirely up to you.