Employment Law query

[greeneyedmonster]

My husband works in the oil industry. Drilling Contractors must ensure that all supervisors have valid Well Control & Survival certificates so a few months ago when he started a new job the company paid for him to take both. To cut a long story short, the working conditions were not as promised so he left the job. The company now want the money back for the exam. Are they allowed to do this? If things had been as my hubby was told they were he would still be with the company so it seems rather unfair. Thanks a lot.

[rojash]

It's pretty common for a company to expect an employee to refund training costs if the employee leaves within a certain period. I imagine that you husband signed an agreement to that effect at some point.

After all, from the point of view of the company, your husband has now gained something of value which could help him in future employment, and they are left footing the bill to no advantage.

[greeneyedmonster]

Thanks for that. He is going to fight it as he fully intended to be with the company for a long time but no amount of money was worth the conditions he was having to put up with. He's now taken a lower paid job but with much better conditions.

[buildersmate]

You haven't told us whether he signed any agreement with respect to repayment of exams/certification. If he did, he is going to find it harder to extract himself without payment. If he didn't no problem.

If he did, best bet would be to write asserting the reasons why the job was not as promised. It then becomes a negotiation.

[boxtops]

My understanding is that it's more of a moral obligation than a legal one (even if a repayment agreement was signed) - but it's hard for an employer when they pay for an expensive course, only to find that the employee leaves and takes the qualification to another company.

I would expect the agreement to be signed at the time of starting/funding the course, unless it's written somewhere in the small print of the employment T&Cs.

[tonywiltshire]

It is going to depend if an agreement was signed to repay the cost of training under certain conditions, or not and if an agreement was signed if the aggrieved party decides to take action, which they rarely do in my experience.