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Hi everyone,Please be nice, it's my first post!I'm looking for some advice related to the repayment of training fees on resignation from a company.Some background information:I started in September 2013, signed a 1 year contract of employment in November 2013 to end in September 2014. I then started a 2 year training course (a Postgraduate Diploma) in February of 2014. I have not signed or agreed another contract since then.I handed in my notice on the 29th of June and on 5th July received acceptance from my employer along with an invoice for the repayment of training costs.My contract stated that if I was to leave within 2 years of the company paying for my training then I have to repay them on a sliding scale. I don't have the invoice in front of me as it's at home, but from memory 75% within the first year, 1 year to 18 months 50%, 18 months to 2 years 25% and 2 years plus 0%.My course fees were paid by my employer in installments, the first being April 2014, and the second in April 2015. Because of the wording of the contract (the company paying) I believe the fees I need to repay are 0% for the first year (April 2014) because it's been more than 2 years since they paid, and 50% for the second year (April 2015) because it falls within the 1 year to 18 month bracket. They are trying to claim 50% for the first year and 75% for the second year, presumably on the basis that I didn't complete each year until the following February. I don't think they are right in this and intend to challenge them.Furthermore, I don't think the clause is enforceable because I believe it to be a penalty clause rather than an LAD type clause. My reasons for this are:1. In exchange for them paying for my training I have been on a lower than average salary - indeed in my first appraisal when I was due a payrise and was given 100 miles a month to claim instead on of the directors said it was due to the fact that they were funding my college course.2. In my first an only annual appraisal in April 2015 I was due to receive a pay review no later than February 2016 when I qualified (which I have now done). This has never materialised, but I still have the signed agreement stating this. As a note now I am qualified my salary should jump by around £4-5k per year so it's not an insignificant sum.3. My employer benefited from me undertaking the course because I had to give them access to my study resources, specifically two industry related resources which they would otherwise have had to pay £499+VAT and £3,282 including VAT per year to access otherwise.I am therefore of the opinion that it is not a genuine pre-estimate of loss (it's actually almost saved them money by not having to subscribe to the industry resources) and therefore would be unenforceable.I was hoping for some opinions and advice - I have absolutely no objection to repaying the fees, but I feel at present they are not a fair representation of what they have actually lost.Thanks, J
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Sorry I had it all formatted neatly but when I came to post it's gone all into one difficult to read jumble - how can I fix this?
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Sorry I had it all formatted neatly but when I came to post it's gone all into one difficult to read jumble - how can I fix this?
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