Company wants its money back

[marsaday]

I have been working at a company a few years and may have to leave for personal reasons. While I've been there they have been paying my part-time university fees. Sepending on how you interpret my contract, I may have to repay them if I leave.

It says that if I leave within a year of my course ending or if I fail to complete the course then I have to repay my fees.

However, I am far from the course ending, which is more than 2 years away, and I am going to continue with the course still and pay the rest myself.

To me it doesn't sound very thorough, I think they told me they put it in due to previous employees leaving soon after completing the course and having had it paid for.

Also, there is a chance that I never signed my contract at all. I had some issues with it and asked them to make some amendments but I am not sure they did and don't recall signing it. If this is the case, do they have any claim for their money they have paid directly to the university?

Many Thanks

 

[oldeagleeye]

Fair is fair OP. This company are paying your course fees with an eye on the future. You should be grateful for that and thayt you unlike hundreds of 1,000s of other graduates will have a job to go to.

I would do everything you can to stay put then but if not and there is a real reason forleaving I am sure the boss will come to an understanding on repayment and you will have to do that..

I certainly wouldn't allienate him if I were you by disputing the contract.

You knew what the terms were even if the piece of paper can be found and lying in a court ain't as easy as most people think it might be.

Rob

 

[cmcp]

They'll want the money back if you leave, as (quite rightly) do most other companies in my experience.

You're tied in until you finish that qualification, and if you leave they will pursue you for the money they've invested so far.

 

[marsaday]

Fair is fair OP. This company are paying your course fees with an eye on the future. You should be grateful for that and thayt you unlike hundreds of 1,000s of other graduates will have a job to go to.

I would do everything you can to stay put then but if not and there is a real reason forleaving I am sure the boss will come to an understanding on repayment and you will have to do that..

I certainly wouldn't allienate him if I were you by disputing the contract.

You knew what the terms were even if the piece of paper can be found and lying in a court ain't as easy as most people think it might be.

Rob

Leaving might not be my choice as the company is sinking. Almost 50% of the company has been made redundant so far, I am being kept hanging on a thread cause I'm cheap being young but that may only last a few months more or less. I have other opportunites I can persue now that might not be around then, I wouldn't be looking at leaving if things had carried on how they were say 3 months ago.

As I said when I joined the company and they explained the sponsoring aspect I think they said they had recently lost 2 employees who had finished their course and just left for more money, not partway through their course.

Can they really get rid of me then so oh and we want the equivalent of your last 4 month's pay back? My salary always seemed lower than my peers, to offset the fee paying I thought to myself, so asking for the fees back to me feels like asking for salary I was paid back.

 

[paulears]

Cake and Eat it?

so asking for the fees back to me feels like asking for salary I was paid back

They paid for you to further your education. If you drop out, or leave, they won't get any benefit from being nice to you. They paid fees, and got nothing. You promised to repay if you didn't meet the rules. The company may well be failing which is yet another moral reason to stop being so selfish!

It's very common for any form of sponsored education to have clawback clauses - simply because they get let down.

Sorry - but I'd certainly start proceedings if you left my employ under these circumstances. Let's be honest, if the company bring in administrators or a receiver, they'll treat you as a debtor and attempt to recover it with no concern at all.

 

[GGGSurrey]

Can they really get rid of me then so oh and we want the equivalent of your last 4 month's pay back?

Personally, I don’t think that they could; but it would be different if you left of your own accord

 

Fair is fair OP. This company are paying your course fees with an eye on the future. You should be grateful for that and thayt you unlike hundreds of 1,000s of other graduates will have a job to go to.

I would do everything you can to stay put then but if not and there is a real reason forleaving I am sure the boss will come to an understanding on repayment and you will have to do that..

I certainly wouldn't allienate him if I were you by disputing the contract.

You knew what the terms were even if the piece of paper can be found and lying in a court ain't as easy as most people think it might be.

Rob

Rob sounds like you are stuck in the 60's when honour,loyalty,responsibility were all the rage.

Since Baggy Maggie all that got swept under the carpet.The good lady taught us to make money not matter what the social consequences were.

Its a brave new world,just don't forget to duck.

Earl