Providing training for professional qualifications is a successful way to retain talented employees in today’s competitive job market. It is however understandable for clients to be concerned by the financial loss that may occur when an employee leaves their post shortly after this expensive training is completed. By ensuring the correct training agreements are in place your client may continue to offer professional training courses to their employees, with the added potential of being able to recoup some of the money should they end up leaving the business.
Training agreements are written agreements between your client and their employees which state the agreed terms and conditions, including payment, of training programmes designed to improve the skillset of the individual. These agreements are intended to protect the monetary investment made in outsourced training and industry recognised professional qualifications.
The full cost of any training should be noted within the agreement, which should be signed by both parties before any training begins. Generally your client will settle the costs of the training up front, with the explicit agreement that all or part of the fees are recoverable should the individual leave the business within an agreed upon time period. Sliding scales of repayment are often used which reduces the amount the individual would owe to your client the longer they stay with the business.
To provide further protection, your client should include a clause in the training agreement allowing them to make deductions from the employees’ wages. This will allow them to lawfully make a deduction from the employee’s final salary in respect of any outstanding training fees should they leave the business. If an employee’s final pay fails to cover the outstanding training fee repayment your client should attempt to agree a repayment schedule with the employee in order to recover the remaining money.
If structured correctly training agreements can protect your client from financial loss, whilst the sliding repayment scale acknowledges the benefit your client’s company will have received from the newly qualified employee. However, if your client finds employees are continuing to leave their roles with significant frequency, they should consider investigating the cause to determine whether there are any steps they can take to reduce the turnover of staff.
