Niamh Shackleton
A man has been left floored after being hit with a hefty bill from his employer after handing in his resignation.
Probation periods can range anywhere between 90 days to six months depending on the company.
Most firms will have one to gauge how a new employee is doing; and if they're not doing great, they can fire them with limited complications.
But some people might find that they wanted to leave the job before their probation is up — a situation that one Redditor recently experienced.
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Usually, when someone leaves a job, you might get a leaving card and a box of chocolates from your peers, but this guy was slapped with £10,000 bill (around $12,000) instead.
Taking to Reddit to explain his situation, the person penned: "I have worked for my employer for just under 6 months. My probationary period is 6 months.
"Yesterday I handed in my notice (1 week's notice) and this morning they have called me to say that if I leave, the company will charge me £10,000 of fees, incurred because of training. (I work with an accounting software, which I trained and became certified for in my employment here). They told me if i didn't leave I will receive a £5,000 pay rise."
He went on to share the details of his contract which said he's liable to pay £10,000 spent on training fees if his employment at the business ends.
An additional part reads: "The Employee shall reimburse to the Employer the Course Fees if they cease their employment with the Employee."
Basically, if the company forks out £10,000 on training fees for the employee to leave less than 24 months after completing said certification (or part way through), then they have to pay that money back.
He questioned if his company is legally allowed to do this and, long story short – yes.
ACAS' website explains: "Employers might be able to deduct money from final wages for training courses. This can only happen if the deduction was agreed in the contract or in writing beforehand."
Echoing similar sentiments, Employment Law Advice says, as per UK law: "In order to claim back training costs, you need to have the employee’s prior written consent. This can be in the form of a clause in their contract of employment or in a separate training costs agreement that is entered into before the training commences.
"The clause/agreement will typically say that the employee agrees to repay the costs associated with any training course that you have paid for if they leave their employment within a particular period of time after completing the course."
Moral of the story? Read all the terms and conditions of your employment contracts, folks.