I have recently sat a couple of courses
which the company has paid for, I have not sat any exams for these
courses, but will be doing so in the future.  I have requested a
pay rise, as the work I do does not match the salary I should be on. 
I have been told that I can have my pay rise if I pass the exams,
this could be any time from 4-6 months.  Until then I have to
wait and only on successful completion will I receive the pay
increase.  This has put me in a situation where I am thinking
about leaving my position as the company will not pay my worth. 
In doing so, I'm unsure if they could re-coup any fees which they
have paid out. 

My main contract only states the
following about training;

"You will be expected to
undergo any in-service training which has been identified by the
company as being necessary to undertake your duties."

Yet
in the company hand book, under 'Education & Training', states.


"Where a request for funded training (e.g degree course,
etc) is received from an employee and funding is granted, and the
employee then terminates their employment within 12 months of the
date of training, then in accordance with the details specified on
the Training Request Form, the company will seek to recover the cost
of this training from the employee."

I have never requested funding as they
offered to pay themselves.

This hand book is currently under
review and a new edition will shortly be published. 

My
contract does not state anything about payments been recovered, and
also my contract does not reference the staff handbook in any way. 
So can the handbook be used as a legal document against me?

I
have not signed any training request forms or a new contract since I
started my employment nearly three years ago.  I know it was not
stated on my acceptance letter when I first joined the company, that
fees would be recovered in this situation.

I know that the
new letters of acceptance for a new employee states that these fees
can be covered, but this does not affect me as I still have my
original contract and have not sined a new contract since I
started.

So is it possible for the company to recover any
money using the either my contract, staff handbook or acceptance
letter?

All help will be most appreciated.

Thanks

Hi Barny,

There are only a limited number of instances where an employer can recover monies directly from your salary. 

The one that affects you in the issue you describe is that the employer must have a specific written agreement with you (e.g. a signed contract or a training recovery form) which states that money will be deducted from your salary.  You do not have this so money should not be deducted from your salary if you leave (unless of course you sign an agreement before then).

However, your employer may choose to pay you in full and try to recover the money through the courts.  As there was no agreement to repay the monies they may find it difficult to succeed, but you should take specific legal advice on this before making any firm decision.

Just to muddy the waters a bit more there are also issues about how much can be recovered and over what timescale - it is not always simply a case of being able to recover everything paid on your behalf.  As above, once you have made your decision get some advice about the best way to proceed from an employment specialist.

Hope this helps,

Dave