The purpose of training agreements is to protect companies from losses when they invest in their team. This is not intended to be a tactic to prevent people from stopping. For this reason, the amount of money that the training contract is intended to recover must be a reasonable estimate of the money the company has lost. Voluntarily. First of all, the training for which you are requesting a refund may have to be voluntary. While workers are required to undergo training as a condition of employment, the courts have largely ruled that the costs are non-refundable. Similarly, the addition of a non-compete obligation can harm an employer, as an employee would not be able to use the training anywhere else. Details. The agreement should specify the cost of the training, the duration of the training, the duration of the training, the length of time the employee will be required to remain in the position after the training period and the reimbursement requirement. A pro-rated reimbursement scale based on length of employment after training is common. Now, given the premises and promise described below, “the employee” accepts this; Then, the company must define the reimbursement plan for its employees based on when they leave the organization, from the moment the training is completed.

Some training agreements operate on a kind of sliding scale where the longer the employee stays in the company, the less he has to repay if he decides to continue. In other companies, the training agreement is a bit black and white, with a certain threshold that dictates when the employee is no longer responsible for reimbursements. Properly concluded, training agreements are a completely legal and appropriate way for companies to protect themselves financially. However, if you decide to create one, there are a few things you should pay attention to. The courts have also gone the other way. In Los Angeles, a panel of the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals issued an unpublished statement in 2015 that former police officers who had left the LAPD could not be forced to reimburse the city for their education. Because the city has implemented a training program that is broader and more expensive than minimum certification, it has become an employer-mandated expense borne by the city, not by public servants, the committee concluded. The refund contract was found to be unenforceable. Of course, providing a staggered reimbursement fee is not enough to motivate an employee to stay. High-potential employees are attracted to companies that have a strong career development program, challenging tasks, and effective performance reviews. They feed on feedback and are constantly looking for new challenges.

To help you do this, read our performance reviews and training and development kits. This includes all the conditions under which the agreement is applied. For example, in the case where a company offers the employee training to improve his or her job performance offered by a third party. Second, if the organization offers external training to the employee, hoping that the employee will stay there for a while. In addition, it may also be stated in this section that the agreement on remuneration for employee training does not refer to the employment contract. Finally, a case in which the employee is only guaranteed to benefit from the training if he agrees to stay in the company for a certain period of time and agrees to reimburse any training costs in case of departure. Content of the employee training reimbursement agreement “In general, it is unusual and very difficult to recover training costs for an employee who leaves the company shortly after completing the training,” said Don Schroeder, a partner at Foley & Lardner, warning that this would be an uphill battle for most employers. In most cases, employers aren`t looking to claim, largely because state laws generally don`t allow for compensation for wages due to how long an employee might be entitled to, Schroeder explained. As the court cases above show, recovery is an uphill battle. But as they also show, these agreements are sometimes enforceable.

Employers need to consider whether legal fees and the potential impact on employee morale are worth restoring. Have you been approached by a high-potential employee to fund an educational program that exceeds the training budget? Would the knowledge gained benefit current and future business projects? What are you doing? This is where a training reimbursement agreement comes into play – it`s a way for companies to ensure they don`t suffer any financial loss when paying for the development of their employees. This model is used to determine the terms of operational payment of training fees. It also describes the minimum expected length of time the employee must remain in the company before part of the training costs are covered and protects the company`s investment in the employee`s training. Prior agreement. Whether it is a current employee or a potential new employee, any training reimbursement agreement should be entered into before the employee begins the program. .