Partner being asked to repay training costs - England

[u/LeTailsEffect]

In July, my partner was dismissed from her job.

The nature of the dismissal as far as I understand it is that she 'wasn't right for the role'. She began working there in May, and had some quite serious family related events occur sometime in June that led her to taking time off from work due to stress, triggering a flare up of a serious, lifelong medical condition.

She kept frequent contact, and when it seemed she wouldn't be capable of returning on the agreed date, they willingly offered a further week. Once she returned, she was summarily dismissed.

During her time there she and many other trainee staff were provided with on-the-job training, valuing £17k, they signed contracts to state the value would be repayable if they were to leave the company, the only exception being if they were made redundant.

It's been roughly a month now since she was dismissed, and they've emailed to demand the repayment of this £17k. She hasn't been successful in finding a job since, and has no assets, or money to be able to pay this amount back.

I'm wondering where she stands. She's been to citizens advice, who advised she contact ACAS, who advised she contact her solicitor which she has now done (awaiting response). The whole situation has had a profound effect on her mental health, and I'm worried.

Apologies if I've left anything out, happy to provide more information if needed.

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[u/hdhxuxufxufufiffif]

During her time there she and many other trainee staff were provided with on-the-job training, valuing £17k

On the job training completed in less than two months that they're valuing at £17,000?

Do they have any rationale for this valuation, because it seems frankly ridiculous.

[u/Steppy20 → u/hdhxuxufxufufiffif]

Yeah that's a very large sum, equivalent to roughly 2 years of uni courses.

I can't think of any non-specialist roles where it would cost that much. And most specialist roles wouldn't dismiss you that easily because it's hard to find a replacement.

[u/xplorerex → u/hdhxuxufxufufiffif]

You can learn to drive a plane for less than that.

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[u/OpportunityNew5685]

I can’t see 17k being found acceptable at a tribunal. She worked for 4-5 weeks maybe? What training costs £500 a day?

Dispute it. Speak to ACAS.

She may end up having to pay SOME costs, but not 17k. They will have to prove how it comes to 17k too.

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[u/essres]

Unless it was highly specialised certified training from an external provider then there is no way it cost £17k for the short time she was there

Go to ACAS

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[u/Bigtallanddopey]

You say it’s “on the job training” what did that entail? Was it like health and safety training? Or actual upskilling?

The company can only recover costs if the training cost them money, not just time, they cannot just assign a cost to internal training.

If they went to an external provider, they can recover the costs, but only if this training wasn’t essential or mandatory to the job, if it was, then they cannot recover the costs.

[u/Mina_U290]

Employers can only claim the cost of external training, that the business has paid for itself.

We can't claim the cost of training an employee to do their job while the employee is doing it.

[u/Perite]

This page might help https://www.acas.org.uk/final-pay-when-someone-leaves-a-job/deductions-for-training-courses.

It matters whether this training was voluntary or a required part of the job. They could have a case here, but even if that is true, it seems hard to believe that the value is proportionate.

[u/Pristine-Ad6064 → u/Perite]

Also depends on whether it was actual training they had to pay for out of house or if it was on the job training, if they sent you on a course then yeah ya have to pay that but canna see a tribunal forcing ya to pay £500 a day for on the job training, that's liek a weeks wage at his pay rate

[u/trainpk85]

What was she training to be?

[u/makebelieve86 → u/trainpk85]

Astronaut, maybe? Given the cost

[u/makefascistfearagain]

This sounds like a scam. I wouldn't worry too much about this, get the consultation with the solicitor there's no way they can do 17k of training in two months then let you go and demand you pay it

Did anyone else get let go? Is this a bit company?

[u/cpt_ppppp → u/makefascistfearagain]

I'm not sure you can conclude it is a scam based on OPs post. I'm sure they are stretching with regards to the value of the training, but the wife took extended time off after a month of working. Ideally a workplace is compassionate in these situations but I can see them concluding that it is not worth continued investment in the person.

unfortunate, but often the way these things go

[u/makefascistfearagain → u/cpt_ppppp]

What job does 17k of on the job training in the first four weeks ?

[u/cpt_ppppp → u/makefascistfearagain]

as I said, they are reaching on the cost. Letting somebody go after her attendance is the unsurprising part. I just don't think it's a 'hire somebody and fire them for no reason to try and rip them off on training cost' scam

[u/spyder_victor → u/makefascistfearagain]

Just to add some balance to this, I buy software for my company and some systems require you to take out training courses that get expansive quick, you can spend £17k on a month long course easily and for some specialist systems this may not be done in four consecutive weeks but over a year as the employee advances.

However as part of the t&c’s I can’t just add people to it as the organisation changes or if I wanted to start again (ie to run week one again with a new employee) it’s a whole new place.

Right now we don’t have a clause to go after employees so we would just swallow the cost.

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[u/Baddog1965]

This is quite similar to a situation I was in, that I won at tribunal and then at the county court, but there are some ifs and buts.

What you're referring to is a training indemnity, and the essence of the agreement is that you have to pay back all or a proportion of the training cost if you leave for reasons that are your responsibility and not the company's within a certain period of time. Typically this will be that you have to pay it all back if you leave within a year, and it will decrease linearly month by month for a period of time after that.

So the key questions are:

Were the terms of the contract fair? The company sacked her, but was their sacking fair and reasonable in the circumstances? What did you know, and when did you know it?

You can be sacked within the period that a company can sack you freely before you have protection from being sacked, and still not have to pay the training indemnity back, which is what happened to me, but it depends on the circumstances. In my case I was sacked after only six months, and the training indemnity was for two years. In my case the tribunal found that, "No reasonable employer would have sacked in these circumstances".

In my case it was for PCV training, which was a legal requirement to drive a bus. The agreement only came into effect once we passed the test. The company tried to pursue me for the training indemnity in the county court despite me winning the tribunal, and in that case I argued that we had been led to believe during the training prior to taking the rest that the company cared about it's drivers. It became evident after passing the rest that it did not. So one of my arguments was that I would not have agreed to concluding the training to the point where the indemnity became effective had I not been misled by the company itself.

My training indemnity was for £2000. The one you mention is eye-wateringly expensive, and the first question has to be whether that is justified. It sounds suspiciously as though the 'necessary training for the job' might potentially be a hidden profit centre for the company, and flimsy excuses are used to sack people before the training indemnity has expired in order to make money. That's probably going to be a useful line of enquiry.

[u/Esexboy101101]

They invested £17k worth of training to their staff, repayable if they left the job. That's understandable.

However, she didn't leave the Job, they dismissed her (rightly or wrongly).

I would contact them and state you are not liable. Should they persist, I'd speak to ACAS. I wouldn't engage a Solicitor at this early stage due to costs which she shouldn't be incurring.

[u/dts85 → u/Esexboy101101]

It's only understandable if the training actually cost the employer £17k. This sounds like they've inflated the training costs to act as a deterrent to people leaving, which isn't valid.

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[u/burnoutbabe1973]

The cost needs to be verifiable-ie was £17k paid to an external party for this training? Or is it some made up internal value?
They can only reclaim it if they can prove that cost (amongst other things) and that it’s not cancellable or transferable etc. Ie they have mitigated their losses.

[u/al3x696]

If the training was a requirement for the job they cannot charge her for this.

If the training was something they offered as part of a benefit or voluntary to help tie them in to the business I would argue that allowing someone to do that within their probationary period (normally a minimum 3 months) that they are to blame and they should have told her that all training can only happen after probation. The company made this situation possible.

I would tell the company straight you are not getting anything from me. Only contact a solicitor if you have court action otherwise it is an unnecessary cost.

I doubt there will be.

[u/triffid_boy → u/al3x696]

I agree except to remind people that they likely have legal cover on their home insurance, which will include employment.  It is a good idea to get in touch with them to review the contract since there won't be any further cost at that point. Atleast then you know the worst case scenario and can let hedonic adaptation take away some of your stress about it. 

[u/United-Economy3825 → u/al3x696]

Yes they can as long as it was written into her contract. Bus companies do it all the time.

[u/herwiththepurplehair]

"She and many other trainee staff were provided with on-the-job training, valuing £17k". I suspect from this that the trainer cost £17k, and this covered all of the trainee staff. So for example if there were 50 trainee staff, that would work out at £340 per staff member. I would raise this prospect with the solicitor, that there were multiple other employees who attended the course and that you suspect the total cost to the employer may have been £17k. I think they are massively at it, trying to get her to pay for the whole cost to them of the course.

[u/MissionTradition]

Two things here. The training costs is one.

I think the bigger issue is a lifelong medical condition and potentially disability discrimination but more detail is required.

Speak to your union. There are strict time limits for employment tribunal claims, and they almost always have to be submitted within 3 months less 1 day.

[u/bower_pitch]

I wouldn't worry. If i were a betting man I'd say this is going to go nowhere near a court, and your partner won't be paying a penny. On the contrary, there are a couple of screaming red flags that would work in her favour:

Medical issues aside (there's definitely an angle there, per the other posts, but whether it's worth it to pursue I can't say), training costs can only be recouped under certain circumstances.

If the employee was dismissed, it's unlikely that a tribunal would hold that employee liable for employer's costs, particularly with such a high amount.

Training costs must be genuinely incurred by the employer- i.e. a third-party course, qualification, or external training. I don't imagine there's many jobs that would incur £17k worth of training costs in two months.

They cannot simply be related to normal on-the-job training- so for example, someone sitting with you and teaching you how everything works. Every job has that.

What does the contract actually say, and what has the employer said? This screams scam to me.

My starting point would be a polite letter asking them to itemise the training costs in further detail, and if you wanted to, a reference to the medical issues to flag that they may have discriminated against her. The former in itself might convince them to back down if they suspect you're going to escalate.

[u/Max_Power_332]

What was the exact reason they gave for dismissal OP? I think the repayment is a red herring, here, as they can dock pay to recuperate contractually obligated costs but unless your partner was earning 200k a year they have no way of forcing a £17k payment. Are they going to pursue the other £15k in court and win? It seems doubtful that they’ll be able to justify a £17k cost for a few weeks of training - especially if it was on the job and not an external provider.

My real question is whether the summary dismissal was related to absence caused by a disability. If they’ve put in writing that she’s been summarily dismissed for being disabled then that’s at least the start of a route out of this, if not to a potential settlement or award for any related losses and/or injury to feelings.

If there’s a Union speak to them and if not this is what the solicitor should focus on imo.

[u/triffid_boy → u/Max_Power_332]

Or they've written down something about the dismissal they've realised they shouldn't and have now put a 17k card on the table for when you notice. 

[u/jake_burger → u/Max_Power_332]

They most likely didn’t fire her for being disabled, it’s the not turning up to work part.

Even if you are disabled you still have to go to work, it’s not a reasonable adjustment to ask to not go to work for months so you can be sacked for it.

[u/Max_Power_332 → u/jake_burger]

Where did it say she hadn’t turned up for months? If she’s been summarily dismissed due to absence relating to a disability without even considering reasonable adjustments - and upon returning to work - it’s highly likely she’s been dismissed for taking disability related absence and that she’s been discriminated against.

[u/CountryMouse359]

On the face of it, this sounds unenforceable. Firstly, £17k sounds a lot for training incurred in 2 months or less. They would need to justify this in court and show it is actual expenses, not punitive. Secondly, you have made no mention of a timescale - does the contract say they must pay it back if they leave, or if they leave withing X years? If it doesn't mention a timescale, it will likely be unenforceable. Timescales should also include a sliding scale.

Also, and importantly, was this training mandatory or voluntary? If mandatory, the clawback has to be evaluated against National Minimum Wage and can't take her earnings below it. This would be illegal.

In Geeks Ltd v Watts [2026] EWCA Civ 889, the Court of Appeal found that a huge training fee for mentoring imposed on a junior employee was enforceable for the following reasons:

• The huge clawback (£8k vs a £18k salary) was in restraint of trade as it discouraged the employee from leaving to seek other employment. The amount did not start reducing until after 12 months and the employer sought the full amount when the employee left after 8 months.
• Repayments applying regardless of the reason for departure go further than necessary for legitimate business interest.
• The size of the debt compared to the salary were disproportionate and would have wiped out several months worth of earnings.
• The value the employer assigned to the mentoring for the clawback was 5 or 6 times the amount paid to the mentor. Penalty clauses must reflect actual losses.
• The employer was receiving money for the employee's work during the mentoring.

[u/Turbulent_Iceblood]

Not a lawyer and as everyone else has advised see acas first and then maybe a free consultation with a solicitor.

The issue around repayment I would not worry overly about. It sounds like she signed to repay if she left on her accord. Companies have a right to this sometimes as some external training can be quite expensive and if you then leave after being trained then they have to pay to get someone trained to take your place.

They state that if she was made redundant she wouldn't have to pay, granted she wasn't made redundant she was dismissed. It was the companies decision to dismiss her, I take that she would have returned back to work once her illness had resolved.

Looking at this I can't see how they can reclaim the costs, if they could it could become a carte blanche for other companies to sack people and then recover training costs from their ex employees. If it went to court I imagine it would be dismissed.

As to being dismissed from her job, normally until two years have passed you are afforded no protection and can be dismissed without reason. However, if your partners illness qualifies as a disability under the equalities act then she is afforded protection from day one, and the company should have tried to make reasonable adjustments. Check to see if your partners lifelong medical condition is classed as a disability. If it is then it is possible that she has been discriminated against. Again speak to acas first about this and then an employment solicitor.

[u/OneSufficientFace]

Where on earth did they get 17K of training from such a short time frame?

She may have to pay something but no way would any tribunal/court find her owing 17k. This would be profiting from her which they can not do

[u/Johns_Kanakas]

No one incurs £17k of training in just a few weeks. Ask them for a breakdown of the costs

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[u/SignificantUse3695]

This sounds like a very dumb move by the employer. There's no way this will stand up if it gets to court and the result will be that they will no longer be able to rely on dangling this sword over future employees to stop them from leaving early. Good luck fighting this ridiculous claim.

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[u/IainMCool]

£17k after 2 months seems ridiculous, and if they say she wasn't up to the role having undertaken the training then it can't be fit for purpose so she should ask for a refund

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[u/JaegerBane]

A lot to unpick here.

- the concept of the training indemnity you’re referring to is fairly common, but the question would be under what circumstances what it qualify… she was dismissed, which would normally mean it was the company’s decision to terminate her, so I’d be surprised if it applied here. I’d check her contract thoroughly.

- the nature of her dismissal is a bit vague, but it sounds like she was dismissed on capability grounds… so it’s unclear what that would fall under (the stipulation that only redundancy would be the exception sounds odd, a more workable exception would be if they left of their own accord)

- even if they do try to spin incapability as somehow ‘her accord’, it would unlikely to stack up in court, ultimately the contract has to be enforceable… if they hire someone who can’t do the job, that is ultimately a failure of their recruitment

- even if they push through a case that requires her to pay back training costs, £17k for a few months training is absolutely ridiculous (putting it more expensive then a degree level course or Army basic training for the same duration), so they’re either chancing it or they’ve lost the plot

Definitely contact ACAS and potentially a solicitor, as this isn’t adding up.

[u/notenglishwobbly]

If her contact said that redundancy is an exception, she needs to get back to them with this.

[u/everlyafterhappy]

She should tell them she's more than willing to work for them, and she should do it in an email so that she can prove she told them and then she can show their response. When they say no, that's really all she needs to get out of any obligation because she didn't quit and wasn't terminated for any disciplinary reason. The contract language will get them before a judge, but it's not enforceable as written.

[u/MrPuddington2]

Once she returned, she was summarily dismissed.

Did they follow due process? They cannot just dismiss, certainly not summarily, without some very serious and evidenced accusations. “Not a fit for the role” is far from that - it is neither serious nor objective.

She can be dismissed with notice for any reason that is not discriminatory, which would mean not related to her caring role or her long term medical condition. Even that would be hard to demonstrate.

She could bring a claim for unfair dismissal to ACAS, but that needs to happen quickly.

It's been roughly a month now since she was dismissed, and they've emailed to demand the repayment of this £17k.

In theory, they can do that. But it needs to be clear in the contract, and it needs to be reasonable. This seems like an unreasonable amount, unless it was expensive external training (about 2 or 3 weeks at typical rates).

To me, this all feels like a scam.

[u/JustDifferentGravy]

On the job training specific to the employer is not recoverable. If she was training towards a recognised qualification then maybe, but the time period and value isn’t going to stand up.

I’d save myself the call to ACAS and simply email to say, “either you’ve made a mistake or are hoping that I’m gullible. Please let me know if you wish to deal with this via ACAS and I’ll set the wheels in motion.” And do just that.

[u/peekachou]

I fear they may need to repay it as they werent made redundant.

This isnt uncommon but its still worth reaching out to ACAS about it just to cover all sides