Defrauded by Employer

[KingKhanWC]

A friend of mine worked as a massage therapist. When she decided to leave , her employer wasn't happy , drew up a contract(for the first time ever) and demanded she pays for the courses which were completed while working at the premises for 2.5 years. No mention of paying costs was mentioned before this, no contract was signed ever confirming to pay for this.

Anyone been in a similar situation? Any advice you can offer?

 

[sweep_shot]

Never had this experience.

If there is no signed contract, it is not enforcable.

 

[ElRaja]

A friend of mine worked as a massage therapist. When she decided to leave , her employer wasn't happy , drew up a contract(for the first time ever) and demanded she pays for the courses which were completed while working at the premises for 2.5 years. No mention of paying costs was mentioned before this, no contract was signed ever confirming to pay for this.

Anyone been in a similar situation? Any advice you can offer?

the contract must have a date, if the course date was before the signing on date then ur friend is not liable for any expenses.

i worked at a an institution of weak repute once upon a time, i was desperate and unemployed and they took advantage of that, i got swindled out of money i was owed, but it was a few hundred quid and hiring employment lawyers was not worth it.

if i was in ur freinds place id ignore the requests, i dont think their employer has a leg ot stand on, and if they iwsh to pursue the legal route, theyd (in my amatuer opinion) lose and be liable for all expenses, and be far more out of pocket.

think its a case of the employer trying their luck tbh.

 

[KingKhanWC]

the contract must have a date, if the course date was before the signing on date then ur friend is not liable for any expenses.

i worked at a an institution of weak repute once upon a time, i was desperate and unemployed and they took advantage of that, i got swindled out of money i was owed, but it was a few hundred quid and hiring employment lawyers was not worth it.

if i was in ur freinds place id ignore the requests, i dont think their employer has a leg ot stand on, and if they iwsh to pursue the legal route, theyd (in my amatuer opinion) lose and be liable for all expenses, and be far more out of pocket.

think its a case of the employer trying their luck tbh.

Contract was backdated 2 years. Its a standard version downloaded off the internet with only a small paragraph added for these costs. Not been signed by either party inc a witness(which for some reason states on the bottom).

Yes I agree some lame employer trying to swindle money.

 

[James]

Employee would be liable for costs if they signed a contract to say “if” they left the business within a certain timescale then they would have to pay for the qualifications — or, it the company had a written policy at the time stating this and the policies were made freely available to the employee, there would also be a case for enforcement on the employer’s part. These are the two key points.

Otherwise, an Employment Tribunal would likely rule that the qualifications were vital for the employee to do their job, and by the employer verbally agreeing to cover the present and legacy costs without anything in writing saying something else, then the employee is not going to be liable for the costs afterwards.

Nonetheless, everything in this case should be checked over by a reputed solicitor if available.

 

[James]

Contract was backdated 2 years. Its a standard version downloaded off the internet with only a small paragraph added for these costs. Not been signed by either party inc a witness(which for some reason states on the bottom).

Yes I agree some lame employer trying to swindle money.

Seriously feeble attempt this!

 

[KingKhanWC]

Employee would be liable for costs if they signed a contract to say “if” they left the business within a certain timescale then they would have to pay for the qualifications — or, it the company had a written policy at the time stating this and the policies were made freely available to the employee.

Otherwise, an Employment Tribunal would likely rule that the qualifications were vital for the employee to do their job, and by the employer verbally agreeing to cover the costs without anything in writing saying something else, then the employee is not going to be liable for the costs afterwards.

Nonetheless, everything should be checked over by a reputed solicitor.

Thanks James

The contract is a joke, something off the internet with a paragraph added for funds. Given to sign after 2 years but never been signed.

 

[Bewal Express]

Contract was backdated 2 years. Its a standard version downloaded off the internet with only a small paragraph added for these costs. Not been signed by either party inc a witness(which for some reason states on the bottom).

Yes I agree some lame employer trying to swindle money.

Can you back date contracts.

 

[KingKhanWC]

Can you back date contracts.

No contract was ever given at the start or throughout the employment. The contract was only handed over when employee wanted to leave. The date written on this was the date of start of employment.

 

[ElRaja]

if its not been signed its not valid, and thus it was the employers liability if they afforded any benefits which they later expected refunded.

also just to give u an example of the counter to this, ive done courses which were funded by my employer, and on each occasion prior to payment for the course my employer made me sign individual contracts stating my liability if i left the company within a certain period.

 

[ElRaja]

Can you back date contracts.

mutually back dated contracts can happen if they represent the writing down of some verbal agreement, however this only works for really simple things, like one items sales etc, complex legal documents require legal assitance to backdate in a watertight and legal way.

 

[KingKhanWC]

if its not been signed its not valid, and thus it was the employers liability if they afforded any benefits which they later expected refunded.

also just to give u an example of the counter to this, ive done courses which were funded by my employer, and on each occasion prior to payment for the course my employer made me sign individual contracts stating my liability if i left the company within a certain period.

I agree. Do you also have to list the amount(s) need to paid back?

 

[James]

and on each occasion prior to payment for the course my employer made me sign individual contracts stating my liability if i left the company within a certain period.

This is the key point.

Clawback of monies is not in scope if it wasn’t documented in advance.

 

[ElRaja]

I agree. Do you also have to list the amount(s) need to paid back?

Yep, like a claw back schedule, 100% if I leave in 6 months, 50% if 6 to 12 months, etc

 

[KingKhanWC]

Yep, like a claw back schedule, 100% if I leave in 6 months, 50% if 6 to 12 months, etc

Thanks, appreciate your posts here.

Ill update when resolved.