Liable for costs if quitting job?
Discussion
My 18-year old has been given a job offer for a 6-month post, 20 hours per week, £8.80 per hour.
There are a couple of other (better paying) roles she's also looking at, but this is the first firm offer she's received and she needs to decide whether or not to accept this one before the application deadline for the other roles.
An option would be to accept, but quit if one of the better roles comes through later.
According to the employment contract, if she does quit before the end of the contract she will be liable for any costs incurred in finding a replacement, including any salary differences. So if the employer needs to pay more than £8.80/hour to backfill, we'll be liable for that cost.
I've never heard of anything like this before. Is it enforceable? I appreciate we'd be putting them in a tough spot by walking away, but this is a close-to-minimum-wage job for a six-month contract, not a CEO. And what's to stop them hiring someone for £15/hour and making us liable for the uplift?
There are a couple of other (better paying) roles she's also looking at, but this is the first firm offer she's received and she needs to decide whether or not to accept this one before the application deadline for the other roles.
An option would be to accept, but quit if one of the better roles comes through later.
According to the employment contract, if she does quit before the end of the contract she will be liable for any costs incurred in finding a replacement, including any salary differences. So if the employer needs to pay more than £8.80/hour to backfill, we'll be liable for that cost.
I've never heard of anything like this before. Is it enforceable? I appreciate we'd be putting them in a tough spot by walking away, but this is a close-to-minimum-wage job for a six-month contract, not a CEO. And what's to stop them hiring someone for £15/hour and making us liable for the uplift?
plenty said:
According to the employment contract, if she does quit before the end of the contract she will be liable for any costs incurred in finding a replacement, including any salary differences. So if the employer needs to pay more than £8.80/hour to backfill, we'll be liable for that cost.
That's absolutely outrageous. She shouldn't sign that even if it was her only offer. What if something happened in her life beyond her control that meant she had to quit? TwigtheWonderkid said:
plenty said:
According to the employment contract, if she does quit before the end of the contract she will be liable for any costs incurred in finding a replacement, including any salary differences. So if the employer needs to pay more than £8.80/hour to backfill, we'll be liable for that cost.
That's absolutely outrageous. She shouldn't sign that even if it was her only offer. What if something happened in her life beyond her control that meant she had to quit? But I would avoid a company trying to impose such things if I had a choice. Appalling.
To add, no, of course not.
Courts have held that an employee is not generally responsible for the losses of an employer as the employee works in the interests of the employer - can't immediately see that specific reference but I've used it in a successful case before.
Further reading:
https://www.stevenmather.co.uk/litigation-solicito...
If it was me, I would absolutely have her take the job, then quit whenever the next one comes up, and laugh at them. It's preposterous and I would love to go to court on it.
Courts have held that an employee is not generally responsible for the losses of an employer as the employee works in the interests of the employer - can't immediately see that specific reference but I've used it in a successful case before.
Further reading:
https://www.stevenmather.co.uk/litigation-solicito...
If it was me, I would absolutely have her take the job, then quit whenever the next one comes up, and laugh at them. It's preposterous and I would love to go to court on it.
I am not a lawyer but would be surprised if that was enforceable.
I’d suggest they are aware its not enforceable but are trying to set down their rules prior to you joining to make sure they get a decent return on any investment on their training.
My guess is that there is very high staff turnover and this is a (bullying) tactic to stop you from leaving.
I ‘d also guess that staff would be reminded that they are locked in to this contract.
If someone were to leave, in the event that they did try to recover the costs, they probably also know that they presunably won’t be able to enforce this but some people cant afford the legal fees to defend themselves in court.
Not the sort of place i’d want to work
I’d suggest they are aware its not enforceable but are trying to set down their rules prior to you joining to make sure they get a decent return on any investment on their training.
My guess is that there is very high staff turnover and this is a (bullying) tactic to stop you from leaving.
I ‘d also guess that staff would be reminded that they are locked in to this contract.
If someone were to leave, in the event that they did try to recover the costs, they probably also know that they presunably won’t be able to enforce this but some people cant afford the legal fees to defend themselves in court.
Not the sort of place i’d want to work
IIRC similar clauses were deemed not to be enforceable and they were for senior staff. But I would need to look into it a bit further to be more certain...
And for the rate offered, with all due respect to your daughter, I can't imagine this is a role that needs highly specialised skills rendering it difficult to obtain a replacement in any event.
And for the rate offered, with all due respect to your daughter, I can't imagine this is a role that needs highly specialised skills rendering it difficult to obtain a replacement in any event.
plenty said:
Thanks all. The company will need to invest some time and resources into training so I understand they need to put some barriers in place, but yes this is a massive red flag.
There are companies up and down the country with the same problem but they dont attatch this condition. Avoid.Gassing Station | Jobs & Employment Matters | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff