General Principles

From time to time the Council may require for employees to attend training and development opportunities. The Council will carry the cost of most training you will need to undertake to carry out your job role as required. However, from time to time the Council may agree to finance training and development opportunities that exceed the requirements for your post. This may be training to obtain qualifications at a higher level than your current job role, for instance, or training that is particularly expensive. 

In certain scenarios that are detailed in this policy the Council may in consideration of this, ask that you agree to incur liability by way of a training cost agreement, should your employment terminate within a certain timeframe of the training being completed.

This policy outlines the scenarios and processes that the Council will follow when agreeing to pay for employee training. The policy does not form part of any individual training cost agreement.

What is a training cost agreement?

A training cost agreement is a written agreement between an employer and employee setting out the conditions of any training the employer pays for. It will detail the cost of the training, the training provider and who is responsible for paying for it in the first instance.

When will training cost agreements be required:

Scenario 1

You may be asked to enter into a training agreement if you are requesting training or are being asked to attend training that will give you a higher level of qualification than your current job role entails. For instance you may want the council to sponsor you to obtain a degree (level 6) in your field of work, but the job role merely requires you to be educated to A-level (level 3) standard.

Scenario 2

The qualification or training you would like to attend is at the same level you are already working to but it would enhance your knowledge and understanding. The training, however, is very costly, maybe hundreds or even thousands of pounds.

The above scenarios are merely examples. There may be many more scenarios in which the council may ask you to enter into a training agreement before committing to fund the training. You will always be advised whether an agreement will be required before your training is approved.

The procedure for training cost agreements:

All training cost agreements need to be signed prior to the training and you must complete individual agreements for each piece of training. You cannot list more than one.

Recovery of Training Costs:

The full terms & conditions will be listed in an individual training cost agreement but in summary the standard repayment amounts will usually be:

1. if you cease employment during the training course or within 12 months of completing the training course, 100% of the costs shall be repaid;

• if you cease employment more than 12 months but no more than 18 months after completion of the training course, 50% of the costs shall be repaid;

• if you cease employment more than 18 months but no more than 24 months after completion of the training course, 25% of the costs shall be repaid;

• thereafter, no repayment shall be required.

The Council reserve the right in exceptional circumstances to amend the repayment terms. Should you have any questions in relation to this policy please do not hesitate to raise these with the Town Clerk.