Honked:
I understand your troubles, I really do.It is a given that you need to pay NI so no loss to you there. Admin, payroll and associated costs are going to be paid whoever you employ. So that leaves training and recruitment costs.
By all means put a claw back clause in for training, but make sure that training is relevant and worthwhile. I know 2 drivers at abbey who are counting down the days to leave so they don’t have to repay. I am doing the job without any training but I make sure I get the best out of any job I do, it’s not rocket science after all.
Your costs of recruitment is an area where most companies lose value, in a bid to get bums on seats they fail to offer the right money/terms, fail to screen candidates and fail to offer long term prospects with mutual benefits.
£1 an hour for O/T or nights is down to the employer not getting the right rates to pay a decent wage.
Paying back for training is a grey area if there ever was one.
We operate a small number of vehicles and our company lawyers advised that we are legally obliged to pay for training, that if any of our staff were ever inured or injured anyone else, and were able to demonstrate that this was due to a lack of training - we wouldn’t have a legal leg to stand on.
Then there is the… if as an employer you provide equipment that requires the operation of specialist equipment, you are obliged as the employer to ensure that the operator is adequately trained in the use of that equipment in order to perform their duties efficiently and safely.
On that basis, I would say… counting the days… is not necessary and given the very low cost of a small claim in the County Court, the employee would most likely win this one.
Same applies to uniform.
If the company dictate what you wear… they have to pay for it. Claiming the cost back on a leavers wages is a no no.
People should not worry too much about the contract they signed at the start of a job. These types of contracts are NOT worth the paper they are written on. Courts already understand that a person seeking employment may be compromised into signing an unreasonable contract - that is always written for the benefit of the employer. The courts rarely consider these types of contract reasonable and almost always dismiss them.
Basically… most employers are complete ****s