Can therapists take their qualifications with them when they leave?

[ellideb]

When you have paid for a therapists training, if they suddenly decided to leave, can they then take that qualification with them? Is there a way to prevent this from happening? Because as an employer you can spend thousands training up a therapist for them to walk away. It doesn't seem right to me? I was thinking about implementing a clause in the contract whereby I would keep the certificate and if they were to leave then they would need to pay me for the cost of the course back to release the certificate to them. Is that even allowed?

 

[VeryBusyBunny]

I have worked in place where they make you sign a document that I will have to pay for the costs of training if I leave within a year after training. Seemed fair to me

 

[ellideb]

I have worked in place where they make you sign a document that I will have to pay for the costs of training if I leave within a year after training. Seemed fair to me

Yes that sounds fair! Because hopefully after a year they would have paid the course costs back through the treatments they have done since qualifying.

 

[laurakate]

I think training bonds are fair but the rate needs to be proportional to what it cost to do the training and fair. I worked in a spa where the working conditions and bullying culture was very difficult and I lost count of the number of colleagues I saw in floods of tears because they physically couldn't afford to leave the job without owing a few thousand. I hear on the grapevine that the company has since lowered the training bond.

So yes, training bonds make sense but it needs to be fair to both I feel.

 

[ellideb]

I think training bonds are fair but the rate needs to be proportional to what it cost to do the training and fair. I worked in a spa where the working conditions and bullying culture was very difficult and I lost count of the number of colleagues I saw in floods of tears because they physically couldn't afford to leave the job without owing a few thousand. I hear on the grapevine that the company has since lowered the training bond.

So yes, training bonds make sense but it needs to be fair to both I feel.

What a horrible position to be in! Being bullied in work yet not being able to walk away! Thankfully the only reason I want to do this is to stop any therapist I train from walking out into another beauty job and taking her qualifications with her at my expense. That wouldn't be fair on me or my business.

 

[laurakate]

What a horrible position to be in! Being bullied in work yet not being able to walk away! Thankfully the only reason I want to do this is to stop any therapist I train from walking out into another beauty job and taking her qualifications with her at my expense. That wouldn't be fair on me or my business.

A good strategy to use could be to only give your employee their certificate(s) when they leave and to have a training bond equal to only the hourly pay and training costs occupied by the course.

 

[laurakate]

Also, the bond could stand for up to a year after the training course but after six months within that phase it could be halved (quartered within nine months of that phase and so on).

I think this is a good method because if your employee isn't happy there they have some leeway, you ensure that you cover yourself still but you reduce the risk having an employee who is with you under duress.

 

[squidgernetball]

Don't forget as well that it may cost a little for the therapist to set up in offering that treatment. The account is opened (usually) in the salons name, so you may have Jenny and sue offering HD brows in my salon. Sue leaves with a certificate but she doesn't actually have an account with HD. She may need to pay a considerable amount of money to open her own account.

Training bonds are a given in most salons x

 

[Ckarr]

Don't forget as well that it may cost a little for the therapist to set up in offering that treatment. The account is opened (usually) in the salons name, so you may have Jenny and sue offering HD brows in my salon. Sue leaves with a certificate but she doesn't actually have an account with HD. She may need to pay a considerable amount of money to open her own account.

Training bonds are a given in most salons x

Would you include hourly pay paid to a therapist while they are at training within the training bond?

 

[squidgernetball]

No, that's their days work that you've paid them for. I would charge them for the training costs and the hotel on a sliding scale.

Ultimately you have to be happy with what you're charging for, and it has to be reasonable x

 

[Ckarr]

Also, the bond could stand for up to a year after the training course but after six months within that phase it could be halved (quartered within nine months of that phase and so on).

I think this is a good method because if your employee isn't happy there they have some leeway, you ensure that you cover yourself still but you reduce the risk having an employee who is with you under duress.

A good strategy to use could be to only give your employee their certificate(s) when they leave and to have a training bond equal to only the hourly pay and training costs occupied by the course.

So you would include hourly pay paid to a therapist while at training in the training bond to be repaid if a therapist within a certain period of completing a training course

 

[Ckarr]

No, that's their days work that you've paid them for. I would charge them for the training costs and the hotel on a sliding scale.

Ultimately you have to be happy with what you're charging for, and it has to be reasonable x

So would you include cost to the salon because the therapist is out of the salon while on training not generating any income?

 

[AcidPerm]

So you would include hourly pay paid to a therapist while at training in the training bond to be repaid if a therapist within a certain period of completing a training course

So would you include cost to the salon because the therapist is out of the salon while on training not generating any income?

You can't do either of those suggestions as it's classed as an illegal deduction of wages.

The staff member was 'working for you' whilst they were attending training. That's is what their wages covered for that day(s).

 

[squidgernetball]

So would you include cost to the salon because the therapist is out of the salon while on training not generating any income?

No, as stated by @AcidPerm, that was their salary. If I choose to send my staff on training days, there will inevitably be some cost to the business. I invest in my staff with the belief that that investment will reap rewards, for my business and for the therapist.

Our last training course was Caci which was four days training, three nights in a hotel and the salon was closed. It cost a fortune. But on the upside, we had a blast [emoji23]