WORKPLACE RELATIONS TO PAY OR NOT TO PAY: Staff Training and Professional Development

Before offering to send a staff member, or agreeing to a staff request, to attend training or a conference, you should always consider your practice’s ability to cover such costs, the benefit it will provide the practice, and the potential risk of losing the employee if they attend but equally, the risk they leave if you do not agree.

resigning soon after undertaking an external training course. Therefore, many ask the question of what can be done in these circumstances?

Is it possible to reclaim the costs of the training/travel from the employee if they resign soon after completing it?

The Fair Work Commission and Federal Court decisions make it clear that it is very unlikely that training-related costs can be recovered when an employee resigns or is terminated.

benefit. While training does benefit the employee, it simultaneously benefits the employer, and therefore does not meet this test.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT of staff in a private medical practice is an important means of keeping your business up-to-date and improving productivity. It is also a way for staff members to develop their skills and increase their engagement in their workplace and the industry.

The benefits of training are clear, but there are costs involved including in some instances, travel and accommodation. Therefore, employers often worry about the frustrating result of an employee

The Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) allows an employer to make deductions from amounts paid to employees in very limited circumstances. One of the conditions relevant to private practices would be whether a deduction is authorised by or under a modern award or a Fair Work Commission order. Under the Health Professional and Support Services Award 2020 (HPSSA 2020) and the Nurses Award 2020 there is no provision for deductions on termination for training and travel costs paid in relation to the employee. A deduction may be authorised in writing by the employee where the payment has been made for something that is principally for the employee’s

A recent Federal Court decision looked at whether the employer was legally allowed to deduct money from the employee’s final pay for training costs. The training costs were taken from the employee based on a signed agreement between the employer and employee that specified the training cost would be deducted if employment was terminated within two years after the completion of the course. The question asked by the court was whether the training was for the employee’s benefit as required under the Fair Work Act. It was ultimately concluded that while the employer had stated that the course was ‘not compulsory’, it was of benefit to the employer’s business. Therefore, it was decided that the employer had no legal right to deduct the training costs from the employee’s final pay.

In contrast, costs that have been determined to be principally for an employee’s benefit include health insurance, loan repayments and personal use items paid for using a corporate card. That said, this is no absolute.