Repaying training fees


A. An employer can only take money from a worker’s wages if they have met certain conditions set out in Section 13 of the Employment Rights Act 1996. If they take money without having met these conditions, this will be an “unauthorised deduction of wages” and you can bring a claim to recover it through an Employment Tribunal.

The conditions are that: the deduction is required or authorised by a statutory provision or a relevant provision of the worker’s contract; or the worker has previously signified in writing his or her agreement or consent to the deduction.


This means that your employer can only lawfully recover the training fees from your wages if they have specified in your contract that they are entitled to do so and have given you a copy, or notified you in writing of this, before making the deduction. 


The agreement to recover the training fees must have been made in advance: if your employer is only now informing you of a contractual provision that entitles them to recover the fees, it is too late to be effective.