Training cost recovery clauses unenforceable
The Court of Appeal held that a training cost clawback provision requiring an employee to repay £8,108 in respect of training costs was an unenforceable restraint of trade. Junior employee W left G after eight months to take a higher-paid role. G sought repayment under a training investment agreement that treated training costs as a debt written off gradually over 18 months. The CA accepted that an employer may have a legitimate interest in protecting investment in employee training and maintaining a stable trained workforce. However, the particular clawback provisions went further than was reasonably necessary. The repayment obligation applied regardless of why employment ended (except for redundancy). The CA was also concerned that the provisions effectively reduced a low-paid trainee to the equivalent of an unpaid intern by retrospectively requiring repayment of substantial sums. The appeal was allowed and the repayment provisions were held unenforceable. To maximise the prospects of recovering training costs, employers should review their training cost agreements, and ensure they can identify a legitimate business interest; are linked to genuine, identifiable training costs; and consider the types of leaver circumstances. The onus will be on the employer to show that the relevant clause goes no further than necessary to protect its legitimate interests.
ERA - Framework confirmed for adult social care Fair Pay Agreement
The government published its response to the consultation on the operation of the new Fair Pay Agreement framework for adult social care in England, setting out how sector-wide bargaining will operate under the ERA 2025. The response confirms that the government will establish an independent Adult Social Care Negotiating Body, comprising employer and trade union representatives, to negotiate minimum standards on pay, terms and conditions, training, career progression and other workforce issues. The first negotiations are expected to begin in 2027, with the first legally binding agreement due to take effect in April 2028. The government has committed £500 million towards implementation in the first year. While the FPA will apply only to the adult social care workforce, it is likely to have wider implications across the health and care sector, particularly where employers compete for similar staff groups. The framework could increase workforce costs and influence recruitment and retention strategies in the care sector. Employers with social care operations should monitor the development of the negotiating body and assess the potential impact of future sector-wide standards on workforce planning, commissioning arrangements and long-term funding models. As reported on Personnel Today, Care England called on the government to accelerate social care workforce reform, seeking a social care workforce plan within the first 100 days of Andy Burnham's premiership, and arguing that progress on key manifesto commitments has been too slow. The organisation has called on the government to publish its workforce strategy; review immigration reforms affecting care workers; and provide greater investment in the domestic care workforce.
ERA - Electronic Balloting for some TU ballots
The govt. updated its Trade Unions: Guidance and Codes of Practice collection to include a new Code of Practice on Electronic and Workplace Balloting. The Code forms part of the wider implementation of the ERA 2025 reforms and is intended to support the introduction of electronic and workplace balloting for certain trade union ballots. While much of the detail will be familiar from the legislation and associated consultations, the publication of the Code provides a clearer indication of the govt’s expectations regarding the practical operation, security and integrity of these balloting arrangements. The implementation for this part is 25 August 2026, despite the govt.’s most recent roadmap saying it would be 31 August. This does include ballots for industrial action but does not include balloting for recognition and derecognition (which will come in at some point in 2027).
Tipping Code – latest news
After somewhat hastily withdrawing the redrafted Code of Practice on Tipping, the government has now announced that a consultation will be held in due course on the proposals. Employers are to continue to follow the existing Code in the meantime.
