Clause for reimbursement of relocation costs?

[blurS]

Hi everyone,

Is it common to have a clause in your contract that states that should you quit within a certain number of months, you have to reimburse the company for the relocation costs incurred (eg shipping of household goods etc)? How many months is usual?

Also, what happens if you get posted elsewhere within that time frame? Does that clause become redundant or does it carry on to your new posting?

[hedgehunter]

Hi,

I have that clause in my contract but the penalty is actually pro-rata over the number of months remaining within the 12 month period when you decide to leave - believe me, once you add this up, you don't want to be paying the money back to your firm if you can help it.

If they re-locate you out then I'm 99.9% sure this term will be void, however you may want to double check this but it would be totally rediculous if it were the case hence why it probably wouldn't mention such a thing in the contract.

With reagrds to a new location, separate terms would be agreed again but best to check with your firm.

All the best.

[blurS]

Thanks hedgehunter! You're right, the costs are staggering!!! No way we want to pay!

Anybody else?

My husband currently has a 3 yr pro-rata penalty period, and as we are looking at another posting, we thought we'd find out the norm before negotiations this time...

[hedgehunter]

3yrs!!!!

That sucks, anything could happen in that time! Not worth the risk in my opinion.

[Tartan]

3 years is a long time but I guess it will partially depend on the rest of the terms of the contract. If the company are offering a generous expat package with things like housing, school, car allowances etc it's just their way of getting their monies worth.

If it's on local terms then it is really taking the @!#*!

Cheers
Tartan

[ching]

If it's another posting within the same company, you should be okay... as the penalty is generally intended just to discourage people from relocating and then quitting after the company has paid to move them.

You can check with your HR folks to be sure

[durain]

omg! 3 years! you never gonna get a parole!!!

did you know it was 3 years before you sign on the dotted line?