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Has anyone signed a contract for relocation assistance and ended up leaving the job before the agreed time was up? If so, did the company ask for the money back? And when did they approach you for it? I moved across the country for a job, signed a contact for relocation benefits, and ended up leaving the job after working 10 days and moved back to my side of the country. (Spare me your opinion on that.) They've sent me 2 paychecks which have the tax deductions for the relocation but no one has contacted me regarding paying back the relocation. Is it possible they won't ask for it? Its been almost two months since my last day at the job.
Never personally, but, have worked for a company that did do that. One resulted in us having to get a wage garnishment order. It is a contract you signed and is enforceable.
Hmm. I'd do my best to set the money aside, but otherwise wait for them to remember or choose to make a demand.
I could see something like that taking months to work around the desks and result in such a demand. However, unless you have the money on hand and want to be painfully honest, I wouldn't initiate any contact or process on the matter.
OTOH, the contract essentially never expires. It could pop up and bite you at a bad time, five years down the road. You might want to contact them with a settlement offer representing your real costs and hardships.
Has anyone signed a contract for relocation assistance and ended up leaving the job before the agreed time was up? If so, did the company ask for the money back? And when did they approach you for it? I moved across the country for a job, signed a contact for relocation benefits, and ended up leaving the job after working 10 days and moved back to my side of the country. (Spare me your opinion on that.) They've sent me 2 paychecks which have the tax deductions for the relocation but no one has contacted me regarding paying back the relocation. Is it possible they won't ask for it? Its been almost two months since my last day at the job.
The contract for relocation benefits doesn’t address this?
When we were relocated from MA to CA it was 35K for the move, we did stay the full two years required so nothing to pay, but the contract said that if we left earlier the pay back was prorated. It also said that if you were laid off by the company,[not for cause] that you then did not have to pay back the money.
Relocation expenses are sometimes paid by employers. If they are, does a departing employee (that is, one who is quitting or resigning) have to repay them? The answer is, it depends on whether there was a written employment contract or relocation agreement requiring their repayment and, if so, what the contract or agreement says.
If there was no contractual agreement to repay, you would not have to reimburse the employer for the relocation costs. Only if you contractually agreed to repay these expenses would you have to.
As the OP references a contract, I assume one was signed. The options are therefore:
Read the contract. If it is any way ambiguous, have a labor lawyer review it and advise.
Assuming it requres repayment under some circumstances, there are three options:
Initiate contact and repay it in full, or try to negotiate a settlement amount based on actual costs and hardship.
Do not initiate contact but be prepared to pay the amount on demand for at least five years.
Say nothing and hope they never bother to follow up.
Leaving it unaddressed could cause nasty problems with credit or unemployment, which Murphy's Law dictates would come at the worst possible time.
And in the end, OP took the job and the advance and then left the job in a week. Unless the employer is going to cop to some failure of accommodation or job situation or whatever, it's 100% the OP's problem that they took advance payment for something they could not/failed to deliver.
I'd wait about 90 days and then contact them with a reasonable and justified settlement offer, advised by a labor attorney. If the employer makes a bald demand before then, I'd respond with a settlement offer. Can't hurt.
You need to review the contract with a lawyer, not ask people on a forum. Yes, there's probably a clause in it for you to pay it back, and if there is they could take legal action against you.
That's something you should have talked to a lawyer about before quitting the job.
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