Recruiting the best possible talent for your organization can lead to rapid expansion or better client satisfaction. However, hiring the best talent often means paying quite a bit. Workers who perform at the top of their fields expect premium wages and benefits. The more specialized the position is, the more likely it will be that your organization has to recruit someone who lives several states away.
Relocation benefits can help level the playing field by making a position with your organization attainable even for someone who currently lives in a completely different part of the country. Unfortunately, relocation packages can set an organization back thousands of dollars, only to have the worker who just moved fail to stay for long enough to fully reimburse the organization for that investment.
Is it possible to recover relocation expenses when a new hire doesn’t work out for your company?
Your offer likely determines your rights
Some growing but relatively new businesses may learn the hard way after making a generous job offer that proper terms are crucial for the company’s protection whenever communicating with a new hire or prospective employee.
Most bigger organizations will negotiate specific reimbursement rules when offering relocation benefits. For example, they may require that the employees who receive such benefits stay at the company for a set amount of time or help repay the cost of the relocation benefits when they leave.
You may even taper those cost-sharing arrangements, with a worker needing to repay the full cost if they stay for less than six months but then a slowly decreasing amount of the expenses the longer they stay with the company. Provided that both parties agreed to such terms in writing, your company could potentially take a worker to court if they refuse to pay you back for relocation benefits after not staying with the company for a sufficient amount of time.
Proper contract terms protect your business from defaults
When you include repayment rules for relocation benefits in your offers of employment, those who accept a job with your company will no longer be able to play the victim if you tried to force them to pay back benefits when they exit your company too early. Some organizations will even include confidentiality rules in their offers and employment contracts so that workers cannot complain online or in any public forum about the terms of their employment contract, including repayment obligations.
It is easy for someone focused on growing their company to overlook the risks that may come with bringing in new talent. Having the right support when drafting or negotiating employment law contracts will protect companies from the risk that comes with hiring new talent.