PPRuNe Forums - Training bond

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Dear ppruners,

Need some legal advice.

I am working at a corporate company that bonded me for 1year.
I just received an offer an airline and would like to leave after 6 month from that corporate gig.
Rumours say that the bond is required training thus not realy necessary to be honored.

Can anyone shed some light on that or guide me to a lawyer that is in that field?

Please PM me.

Thanks

If you received training that the company paid for, and they bonded you for a year. Then stay a year, or pay back the training costs. People just absconding their bond is what's set up this horrible system we have in the first place of people having to pay up front for type ratings and training.

Always honor your contract! Aviation is little and word gets around. Also remember Airlines do background checks and contact previous employers. So how does that look to your new company if you break your contract? I suggest to talk to your current company to find a solution to leave earlier. Maybe you have to pay back some training costs. But in the long run it’s going to be way better for your reputation.

Canada, not the U.S. here, but I've worked for two companies that had training bonds.

In both cases, the companies were pretty lax about letting pilots off the hook for training bonds until one day they weren't. Once they decided to go after the money, it was madness. One of the companies chased a pilot for $500 out of principle. It ultimately cost the company and him far more than $500, but it set the tone for everyone else. I know other people who were offered an opportunity they could not afford to pass up and came to terms with the company for a payback scheme.

Ultimately, contracts have a cost to breaking them. If the company breaks it before all the terms are met (outside of dismissal for cause), they owe you severance. If you break it before all the terms are met, you owe them. If you don't like the terms at the beginning or don't think you can work through it, don't sign. It is really that simple.