2 ms·

The only time I've been burned by my contract is from relocation expenses. I went to a company to take a job and not long into it a reorg moved me to a differen

The only time I've been burned by my contract is from relocation expenses. I went to a company to take a job and not long into it a reorg moved me to a different team. I left the company and they demanded I pay back my relocation expenses. When I protested that they changed my role to something not what I was expecting, I was told that according to my contract it doesn't matter. The temporary housing I was put in was very expensive despite the fact I hated it. Luckily, my balance was paid as part of a signing bonus by my new company. My lesson here was: Never take a relocation package that has the company sorting your housing and travel, just ask for a large signing bonus instead.

adrianmsmith 4y ago
Even signing bonuses sometimes have to be repaid if you leave the company too quickly.
- meowfly 4y ago
  For sure. I sort of get the company not wanting spend money to sign me and then I immediately quit. The relocation management company racked up a bill I would have never incurred if I allocated the money myself.
jrockway 4y ago
I got paid relocation once, and the contract said that if any employment changes were on their end, I wouldn't have to pay the costs back. (I think this is why there are clauses like "if we don't hear from you for 3 days, that counts as resigning" instead of "if we don't hear from you for 3 days, you're fired". BTW, never go on vacation in a no-cell-phone area over the transition date for a vacation tracking system migration. Learned that one the hard way!) Nobody should sign a contract where they can fire you and charge you relocation costs; that is not employment but a scam to prop up relocation companies! If you quit, then it's 50/50 in my mind. My take is that I don't want to be liable anything for quitting; the signing bonus is literally a bonus for signing the contract, not an obligation to do a certain amount of work. Salary covers the work. But I'd probably take a signing bonus that requires some tenure to not have to pay it back. Spend the money after that period. (Relocation is different to me because the disruption in your life is what they're paying for. If you don't like the job, your life was still disrupted. You're not asking for them to unrelocate you.)

adrianmsmith 4y ago

Even signing bonuses sometimes have to be repaid if you leave the company too quickly.

meowfly 4y ago
For sure. I sort of get the company not wanting spend money to sign me and then I immediately quit. The relocation management company racked up a bill I would have never incurred if I allocated the money myself.

jrockway 4y ago

I got paid relocation once, and the contract said that if any employment changes were on their end, I wouldn't have to pay the costs back. (I think this is why there are clauses like "if we don't hear from you for 3 days, that counts as resigning" instead of "if we don't hear from you for 3 days, you're fired". BTW, never go on vacation in a no-cell-phone area over the transition date for a vacation tracking system migration. Learned that one the hard way!) Nobody should sign a contract where they can fire you and charge you relocation costs; that is not employment but a scam to prop up relocation companies! If you quit, then it's 50/50 in my mind. My take is that I don't want to be liable anything for quitting; the signing bonus is literally a bonus for signing the contract, not an obligation to do a certain amount of work. Salary covers the work. But I'd probably take a signing bonus that requires some tenure to not have to pay it back. Spend the money after that period. (Relocation is different to me because the disruption in your life is what they're paying for. If you don't like the job, your life was still disrupted. You're not asking for them to unrelocate you.)