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#1 Budapest, and the bond question is asked in every Wizz thread and answered from memory by people who signed in different years. Here is the current structure as I understand it from the document I have seen this year, in general terms, because the specific numbers vary by base and by contract and you must read yours.
What it is
A training agreement, signed before the course, in which the company pays for the training and you agree to repay a proportion of its cost if you leave the company within a set period after qualifying. It is not a fee. Nothing is paid on the day. It is a leaving penalty that reduces to zero over the bond period.
The shape
A total training cost figure, stated in the agreement. A bond period, typically two years from the end of the course at the bases I know. A repayment schedule that reduces month by month: leave in month one and you owe most of it, leave in month 18 and you owe a fraction, leave after the period and you owe nothing. The repayment is deducted from your final pay, and if the final pay does not cover it, invoiced.
What triggers it
Resigning. At some contracts, being dismissed for cause. What does not trigger it, usually: failing the course (you do not owe for a course you did not complete, at the agreements I have seen), the company ending your contract without cause, or a base closure. Read your version for these specifically, because they are where the agreements differ.
What you sign and when
The agreement is given to you at or after the assessment day, before the course. You are allowed to take it away. You are allowed to ask questions. Nobody is signing it in a hallway under time pressure and if someone asks you to, do not.
The questions to ask, in writing
- What is the total cost figure and the bond period?
- What happens if I fail the course?
- What happens if the company closes my base or ends my contract?
- Is the repayment pro rated by month, and can I see the schedule?
- Is the deduction from final pay, and what if that does not cover it?
My honest view
It is a normal structure for European low cost carriers and it is fair if you stay two years, which most people do. It becomes unfair only if you did not understand it, and the way to understand it is to ask the five questions and read the answer. Kate's contract thread has the wider list. This is the Wizz specific one.
Corrections from crew at other bases with different terms welcome.
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#2 Krakow, and my agreement from 18 months ago matches this in shape, with a two year period and a monthly reduction. I asked question 2 and 3 in writing and got clear answers. Anyone who does not ask is choosing not to know.
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#3 Bucharest assessment in two weeks, and I have copied the five questions into my notes and I will ask them on the day. This is the clearest explanation of the bond I have read. Thank you.
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#4 Warsaw, and one addition: the bond does not follow you if you transfer bases within the company. It follows the contract, not the base. Someone asked me that last week.
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#5 @tomaszwzz correct and worth adding. A transfer within Wizz is not leaving. The bond continues, it does not restart.
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#6 Ex TUI, now ground ops, and I wrote the wider contract thread: Viktor's five questions are exactly the ones I would add for any training agreement at any carrier. Ask them in writing. Keep the answers.
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#7 Reapplying in October and the bond was the part my family was most worried about. Sending them this thread. A leaving penalty that reduces to zero, not a fee. That is a different conversation at home.
