[bronco21016]

This is very common in the industry I used to work in. You’d get a sign on bonus but only after a certain threshold. Usually completion of training. If for some reason you didn’t make it to that threshold (lay-off, quit, fail training, etc.) you saw none of the bonus money. It wasn’t even paid out until that threshold was met.

I have sympathy for the couple in that it’s really tough to lose a job you just moved for but unfortunately that’s just kinda life. It doesn’t seem to me a Twitter rant solves anything other than marking one’s self as a potential headache to other employers.

[paulie_a]

If you fail training or quit you should not get the bonus. If you were fired for cause same thing. That's on the employee.

But layoffs were coming and probably known, that was out of the employee's control. Pay the damn bonus as goodwill.

Does a company want a reputation of "yeah they hired me but unfortunately with cutbacks I was new, but they made good on their promises even though I hadn't been there long enough"

Or "they hired me, enticed me with a signing bonus and then didn't bother making good, fuck that company"

I don't care if the contract specifically allowed that, it will leave a bitter taste in that employee's mouth. And it will be repeated regardless of the original contract. Reputation matters more than some line in a contract.