The Employment court will rule Thursday whether a Mortgage Broker will be forced to pay back professional development costs after spending his allowance on a Wookiee language course.
The man paid for the course using his company credit card but after providing receipts to the accounts department, was told the costs were “not work related”. He subsequently received an invoice one month later. The $900 course included theory, practical lessons and a formal certificate of completion.
The man rejected the assessment that the course wasn’t work related and claimed the costs were eligible under the company wide “bilingual skills development scheme”. The organization claimed that the scheme was only applicable to “recognized languages”, and that the new language skills didn’t offer any value “day to day” nor benefit the organization as a whole.
Court documents reveal the man cited a 2006 Oxford University study that researched the benefits of bilingual language learning, and its effects on the brain. The study found that learning and speaking a second language helped strengthen neurological pathways, more so than for participants who spoke a single language. The man argued this was a “cognitive benefit” of the course and would therefore have a flow on effect to the organization, as he would likely become a more productive employee. The organization, while acknowledged the study’s findings “in principle”, argued that the benefit of communication with others was at the crux of their funded language scheme.
The man claimed that he had tried to facilitate communication or at the very least drum up interest in the language, by greeting colleagues in lunch room each morning. However admitted the dialogue was “not reciprocated”.
When reporters asked about his chances of winning the employment matter, the man responded incomprehensibly. He was initially thought to be having a small stroke, however it was later confirmed it was just Shyriiwook being spoken. The audio is yet to be translated into English.
