Training agreement (qualification agreement) under the Czech Labour Code

By contrast, a qualification agreement to deepen qualifications may only be concluded if the expected costs amount to at least CZK 75,000. If a qualification agreement to deepen qualifications is concluded, the employer cannot order the employee to deepen his or her qualifications, because the employee will be bound by a retention commitment and must therefore be able to decide freely.

The form and content of a qualification agreement are set out in Section 234 of the Czech Labour Code. Under this provision, a qualification agreement includes the employer's commitment to enable the employee to raise his or her qualifications and the employee's commitment to remain employed by the employer for an agreed period, but no longer than five years, or to reimburse the employer for the costs it incurred in raising the employee's qualifications, even if the employee terminates employment before the qualifications are raised. The employee's commitment to remain in employment begins once the qualifications have been raised.

A qualification agreement must contain the mandatory terms prescribed by law. The first is a definition of the type of qualification and the way it will be raised or deepened. Another essential term is the period for which the employee undertakes to remain employed by the employer after completing, raising or deepening the qualification. The agreement must also specify the types of costs and the total amount of costs the employee would have to reimburse if he or she breached the commitment to remain in employment. If the employer provided the employee only with the benefits listed in Section 232 of the Labour Code, in particular time off with wage or salary compensation at the level of average earnings to the extent strictly necessary to attend classes, tuition or training, or to prepare for and sit an examination, then the compensation the employee would have to pay for failing to meet the commitment to remain in employment would be the wage compensation paid for the time off granted for study or examinations.

If the employee breaches the commitment to remain employed by the employer, he or she must reimburse only the costs actually incurred in raising or deepening the qualification, which may not, however, exceed the amount of costs agreed in the contract. Even if the costs actually incurred were higher than the maximum amount agreed in the contract, the employee is obliged to reimburse only that agreed amount. If the employee only partly fails to meet the commitment to remain employed, the reimbursement obligation is reduced proportionately.

If the employer provided the employee with higher benefits or benefits of a different type than those listed in Section 232 of the Labour Code, the types and amounts of these benefits must be properly specified in the agreement, because if the employee breaches the commitment and does not remain employed for the agreed period, he or she is obliged to reimburse the employer only the amount and type of costs that are precisely agreed and defined in the agreement. A specific definition of the type of costs means, for example, travel expenses, a contribution towards study materials and the like.

According to the judgment of the Czech Supreme Court of 8 July 2014, file no. 21 Cdo 97/2013, a validly concluded qualification agreement within the meaning of Section 234 of the Labour Code is the legal basis on which the employer is entitled to demand that the employee repay the costs associated with raising the employee's qualifications.

The procedure for breach of a qualification agreement is governed by Section 235 of the Labour Code. An employee who breaches his or her commitment under a qualification agreement only in part must reimburse the costs of raising or deepening the qualification in proportion to the extent of the breach. Section 235(3) of the Labour Code lists situations in which the employee's obligation to reimburse costs under a qualification agreement does not arise. These include, for example, cases where the employee has, through no fault of his or her own, become unfit in the long term to perform the work for which the qualification was raised, or where the employee cannot perform his or her current work because of a work injury or occupational disease, or where the employer, in the last 12 months, did not use for at least 6 months the qualification the employee obtained under the qualification agreement.

It follows from the above that the employer may demand reimbursement of the costs actually incurred in raising or deepening qualifications from an employee who breaches the commitment to remain employed for the agreed period, but no longer than five years, only if the type and amount of costs are precisely specified in the qualification agreement and the employer can prove that the costs were actually incurred. The maximum amount of reimbursement the employer may demand from the employee must not exceed the amount of costs agreed in the agreement.

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