HOW TO PROTECT YOUR INVESTMENT IN EMPLOYEE AND SELF-EMPLOYED CONTRACTOR TRAINING: A PRACTICAL GUIDE

Imagine investing tens of thousands into training a key team member, only for them to announce a month later that they’re leaving for a competitor. What now? Are you entitled to recover your costs? And is there a way to prevent this from happening?

Our solution: A Qualification Agreement as protection for employers

If you fund your employees’ training, you can protect yourself through a qualificationagreement. This means that after completing the training, the employee must remain with the company for an agreed period (up to a maximum of 5 years). If they leave earlier, the employee is obligated to reimburse a proportionate part of the training costs.

However, costs can only be reclaimed if the training relates to increasing or deepening qualifications. This means training that equips the employee for broader or more specialized work, often beyond basic onboarding. In such cases, a written qualification agreement may be concluded.

Why enter into a qualification agreement?

✅ Protects your investment in education – employees with new skills won’t immediately run to a competitor
✅ Motivates employees to develop – investing in people pays off
✅ Clear rules – prevents misunderstandings and disputes

What should you watch out for?

⚠️ Correct wording – poorly drafted agreements may not be enforceable
⚠️ Proportionality – you cannot demand repayment of unreasonable costs
⚠️ Legal restrictions – agreements must comply with labour law

How to protect your investment with contractors?

For self-employed contractors, a qualification agreement (which applies only to employees) cannot be used. However, there are alternative mechanisms to safeguard your investment in their training:

🔹 Reimbursement of costs upon early termination – the contract may state that if the contractor ends the cooperation before the agreed time, they must repay a proportionate part of the training costs.
🔹 Costs as part of the fee – training costs may be included in the contractor’s fee, and if cooperation ends early, these costs are deducted.
🔹 Deferred payment – the contractor initially covers the training themselves, and the company reimburses them only if they remain for the agreed period.

Be careful, though, to structure the contract correctly – otherwise you risk creating an unlawful disguised employment relationship.

Case study: Marketing agency and an external consultant

A marketing agency decided to fund specialist training for an external consultant who was to work long-term on strategic projects. The training cost amounted to CZK 50,000. However, after two months the consultant terminated the cooperation and moved to a competitor. Thanks to a well-drafted contract containing a clause on reimbursement of costs in the event of early termination, the consultant had to repay 60% of the costs, i.e. CZK 30,000. The agency thus minimised its financial loss.

Get advice from professionals

Don’t expose yourself to unnecessary risks. At MACEK.LEGAL, we’ll be happy to assist you with precisely drafted qualification agreements for employees as well as contractual clauses for self-employed contractors. Get in touch with us and ensure legal protection for your company’s investment.

#investment in employees # training agreement #qualification agreement

#Investment in employees #Qualification agreement #Training agreement