Continuing education: What must the employer pay?
«A rolling stone gathers no moss.» Progressive companies therefore pay for their employees’ continuing education so that they can stay up to date professionally and provide the greatest possible benefit to the company. In return, it is permissible to retain such employees with the company for the long term under certain conditions. By Irmtraud Bräunlich Keller, lic.rer.pol., editor and labor law expert at the Beobachter Advisory Center.
Are employees entitled to regular further training? And does the employer have to contribute to the costs incurred? To date, this has not been explicitly regulated by law. Nevertheless, the Federal Council wants to promote continuing education with a new law on continuing education. Employers are to be obliged to "encourage" the further training of their employees. But this is a long way off. At present, the Swiss Code of Obligations only stipulates that expenses necessarily incurred in the course of work are to be borne by the employer. This means that the costs of training or courses that the employer declares to be mandatory must be paid by the company. The training period then counts as working time. The situation is different if employees attend a training course on their own initiative because they are eager to learn and want to progress in their career. In this case, the employer is not obliged to contribute to the costs or grant the employee time off to attend the course. Many employers do this anyway in order to encourage their employees. But further training is expensive, and anyone who invests in training their employees wants to be sure that they don't immediately leave for the competition with their newly acquired knowledge. To prevent this, employers can attach conditions to their payments.
In most cases, the employee must undertake to remain with the company for a certain period of time after completing the training or to reimburse the training costs. Many companies draw up further training regulations that stipulate when and under what conditions the company will contribute to courses and training programs financially and by granting additional time off. In addition, it is advisable to conclude individual agreements with the employees concerned, which define the details in each specific case. The following principles should be observed:
- The agreement must be made in writing before the start of the training.
- The duration of the commitment must be limited in time and must be proportionate to the training period and the employer's financial commitment - two to three years since completion of the training is usual.
- If the employee terminates prematurely, a pro rata repayment obligation applies, graduated by month. For example, if the employee remains with the company for only half of the contractually agreed period, the company must reimburse half of the training costs.
- If the employer terminates the contract through no fault of their own, the employee is not obliged to repay the amount.
Do you need legal advice?
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Book tip
Labor law
From contract to termination
This handbook by the Beobachter employment law specialist provides a clear overview. What should be included in an employment contract? What to do in the event of a pay cut? What about overtime? How do I give notice correctly? How can I defend myself? Here you will find competent answers to your questions, groundbreaking court rulings and lots of practical tips. 272 pages, Fr. 36.-, 11th, revised and updated edition, 2011, ISBN 978 3 85569 440 2, Beobachter- Buchverlag
