You do not automatically have to repay study costs because you are leaving. First it has to be established whether the employer had to offer the training free of charge. If that is the case, a repayment clause cannot be used to recover those costs from you after all. For other training, repayment depends on what was agreed, on how clear the clause is and on the circumstances of your departure.
A training bill can turn out unexpectedly high. The employer adds up course fees, examinations, books and sometimes also salary during class days. The amount then disappears from your last payslip. Your signature under a study agreement is relevant, but not the end of the legal assessment.
In this article you can read how to check a study costs clause, what differences exist between types of training and what you can do about an unjustified deduction. For the wider rules on contracts and terms of employment we refer you to our page on employment law.
Start with the training, not with the repayment amount
The first question is why you took the training. Was the training needed to perform your existing job? Did a statute or collective agreement oblige your employer to offer the training? Or was it a course you took at your own request with a future career step in mind?
Article 7:611a of the Dutch Civil Code governs employers’ training obligation and the requirement that certain compulsory training be free of charge. The European background is in article 13 of Directive 2019/1152 on transparent and predictable working conditions. A contract cannot easily set aside the protection for training that must be free of charge.
That a qualification is also usable with another employer does not decide the case. Training can be useful for your career and at the same time fall under your current employer’s training obligation. Conversely, not every course that is desirable in practice is automatically a course the employer must by law offer free of charge.
Which training has to be free of charge
For training the employer has to offer under applicable statutory rules or a collective agreement in order for the agreed work to be performed, the rules on free training apply. The obligation to enable employees to follow necessary training also deserves attention here. The precise classification sometimes calls for an assessment of the job, the purpose of the training and the legal basis.
Think of training needed because the employer is introducing a new system, or training that forms part of bringing knowledge for the existing work up to standard. State concretely which work could not be performed without the training and who required participation.
With free training, necessary additional costs can be relevant alongside the course fee, such as examination costs and teaching materials. Under the statutory rules the training time counts as working time and the training must, where possible, take place at the times at which work has to be performed (article 7:611a(2) of the Dutch Civil Code). An employer cannot get round this protection by calling compulsory training something else.
Professional qualifications and a diploma before starting work
With a vocational course or a qualification needed for admission to a profession, the assessment is more nuanced. The European directive makes clear that training for obtaining, maintaining or renewing a professional qualification does not automatically fall under the obligation to provide it. A statutory rule or collective agreement can, however, place that obligation on the employer.
So a general statement that all vocational training has to be repaid is incorrect. The opposite statement, that every course needed for the profession must always be free, also goes too far. Look at the specific training, the job you were already doing and the employer’s obligations.
With a work-study (BBL) programme several agreements can exist alongside each other: the employment contract, a practical training agreement and arrangements with the educational institution. A provision in one document does not necessarily tell the whole story. So gather the complete set and the applicable collective agreement before you acknowledge a debt.
How does a study costs clause work for non-compulsory training?
For training that does not fall under compulsory free training, employer and employee can make repayment arrangements. The employee must be able to understand in advance what financial risk they are taking on. The content of the clause, the way it came about and the reasonableness of applying it all play a part.
Check whether it is sufficiently clear which training and which costs are meant, which events lead to repayment and over what period the employer expects to benefit from the investment. It must also be clear how the repayment obligation reduces the longer you stay on after the training.
Written, concrete arrangements prevent evidential problems. A loose reference to all costs incurred by the employer can be insufficiently clear, certainly where the amount later turns out to be considerably higher than was discussed. There is, however, no single identical statutory formal test for every conceivable cost arrangement. Have the content, the evidence and the interpretation assessed together.
Checklist for your study agreement
| Check point | What you must be able to establish |
|---|---|
| Training | Name, purpose, level and connection with your job |
| Legal basis | Why the employer does or does not have to offer the training free of charge |
| Types of cost | Course fee, examination, materials and any other agreed items |
| Amount | A concrete sum or a sufficiently transparent calculation |
| Moment of repayment | Which form of departure or discontinuation of the course triggers the clause |
| Tapering | How your debt reduces with the time you stay on after the training |
| Start date | From what moment the repayment period is calculated |
| Exceptions | Arrangements about illness, reorganisation, non-renewal and involuntary departure |
Also read the annexes and the staff handbook referred to. Ask which version applied when you agreed. A scheme amended later does not automatically apply retroactively to a course taken earlier.
Resigning yourself or being dismissed by the employer
The reason for leaving can make a lot of difference. On a voluntary move to another employer a valid repayment clause can be invoked if that situation falls under it. That still does not mean that every amount calculated is correct or that free training may be recovered.
If your contract is not renewed, your job disappears or the employer dismisses you, check whether the clause covers that scenario. Even where the text is broad, applying it can conflict with good employership or with reasonableness and fairness. After all, the employer may then itself be deciding that it no longer benefits from the training.
Where the dismissal is for conduct blamed on you, a separate assessment is again needed. An employer cannot simply treat a disputed ground for dismissal as established for the purposes of the training bill. So have the termination and the repayment claim assessed together.
What if you do not finish the course?
Illness, insufficient supervision, a change of job or failing an examination can all mean that a course stops. The mere fact that no diploma was obtained does not automatically make all the costs recoverable. The clause must cover this situation and its application must be legally tenable.
Examine who took the initiative to stop and why. Keep messages about study progress, timetable problems, missed supervision and requests to resit. If the employer itself made participation impossible, that is relevant to its claim.
With compulsory free training the principle that it must be free remains relevant. An employer cannot simply recover ordinary training costs after all by presenting them as damages after a disappointing examination. A genuinely separate claim for damages requires its own legal basis and assessment.
Example of a tapering arrangement
Suppose a non-compulsory course costs € 4,800 and a valid clause contains an even tapering over 24 months after completion. For each month that passes, the repayment sum then reduces in this simplified example by € 200. After fifteen full months, € 1,800 remains.
| Time after completion | Remaining amount in the example |
|---|---|
| Immediately after completion | € 4,800 |
| After 6 months | € 3,600 |
| After 12 months | € 2,400 |
| After 15 months | € 1,800 |
| After 24 months | € 0 |
This is not a statutorily prescribed schedule. Your agreement may contain a different tapering. Check above all the start date, the actual costs and how elapsed time is processed. The calculation only comes into play once it has been established that a repayment obligation is valid and applicable at all.
Do you also have to repay salary and internal supervision costs?
Sometimes an employer counts not only external training costs but also the pay during class days, internal supervision or administration costs. That calls for extra checking. Were these items clearly agreed in advance? How have they been calculated? And does the training perhaps fall under the rules treating training time as working time?
An employer cannot add new types of cost afterwards at will. Ask for invoices and a breakdown per item. With internal hours, a single total item without explanation is hard to check. Subsidies, contributions from third parties or refunds by a training provider can also be relevant to the amount actually recoverable.
Note the difference between a gross wage amount and a net claim. Reversing pay can have tax and administrative consequences. Do not accept only a net final amount without understanding how this is processed in the payroll records. If necessary, ask for a corrected payslip and an explanation.
May the employer deduct study costs from your salary?
A deduction or set-off requires a valid counterclaim and must comply with the applicable wage protection rules. During the employment the employer may only set off against the claims listed in article 7:632(1) of the Dutch Civil Code; that list does not apply at the end of the employment contract. The attachment-free protection of wages in article 7:632(2) also remains relevant. Even then, a payslip does not make an invalid debt valid.
For compulsory free training, article 7:611a(4) of the Dutch Civil Code provides that a clause recovering those costs from the employee or setting them off against their wages is void. So it is important to ask not only whether the calculation is correct, but first whether setting off these training costs is permitted at all.
If money has already been deducted, claim the missing wages in writing and ask for a specification. Depending on the circumstances, the statutory increase and interest may come into play. Our page on the wage claim describes how arrears of salary can be claimed.
Dealing with study costs in a settlement agreement
In negotiations about a settlement agreement, training costs belong expressly on the table. Does the arrangement say that the clause lapses, remains in force or is set off against the payment? A general reference to existing obligations can produce an unexpected bill later.
Have the financial elements written out separately. A severance payment of a given amount says little if study costs, a negative leave balance and other items are deducted alongside it. A full and final discharge can also affect outstanding wage claims or a discussion about earlier deductions.
Where a settlement agreement is offered, ask for an overview of both the termination payment and the final settlement of pay. Read our explanation of the settlement agreement before you agree to a package. An arrangement about leaving deserves an assessment of all the connected amounts.
Step-by-step plan on a repayment request
- Gather the contract, the study agreement, the applicable collective agreement and the course documents.
- Record why the course was taken and who required participation. Keep the job description and relevant emails.
- Ask for the legal basis, all types of cost and the invoices or calculation.
- Check whether your reason for leaving falls under the clause and whether the tapering has been correctly applied.
- Dispute concretely what is wrong. Do not acknowledge the whole debt in advance because you want to postpone payment.
- Respond separately to a deduction from salary and to any invoice sent alongside it.
- Have the documents assessed before you sign a payment arrangement, an acknowledgement of debt or a settlement agreement.
A payment arrangement can ultimately be practical if the claim is justified. But the question how you pay comes after the question whether you have to pay. A first request for substantiation helps to keep that distinction.
Model response to a bill for study costs
Dear Sir or Madam,
I have received your request to repay € [amount] in study costs. I dispute that this amount is payable without further substantiation. The course concerned [course] and was taken in connection with [job and reason].
I would like to receive the agreement you rely on, a specification of the actual costs and your explanation of why in your view the training does not fall under the rules on free training. Would you also explain which provision applies to my departure and how the tapering has been calculated?
In so far as you have set off € [amount] against my salary, I request you to explain the basis for that and to pay the wages wrongly withheld after all. By this letter I acknowledge no debt and I reserve my rights.
Yours faithfully,
[name]
Frequently asked questions about repaying study costs
Do I have to pay because I signed?
Not automatically. Your signature can prove the arrangement, but does not make a prohibited repayment clause valid. First the nature of the training and the statutory training obligation are assessed. Only then do the content and application of the clause come into play.
Does the prohibition also apply to old study agreements?
An old date does not in itself mean that the protection concerning free training does not apply. The rules as included in article 7:611a of the Dutch Civil Code with effect from 1 August 2022 can also affect existing clauses. With older arrangements, the moment of training, the type of cost and the applicable law have to be established carefully.
Do I have to repay my work-study (BBL) programme?
That cannot be answered on the basis of the BBL label alone. The collective agreement, the employment contract, the practical training agreement and the training obligation are all relevant. Have the whole programme assessed and check which costs the employer actually bore.
May my employer demand a fixed amount from me?
A fixed amount must have been agreed sufficiently clearly and be legally permissible. The employer must be able to explain what the amount relates to and when it is payable. Also check whether the amount tapers and does not include prohibited costs.
Do I never have to pay if the employer dismisses me?
That is too absolute. The reason for dismissal, the wording of the clause and the circumstances can make a difference. Involuntary departure and a termination on the employer’s initiative are, however, important circumstances in assessing a repayment claim.
Can my new employer take over the costs?
That is possible if the parties make arrangements about it. Have it examined first whether the original claim is justified. Taking it over can, after all, create a new repayment obligation. Record the amounts, the indemnity and the conditions on leaving the new job clearly.
May the employer withhold my diploma?
A payment dispute does not automatically give the employer the right to hold on to your personal diploma or certificate as leverage. Ask for it to be handed over and assess who issued the document and to whom it belongs. Deal with the disputed costs separately.
Can I pay part without acknowledging the rest?
That is sometimes possible, but describe clearly which item you are paying and which you continue to dispute. An unclear part payment or payment arrangement can later give rise to discussion about acknowledgement. Seek advice if the amounts are large or proceedings are already being threatened.
Do I have to send all study cost letters to a lawyer?
Send the original arrangement, the bill, the calculation and your correspondence. Add the job description and information about the purpose of the training. It is precisely those documents that help to assess whether the training should have been compulsorily free.
What if the employer does not reverse the deduction?
Then a wage claim or a defence against the study costs claim may be needed. The route depends on the amounts, whether they are due and how urgent it is. Keep claiming specifically described items in writing and have the applicable time limits assessed.
Have your study agreement checked
Arslan Advocaten assesses study costs clauses and disputes about salary deductions. We look at the training, the arrangements, the reason for leaving and the calculation together. Get in touch with your study agreement and the repayment request, so that it becomes clear which elements can be disputed in law.
Legal sources
- Book 7 of the Dutch Civil Code, articles 611, 611a and 632, via wetten.overheid.nl.
- Directive 2019/1152, article 13 and recital 37 on compulsory training and professional qualifications.
- Het Juridisch Loket on study costs clauses.
A study costs arrangement calls for an assessment of the specific training and the specific arrangements. General examples do not automatically determine the outcome of your case.
