PERSONAL LEARNING BUDGET: TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Under the collective labour agreement (CAO) for the electrical retail sector, every employee with an employment contract of more than 15 contracted hours per week is entitled to a personal learning budget. The purpose of this budget is to strengthen the employee’s future position in the labour market.
The following conditions apply to this scheme:
Budget Amount
- Up to 1 January 2024, the individual learning budget is €150 per employee per year, or €12.50 per month.
- From 1 January 2024 onwards, the budget is €175 per employee per year, or €14.58 per month.
Accumulation and validity
- Employees can accumulate the learning budget for a maximum of three years.
- Any unused balance will expire after three years.
- The budget is personal and non-transferable.
- Accumulation stops upon termination of employment, retirement, death, or discontinuation of the arrangement in the CAO.
Eligible use
- The learning budget may only be used for training and personal development.
- The selected course or training programme must contribute to the employee’s personal career development.
- Expenditure on approved learning activities is exempt from income tax, provided it meets this condition.
Application and administration
- The budget can only be used through the official Learning Portal.
- Training programmes or courses booked outside the portal are not covered by the scheme and cannot be reimbursed with the budget.
- If a desired course or training provider is not listed in the portal, the employee can submit a request using the “Not Found” form (visible after logging in). The request will be reviewed to determine whether the course can be added.
Time investment and additional costs
- The time investment required for training, whether during or outside working hours, must be mutually agreed upon between employer and employee.
- If the cost of the selected course exceeds the available budget, the employee and employer must agree on how to allocate or cover the additional costs.
