Points to Note Regarding Employees’ Liability to Repay Training Costs
2026/07/09
- I-GLOCAL.CO.,LTD ハノイ事務所
- Nguyen Thi Thu Hien
Executive Summary
① Overview — The liability to repay training costs is a mandatory item of the vocational training contract under Article 62 of the 2019 Labor Code, becoming relevant when an employee fails to honor the committed post-training service period.
② When liability arises — It arises only where the employee (1) unlawfully terminates the labor contract unilaterally, or (2) lawfully terminates it but breaches the contract’s commitment; since the 2025 Law on Vocational Education (effective January 1, 2026) removed the former provision, liability now depends on the contract’s terms.
③ Proving training content — The employer must prove that genuine skill-improvement or retraining related to the employee’s position actually took place; mere observation visits without a schedule, program, or materials are unlikely to qualify.
④ Recoverable costs — Only actual training costs supported by valid documents (instructor fees, materials, trainees’ wages and insurance, overseas travel/living) are recoverable; damages for breach beyond the actual costs are likely not claimable.
⑤ Recommendations — Companies should draft the vocational training contract strictly (occupation, place/period, committed period, repayment conditions) and retain all related documents and supporting evidence in case of dispute.
Introduction
In the course of human-resource development, many companies implement in-house training programs and bear the associated costs. However, where an employee terminates the labor contract before the expiry of the committed period of service that the employee has pledged, disputes over the obligation to repay training costs tend to arise. Accurately understanding the legal rules concerning training costs is therefore an important practical issue for companies.
1. Overview of Vocational Training Contracts and Training-Cost Repayment Agreements
1-1 Vocational training contracts
Under Articles 62.1 and 62.2 of the 2019 Labor Code, a vocational training contract is an agreement concluded between the employer and the employee concerning training to improve the employee’s skill level, vocational skills training, or retraining, whether in Vietnam or abroad, funded by the employer’s resources (including funds provided to the employer by partners).
The “vocational training contract” concerning “training to improve skill levels and vocational skills” provided for in Article 62 of the Labor Code is distinguished from “vocational learning” and “vocational apprenticeship” provided for in Article 61 of the Labor Code; this article addresses only vocational training contracts under Article 62 of the Labor Code.
Article 62.2 of the Labor Code provides that a vocational training contract must contain the following principal contents:
(a) The occupation to be trained
(b) The place and period of training, and the wage during the training period
(c) The committed period after training
(d) Training costs and the liability to repay training costs
(e) The employer’s responsibilities
(f) The employee’s responsibilities
1-2 Training-cost repayment agreements
The “liability to repay training costs” is a mandatory item in a vocational training contract. Through it, the two parties stipulate in the vocational training contract the cases in which the employee must repay the training costs and the amount to be repaid. Ordinarily, the employer may request repayment of the training costs where the employee does not comply with the committed period after training.
２.Employees’ Liability to Repay Training Costs
In practice, even where a vocational training contract has been concluded, employees do not readily agree to repay training costs. Where a dispute arises, in order for the employer to claim repayment, it is necessary to secure sufficient legal grounds and supporting documents for the repayment.
Specifically, whether an employee bears the liability to repay training costs is determined by each of the following elements.
2-1 Legal grounds
An employee’s liability to repay training costs may arise in the following cases.
(1) Where the employee unlawfully terminates the labor contract unilaterally
・Under Article 40.3 of the Labor Code, one of the obligations where an employee unlawfully terminates the labor contract unilaterally is to repay training costs to the employer in accordance with Article 62 of the Labor Code.
・Article 62 of the Labor Code provides that the two parties must conclude a vocational training contract, which must contain a training-cost repayment clause (as noted above in Section 1).
Therefore, where an employee unlawfully terminates the labor contract unilaterally and a valid vocational training contract has been concluded between the two parties, the employee bears the liability to repay the training costs to the employer.
(2) Where the employee lawfully terminates the labor contract unilaterally but breaches the commitment under the vocational training contract
・The law does not provide for the employee’s obligations in the case of lawful unilateral termination of the labor contract.
・Under Article 62.2 of the Labor Code, the liability to repay training costs is one of the principal contents of a vocational training contract.
・Previously, under Article 61 of the 2014 Law on Vocational Education, an employee was required, after completing a training course, to work for the employer in accordance with the commitment in the vocational training contract, and was required to repay the training costs if the commitment was not fulfilled. However, the 2025 Law on Vocational Education (effective January 1, 2026, replacing the 2014 Law on Vocational Education) deleted this provision.
Therefore, the content of an employee’s liability to repay training costs is understood to be what the two parties agree upon and stipulate in the vocational training contract. In this case, the determination of whether the employee bears the liability to repay training costs is made on the basis of the vocational training contract.
2-2 Training content
In determining whether the liability to repay training costs exists, the employer must first prove that the vocational training was actually carried out. The content of the vocational training must be for the purpose of improving the employee’s skill level and vocational skills, or retraining.
At present, Vietnamese law contains no specific provisions on what constitutes “training to improve skill levels and vocational skills” or “retraining.” However, the employer can prove this through training content and materials directly related to the position of the employee concerned. For example, this is the case where an employee working in the human-resources management department takes a training course provided by the employer on social insurance, payroll, recruitment skills, and the like. In such a case, it can be determined that the employee received training to improve skill levels and vocational skills.
On the other hand, where the training activity amounts to no more than an observation visit or tour, with no specific schedule, program, materials, or the like, it becomes difficult for the employer to prove that it was “training to improve skill levels and vocational skills.” In particular, where a dispute arises, there is a high likelihood that it will not be recognized as vocational training by the dispute-resolution body.
2-3 Recoverable training costs
Under Article 62.3 of the Labor Code, training costs are defined as expenditures supported by valid documents, and specifically include the following.
・ Payments to instructors, and the costs of learning materials, schools/classrooms, machinery and equipment, and practical-training materials
・Other costs of supporting trainees, and the wages, social insurance, health insurance, and unemployment insurance of trainees during the training period
・Travel and living expenses during the training period (where the employee receives training abroad)
Therefore, the employer may claim repayment only of costs that relate to the training and are supported by valid documents. In addition, where the employer, in the vocational training contract, seeks payment of compensation for damages arising from a breach of the committed period of service in addition to the actual training costs, there is a high likelihood that the employer cannot claim such compensation, since there is no specific legal basis recognizing it.
3.Points to Note and Recommendations for Companies
3-1 Regarding vocational training contracts
The clauses relating to the determination of an employee’s liability to repay training costs should specifically stipulate at least the following matters, including:
・A clause on the occupation to be trained: it must be consistent with the employee’s position under the labor contract.
・A clause on the place and period of training: it should be stated specifically in order to facilitate the determination and proof of valid training costs. Where the contract refers to a training program, the company should ensure that this information is specifically stated in the training program, and should retain the relevant documents in full.
・A clause on the committed period after training: the period for which the employee must commit must be clearly stated, and the starting date of that period must be specifically defined. The committed period must also be consistent with the duration of the training program and the degree of specialization.
・A clause on the repayment of training costs: it must clearly stipulate in which cases the employee must repay the training costs.
3-2 Regarding vocational training content
The company should take care to select training content consistent with the employee’s actual work, and should retain all materials relating to the training course or training program so as to maintain a state in which it can prove the training content, place, and period.
3-3 Regarding training costs
The company must prepare valid invoices and supporting documents in accordance with accounting laws and regulations for the costs that relate to the training course and are intended to support the employee’s training. When determining which costs constitute training costs, the company should verify them against the content, place, and period of the training.
Conclusion
An employee’s liability to repay training costs arises only where the two parties have concluded a valid vocational training contract and the employee either unlawfully terminates the labor contract unilaterally, or lawfully terminates the labor contract unilaterally but breaches the commitment set out in the vocational training contract. Moreover, the training content must be consistent with the position, and the employee bears liability to repay only the actual training costs that are supported by valid documents. Therefore, in order to protect their own rights, companies should take care to stipulate the vocational training contract strictly and to retain the relevant documents and supporting evidence in full in preparation for the occurrence of a dispute.
References
・Labor Code No. 45/2019/QH14 dated November 20, 2019
・Law on Vocational Education No. 124/2025/QH15 dated December 10, 2025
・Law on Vocational Education No. 74/2014/QH13 dated November 27, 2014
・Decree No. 145/2020/ND-CP dated December 14, 2020, detailing and guiding the implementation of a number of articles of the Labor Code on working conditions and labor relations
Related Reports
・Key Considerations When an Employee Unilaterally Terminates a Labor Contract in Violation of the Law
