Pay
"If you quit, you pay back the training costs."
Your contract contains a repayment clause or contractual penalty for quitting.
§ 12 BBiG
The boss may NOT do that
Such clauses are void in a training contract.
The Vocational Training Act expressly prohibits trainees paying for their training. Void are agreements on compensation for the vocational training, contractual penalties, excluding or limiting damage claims and damages as flat amounts (§ 12 (2) BBiG). A clause "if you quit you pay €X" or "repayment of course costs" is therefore invalid — whether or not you signed it. The rest of the contract remains valid. Only for genuine, proven damage after an unjustified ending of the contract can the company claim compensation, and strict deadlines apply (§ 23 BBiG).
What the law says
§ 12 (2) BBiG – Void agreements
Agreements obliging trainees to pay compensation for their training, contractual penalties, excluding or limiting damage claims and setting damages as flat amounts are void.
§ 23 BBiG – Damages
If the training relationship is ended early after probation, damage claims can only be asserted within three months of its end.
What you can do
- Do not sign a repayment agreement — it would be void anyway.
- If money is withheld from your last pay, reclaim it in writing.
- Have the contract checked by the IHK/HWK — it only registers lawful contracts.
- Further training AFTER your apprenticeship may be governed differently.
Email template for your trainer
Subject: Claim for repayment of training costs
Dear [name],
you are demanding payment of [€X] from me for [training costs / contractual penalty]. Agreements under which trainees pay compensation for their training or a contractual penalty are void under § 12 (2) BBiG.
I therefore reject the claim and ask for the withheld amount to be paid out by [date].
Kind regards
[Your name]
More cases: Pay
- More money? Be glad you're learning!
- Buy your own tools!
- €550 a month is fine for a trainee.
- In your second year you earn the same as in your first.
- We're not paying those few hours of overtime.
- You pay for school books and calculators yourself.
- Your pay is coming a bit later this month.
- You pay a fee for the training place.
- We'll deduct food and your room from your pay.
- Only permanent staff get a Christmas bonus.
- Nobody pays for your commute.
- As a trainee you don't get child benefit any more.
- During probation you get less money.