 ️ Court Says 'No': Employer Won't Get Money Back for Training a Resigned Employee Imagine: you invested 200,000 ₽ in training an employee, signed a training contract with a condition to work for 3 years, and after six months the person quits. And the court says: you won't get the money. This is exactly what happened in a recent case reviewed by the cassation court (source — ConsultantPlus, 13.05.2026). What happened: The company entered into a training contract with the employee — paid for the course, and he committed to work for 3 years. The employee resigned early. The employer went to court demanding reimbursement of expenses. Cassation's position: Denied. The court indicated that the training contract itself is not an unconditional basis for recovering costs if the employer did not prove: — direct damage from the resignation; — that the training was conducted solely in the company's interests; — proportionality of the amount and the work period. What this means for an entrepreneur: 1️⃣ Training contract is not a panacea. If you simply pay for a course and hope for the work period, the court may not support you. A clear mechanism is needed: linking costs to specific projects, phased payment, breaking down the debt by months worked. 2️⃣ Risk for small businesses — you invest money in an employee's growth, and they leave for a competitor. Without the correct legal structure, you are left without both the specialist and the money. 3️⃣ How to reduce risk: — conclude not a training contract but a targeted contract with conditions for repayment upon resignation (case law on these is more stable); — split the training payment into parts tied to months worked; — specify in the contract that the training is an investment in specific company tasks, not general employee development. Conclusion: courts are increasingly protecting employees, even if they signed obligations. The legal technique of the contract becomes critically important. One wrong clause — and you lose the right to reimbursement. If you have employees undergoing training or plan to hire with further training — double-check your contracts. Saving on a lawyer now could cost tens of thousands later. Need a template for a safe training contract? Write in the comments — we'll break it down.