I. Legal provisions on liquidated damages for training fees under labor contracts
Paragraph 2 of Article 22 of the Labor Contract Law: If a laborer violates the service period agreement, he shall pay liquidated damages to the employer as agreed. The amount of liquidated damages shall not exceed the training expenses provided by the employer. The liquidated damages that the employer requires the laborer to pay shall not exceed the training expenses that should be shared for the unfinished part of the service period.
The training expenses stipulated in the second paragraph of Article 22 of Article 16 of the Regulations for the Implementation of the Labor Contract Law include the well-documented training expenses paid by the employer for the professional and technical training of the workers, the travel expenses during the training period and other direct expenses incurred by the workers due to the training.
Article 26 of the Regulations on the Implementation of the Labor Contract Law stipulates the service period between the employer and the employee. If the employee terminates the labor contract in accordance with Article 38 of the Labor Contract Law, it is not a violation of the agreement on the service period, and the employer may not require the employee to pay liquidated damages.
Second, is it not necessary to pay liquidated damages as long as the company proposes to terminate the contract during the service period?
If the company voluntarily proposes to terminate the labor contract during the service period, there is generally no need to pay liquidated damages. However, if the company terminates the labor contract according to the following circumstances, even if the company voluntarily proposes, the employee still needs to pay liquidated damages. Under any of the following circumstances, if the employer and the employee terminate the labor contract with the agreed service period, the employee shall pay liquidated damages to the employer in accordance with the labor contract:
(1) The laborer seriously violates the rules and regulations of the employing unit;
(2) The laborer seriously neglects his duty or engages in malpractices for selfish ends, thus causing great damage to the employing unit;
(3) The laborer establishes labor relations with other employers at the same time, which has a serious impact on the completion of the work tasks of the unit, or the employer refuses to correct it;
(4) The laborer enters into or changes a labor contract against his true intention by means of fraud or coercion or taking advantage of the danger of others;
(5) The laborer is investigated for criminal responsibility according to law.
Now many companies will provide some special training for their employees, and a training agreement will be signed before the training to prevent the loss caused by employees' resignation. Under normal circumstances, if the employee proposes to terminate the labor contract during the service period, he shall take the initiative to bear the liquidated damages. However, according to Article 38 of the Labor Contract Law, if a worker voluntarily proposes to terminate the labor contract, he is not bound by the service period and does not need to pay any liquidated damages.