Reimbursement of travel expenses according to VVT collective labor agreement after termination of employment

Questioner

My employer wants me to pay back travel expenses in addition to my tuition fees if I do not continue working for them for 1 year after graduating. I didn't read properly in my study agreement when I signed that I also had to pay back travel expenses. But in principle this is a null and void clause, because in the VVT ​​collective labor agreement, which concerns home care, travel expenses must be paid to an employee, because it is working time to go from client to client. But then you also have home-work travel expenses. How exactly does this work? Are they allowed to do this?

Lawyer

It is understandable that you want to know whether your employer can claim your travel expenses from you. In general, travel expenses that an employer reimburses are considered necessary costs to be able to do your job. This applies in particular to costs incurred to travel from client to client, as is the case with home care. The recoverability of these costs can be seen as dependent on a few factors. Firstly, the conditions set in your contract or study agreement are important. In addition, a collective labor agreement, such as the VVT ​​collective labor agreement, can have specific provisions that have an influence. For example, this collective labor agreement can state that travel expenses cannot be recovered. If the VVT ​​collective labor agreement stipulates that travel expenses must be paid to the employee, this may take precedence over what is stated in your individual contract. The individual agreements between you and your employer may not in principle deviate from the collective labor agreement to the detriment of the employee. However, the determination of whether these costs must be reimbursed often depends on the specific conditions set out in your study agreement. It is therefore important to read your study agreement carefully and, if necessary, seek legal advice to understand how this applies to you. It may be advisable to contact a lawyer or attorney to review your situation in detail.' ---------------- Stichting Rechtswinkel.nl is a national organization with students and volunteers. The above advice is based on limited information and may be incomplete or even incorrect for your situation. Always consult a lawyer or attorney for your further steps. Read disclaimer: https://rechtswinkel.nl/disclaimer I would like to invite you to rate the above answer so that we can learn from your response.