Flinkâs Learning and Development budget is designed to support your professional development as it relates to your role and growth at Flink. Whether itâs learning new skills, earning a relevant certification, or attending a conference, the goal is to help you become more effective and fulfilled in your current position and to grow within the company.
Key Points at a Glance
Eligibility: Permanent HQ colleagues who have successfully passed probation. Please note that interns, working students, and freelancers are not eligible at this time.
Annual Budget: âŹ1,000 incl. VAT per calendar year (Budget cannot be rolled over into the next year).
Whatâs Covered: Workshops, trainings, certifications, conferences, and books that directly support your skills for professional development. This also includes travel expenses related to attending approved conferences.
Approval Required: All L&D activities must be submitted via the official L&D request form and approved by the People team before any purchases are made.
đ˘ Key Updates
đŠđŞ Sprechen Sie Deutsch?
We are thrilled to announce that starting January 2026, we are expanding our L&D to cover in-person German language courses!
We believe that learning a language is most effective when itâs immersive and social. Therefore, this specific budget is dedicated to in-person classes only. If online or digital learning is a better fit for you, you can explore Busuu via Prosus MyAcademy - free for all HQ Flink employees!
You can also benefit from a 5% discount for in-person German classes at Goethe-Institut, reducing the price from 799 EUR to 759,05 EUR (VAT-free). We will book your course and apply our partner code once you request a course!
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đ Please note that certification exams are not included in the budget coverage.
How to Use Your L&D Budget
â Step 1: Manager Approval Share your L&D idea with your manager. Your manager will assess its relevance and give verbal approval or let you know if itâs not a fit.
đ Step 2: Raise a Ticket Once approved, fill out and submit the official L&D request form. If you're requesting multiple items from one vendor (e.g., several books), please combine them into a single submission.
âł Step 3: Processing (Allow up to 2 weeks) The People team will handle the purchase centrally. To help secure the best pricing - especially for travel - please plan your requests accordingly. Youâll be notified once your request has been processed.
đĄ Policy Guidelines
Subscription Rules: Only annual subscriptions are eligible. New monthly subscriptions are not supported due to administrative constraints.
Conferences & Trainings: The budget is typically deducted from the year the activity occurs. However, you may use your current year's budget for activities scheduled in Q1 of the following year provided the invoice is dated no later than December 31st due to tax reasons. Please note that travel and accommodation expenses for future events are not eligible for this exception.
Books: We recommend you use Amazon for book orders. We kindly ask you to only select physical books, as digital content / audio books can not be purchased through our corporate account.
Language Courses: From 2026, in-person German courses are eligible for budget use. For all other languages or digital learning preferences, Flink offers free access to Busuu via MyAcademy. Certification exams are not included in the budget coverage.
Exceeding the Budget: If your requested resource exceeds the âŹ1,000 budget, you may contact the vendor to inquire about splitting the invoice (e.g., part company-funded, part personal). Please do not make any purchases before approval.
Personal Purchases via Moss: If you intend to purchase a resource personally and request reimbursement via Moss, you must receive prior approval from Simon or Vanda from the People Team.
â ď¸ Note: Reimbursements can not be made without confirmation from Simon or Vanda from the People Team.
âď¸ Travel Support
If your approved L&D activity involves travel:
Confirm Budget: Check your remaining budget with Vanda and Simon via Slack and get the final approval before booking
Book via Egencia: Please book all travel exclusively through Egencia. For compliance reasons, reimbursements for travel booked outside of Egencia are no longer permitted. Please follow the Travel Booking Guidelines.
Your Stay: Your accommodation budget should be aligned with the duration of your professional event. For instance, if youâre attending a two-day conference, the company covers your stay for up to two nights, depending on the time the event finishes. If youâd like to extend your trip for some personal time or to explore the city, you are more than welcome to do so! Simply arrange any additional nights at your own expense.
Submit the Final Cost: Once you have booked your travel, submit another L&D request form and select âAccommodation and Travelâ to reflect the final cost for tracking purposes.
đ§ After You Learn
We encourage you to share key takeaways from any training or event with your team either via a short presentation, summary, or doc. This helps everyone grow together!