Growth and Development Fund

Introduction

At GitLab, team members have access to the Growth and Development Fund to access external resources to develop their career.

GitLab team-members are eligible for a reimbursement of up to $10,000 USD per calendar year (January 1st - December 31st) depending on tenure, performance, company need for the learned skill, and available budget. A course/program is considered to be included in the calendar year in which the course/program is paid/reimbursed (which should also be the same calendar year in which it ends). If a course/program ends in December, team members have a grace period until the end of January to claim for Growth & Development reimbursements from the previous calendar year.

Budget estimations for the Growth & Development Fund are based on utilization rates from past years, adjusted for the size of the company. The budget is managed on a company-wide scale, not division-specific. For example, approving reimbursement for a team member in Engineering does not “take away” budget from other engineers. Eligibility is managed on an individual basis. Eligibility for the fund is part of each GitLab team member’s Total Rewards package.

The Growth and Development fund is managed by the Learning and Development team. For any questions, please contact a team member directly, or reach out in the #learninganddevelopment slack channel.

Growth and Development Fund Eligibility

To be eligible for the Growth and Development Fund, you must meet the following criteria:

• Team members who are full-time and have been employed for three months can participate in this fund.
• Team members should be meeting performance expectations in their current role. (Not on a Performance Improvement Plan, or receiving remedial coaching regarding underperformance)
• If you are a part-time GitLab team member, you may still be eligible to participate in this fund but your reimbursement might be reduced.
• Team members who are currently on “leave” status will not be eligible to use the growth and development fund.

How to Apply for the Growth and Development Fund

Here is a step by step guide on how to apply for G&D applications:

Step 1: Have a career development conversation with your manager to discuss the learning opportunity. It’s important to discuss timing, team member capacity, and application timeline for both the program and fund processing. This conversation should allow time for you to apply for the program and your manager to ensure team capacity.

Step 2: Create a new Growth & Development issue using one of the issue templates below. Please create your issue within the notification timeframe set out below.

The application process is visible internally. If there is any reason that you would like to keep your application confidential, please send growth-development@gitlab.com an email with the details of your application (refer to the issue templates for the information required).

Step 3: Request approval on the issue. Depending on the cost of the application, different approval levels are required. In all instances, your direct manager should be the first approver in the issue.

Cost Tiers Approval:

• Manager Approval (with VP’s made aware on the issue): $0-$1,000
• Manager + VP Approval: $1,000.01 - $5,000
• Manager + eGroup Approval for any spend $5,000.01 - $10,000 (Apart from Sales, where VPs can approve $5,000.01 - $10,000 spend)

Once the manager has approved, there is no further action to be taken by the manager. They can unassign themselves to the issue if they wish.

Step 4: Claim for reimbursement:

Once the appropriate approvals are provided on the Growth and Development issue, proceed with processing your G&D application. You do not have to wait for approval or further action from the Learning and Development team.

Before attempting to claim reimbursement, please ensure you’ve read through and understand the Notes on Reimbursement section below.

• Claim your expenses via Navan Expense:
  • In your Navan Expense report, choose the Expense type G&D (Growth and Development).
  • Include a screenshot of your approved Growth & Development issue & add a link to the issue to the description.
  • If reimbursing for an Academic or Course/Certificate program, include a screenshot of your final grade report/transcript/certificate.
  • Please make sure the issue matches your Navan Expense claim amount. Your Navan Expense claim will be audited against the Growth & Development issue amount.
• Please claim conference and workshop meals and lodging per receipt via Navan Expense. Travel should be expensed in a separate Navan claim, as detailed here. When submitting your travel claim, please add a link to your G&D issue in the description.

Please go back and close your G&D issue once you have received reimbursement for the program.

Notes on Reimbursement

Growth & Development requests are a reimbursed expense and follow a reimbursement workflow. Approved experiences will be reimbursed upon completion. This means requestors carry the financial responsibility associated with the growth experience through completion.

As an option, requests over $1,000 USD can take advantage of the split disbursement option designed to help team members carry the financial lift of costly experiences. The split disbursement option allows for 50% of the costs to be reimbursed immediately after payment and the remaining 50% is reimbursed upon completion.

Here’s how this workflow works:

1. After all necessary approvals, the requesting team member pays for the approved G&D experience.
2. If costs for this G&D experience exceed $1000USD, the team member can submit the proof of payment (via Navan), and the approved GitLab issue to receive a reimbursement of 50% of the total costs. When submitting in Navan, please state explicitly in the Description section of your expense claim that this is for a 50% reimbursement, with a link to your approved G&D issue.
3. Upon completion, the team member will submit the proof of completion (certificate, completion email, etc.) along with that same approved issue to receive the remaining 50% of total costs.

Recoupment of Growth and Development Reimbursements

If you voluntarily terminate employment with GitLab prior to completing twelve consecutive months of active employment, academic study or tuition expenses of $1,000 USD and over will need to be refunded to GitLab.

Bulk Applications

• If multiple team members are doing the same training or attending the same conference, please open one issue.
• Each team member should pay for their own expenses and process their own reimbursement through Navan. Team Members or Managers should not cover the expenses of other team members, as any reimbursements will count against their Growth and Development allowance.

Company-directed Learning Opportunities

The Growth and Development policy is meant to further team members’ learning and growth. Company-directed learning opportunities, such as mandatory conferences or training that are required to fulfill their job duties, are not within the scope of the Growth and Development policy and should be budgeted for outside the policy. Such expenses will not be deducted from the team member’s annual Growth and Development limit and should be paid for by GitLab rather than reimbursed to the team member.

Tax Implications

In some countries, the Growth and Development Fund may be considered as taxable income and can be (partially) exempted from personal income taxes or subject to employer withholding taxes. Check the tax table for any tax implications in your country.

For example, in the United States 2021 tax year, if GitLab pays over $5,250 for educational benefits for you during the year, you must generally pay tax on the amount over $5,250. GitLab should include in your wages (Form W-2, box 1) the amount over $5,250 in income.

Please contact Payroll for any tax-related questions in your country.

Types of Growth and Development Reimbursements

Please note the reimbursement section above before proceeding. The training budget does not include the cost for traveling to and from an event.

Academic Study

Description: GitLab supports team members who wish to continue their education and growth within their professional career. The fund will cover only the tuition and enrollment related fees. Additional fees related to parking, books, supplies, technology, or administrative charges are not covered as part of the program. Tuition will be validated by receipt showing proof of payment.

The course must be from a credentialed college or university and must be relevant to your career development goals and development. If the education provider does not allow for tuition/payment deferment and this would cause financial strain, you can request to receive 50% of the reimbursement up front and the other 50% upon successful completion of the course/program. The relevance of the classes taken for each semester will be subject to the approval of the manager. The grade must be equivalent to a “B”.

Eligibility for Reimbursement: A final grade report or transcript is required to receive reimbursement. If the opportunity costs more than $1,000, you can expense 50% of the cost up front, and 50% upon completion.

Your 4th Trimester Coaching

Description: Your 4th Trimester is a 90-day coaching program with Broad Perspective Consulting. The purpose of the program is to help parents (regardless of gender) be as prepared as possible to be a working parent through coaching and development. The cost of this program is $2,300 USD.

Eligibility for Reimbursement: Team members returning from Parental Leave. The provider will invoice GitLab directly.

Professional Coaching

Description: Professional coaching is available for managers and leaders job grade 8+ to support development in their professional area of interest. Team members job grade 4-7 can receive external coaching from Modern Health and internal coaching from our internal resources. Team members are expected to know their confidentiality obligations and are responsible for keeping coaching conversations SAFE.

Coaching Right Now connects team members with GitLab-vetted coaches - read their coaching bios here. Team members can book 4, 6, or 8hrs of coaching. Availability is first come, first served. Pairing with a coach via Coaching Right Now saves time and energy looking for a coach that is aligned to GitLab values and way of working.

Hear what GitLab team members are saying about Coaching Right Now:

• My coach was thoughtful and insightful. He took the time to learn about me, my wants and desires. He was able to provide actionable feedback and made the last 4 months of GitLab much better.
• I can tangibly see how this (coaching) investment has made me at least 20% more effective in my role, delighted in my role, and a more human leader.
• This was a great (coaching) program and I'm really happy I got to be a part of it. I have two of my managers who have signed up to work with coaches now as well.

Apply for a coach via Coaching Right Now by opening an issue using the coaching template.

The specifics of your coaching sessions will not be communicated to GitLab. While not required, we encourage you to share your experience, learnings, reflections, and discoveries with your manager for further support.

Eligibility for Reimbursement: Managers or Individual Contributors job grade 8+. Coaching Right Now will invoice GitLab directly. If team member is involved in a different, approved coaching engagement outside of CRN, then the standard G&D reimbursement workflow applies. If the option is $1,000 USD or higher, team members can request the split disbursement (50% reimbursed upfront after payment then the remaining 50% upon completion).

Coaching Right Now is our preferred and vetted coaching partner. If for some reason the coaches offered via Coaching Right Now do not fit your needs, please open an issue using the Other G&D Types (Under $300 USD) template. After approvals, team members will provide a paid invoice to GitLab as proof for reimbursement.

English Language Courses

Description: As GitLab expands globally, we want to support our team members where English may not be their first language. Managers are encouraged to recommend this to team members whose engagement as a part of GitLab and/or performance may be improved by further developing their English language skills.

Examples of English Language Courses:

• Coursera offers a wide variety of online English courses in partnership with various reputable colleges and universities, like the Business English for Non-Native Speakers course and the Improve your English Communication Skills Specialization . Their courses range from improving your English language skills to more specialized courses that focus on English for STEM or career development.
• Cambridge C2 Exam Prep Course is a program to consider if preparring to take the Cambridge English Qualification. This is an internationally recognized test and qualification of English language ability. More prep course materials can be found here or via International House London

Eligibility for Reimbursement: Courses offered in-person or online by a credential college or university or an English language school are eligible for reimbursement. Reimbursement should happen upon course completion. If the opportunity costs more than $1,000, you can expense 50% of the cost up front, and 50% upon completion.

Professional Development/Certifications/Licenses

Description: Any certifications/licenses that you and your manager think will be relevant to your development.

Eligibility for Reimbursement: Certifications and licenses related to your career development goals. For reimbursements above $1,000 USD, a final grade report or satisfactory certificate of completion will be required to receive reimbursement. For reimbursements above $1,000, you can expense 50% of the cost up front, and 50% upon completion.

Professional Dues/Membership

Description: Any professional development membership or dues that will be relevant to your growth and development.

Eligibility for Reimbursement: Professional membership to an accredited organization that aligns with your role. Professional dues needed in order to continue members in an accredited organization. An invoice for the dues/membership is required. Since there’s no specific date of completion for this type of opportunity, it can be reimbursed after it has been purchased.

Approver (above $1,000 USD): Manager, E-Group Member

Workshops and Conferences

Description: Work-related conferences including registration, lodging, and meals. The costs for travelling to and from an event should be expensed separately from the training budget following the existing travel expense policy, with your manager’s approval.

We encourage people to be speakers in conferences. More information for people interested in speaking can be found on our GitLab Speaker Resources.

Eligibility for Reimbursement: Before scheduling any travel or time off to attend a conference, please discuss your request with your manager. The manager will approve the request if the conference is work-related and the timing doesn’t interfere with GitLab deliverables. After discussing with your manager, create a Growth & Development issue. Once all required approvals are given on the issue, travel can be scheduled. Please review current GitLab travel policy for the most up-to-date information about booking and planning conference travel.

Reimbursement should be applied for after the conference, with proof of attendance submitted as part of the Navan claim. When claiming back travel via Navan, you should add a link to your G&D issue in the description.

For reimbursements above $1,000, you can expense 50% of the cost up front, and 50% upon completion.

Self-Service Learning (Skillserve, Coursera, LinkedIn Learning Others)

Description: GitLab supports team members who wish to continue their growth within their professional career. The course must be related to your career development goal, Individual Growth Plan (IGP), and/or serves the mission of GitLab as a company.

Eligibility for Reimbursement: A final grade report or satisfactory certificate of completion are required to receive reimbursement. If paying for an ongoing license, this will likely be inexpensive (under $1000 per annum), and can be reimbursed monthly. For reimbursements above $1,000, you can expense 50% of the cost up front, and 50% upon completion.

Code Based Learning

**Description:**The company will pay for courses related to learning how to code (for example Learning Rails on Codecademy), and you may also allocate work time to take courses that interest you. If you are new to development, we encourage you to learn Git through GitLab, and feel free to ask any questions in the #git-help Slack channel.

Eligibility for Reimbursement: The course must be related code based learning. A final grade report or satisfactory certificate of completion are required to receive reimbursements over $1,000 USD. For reimbursements above $1,000, you can expense 50% of the cost up front, and 50% upon completion.

Mentorship

In some instances, mentorship resources provided by GitLab might not fit team member’s needs. For example, a team member might be unable to find a mentor at GitLab with the specific experience, identity, or role they are looking for. In these cases, the Growth and Development fund can be used to cover the cost of meeting with a paid, external mentor.

Examples of where to connect with mentors:

1. MentorCruise
2. Locelle

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