Business English classes for companies: how to sell them with FUNDAE

How does FUNDAE credit work?

Every company that pays the training contribution has a yearly FUNDAE credit. It spends it on its staff's training and gets it back as a discount on its Social Security payments once each course ends.

The credit is what the company paid in training contribution (cuota de formación profesional) last year, times a percentage that the State Budget law sets by company size. Companies with 1 to 5 staff get a flat amount instead. The law also makes companies with 6 or more staff pay part of the training themselves, and the salaries of staff who train during working hours count towards that share.

Companies with fewer than 50 staff can save this year's credit for the next two years, if they tick the box in FUNDAE's app before 30 June. Ask your smaller clients whether they have credit saved from previous years.

What does a course need to be funded?

A funded course must relate to the company's work, last at least 2 hours, be free for the staff and be notified to FUNDAE at least 2 days before it starts.

• It relates to the company's activity, so explain what the team needs English for in their job.
• It lasts at least 2 hours in total and no more than 8 hours a day, unless it's a one-day course.
• In-person groups have 30 people at most. Online courses on a learning platform, 80 per tutor.
• It's free for the staff: the company pays, never the participants.
• If the company has worker representatives, it tells them about the course first, and they have 15 working days to reply.
• The start goes into FUNDAE's app at least 2 calendar days before the first class, with dates, times, place and teacher.
• Attendance is recorded at every session, and only participants who complete 75% of the course count.
• At the end, participants fill in FUNDAE's evaluation questionnaire and get a certificate within two months.

Live online classes work too. For courses run in 2026, a SEPE resolution lets a live virtual classroom count as in-person training, and the video tool has to keep a log of who connects and when. Courses on a learning platform count as teleformación, which has its own cost cap.

Who can teach a FUNDAE-funded course?

Any teacher or school can, but the paperwork depends on who organises the training: the company itself, you as the organiser, or a training consultancy that hires you.

The simplest route for a solo teacher: the company organises its own training and hires you to teach it. In that case the law doesn't require you to be registered, and the company does the FUNDAE paperwork itself or through a gestor.

If you organise the course, you sign an agreement with the company (FUNDAE calls it a contrato de encomienda), and because you also teach, you must be in the Registro Estatal de Entidades de Formación. You join it before teaching, with a responsible declaration filed online with a digital certificate, as a person or as a company. Your organisation fee is capped by company size (table above).

Neither organising nor teaching can be subcontracted. Hiring teachers to give the classes doesn't count as subcontracting, so a school can staff the course with its own team.

How to price in-company English classes

Price the course for what it's worth to you first, then show the company how much its credit covers. FUNDAE caps the cost per participant and hour, and the company pays any difference.

The cap is the module times participants times hours: €9 per participant and hour for in-person training in general subjects, €13 for specialised in-person training and €7.50 for teleformación. The company gets back the lowest of three amounts: that cap, what the course really cost and the credit it has left.

If your price is above the cap, the company pays the difference, and that amount also counts towards the share it has to pay itself. Show both numbers in your quote: the course price and what the credit can cover.

How to sell in-company English classes, step by step

Sell a course with dates, not loose hours, agree who organises it, and leave enough time for the FUNDAE notice before the first class.

1. 1

   Package a course, not loose hours

   Set the goal (meetings, emails, calls), the level, the hours, the dates and the group size. FUNDAE funds courses with a start and an end.

2. 2

   Talk to the person in charge of training

   Ask who handles training and whether the company uses its FUNDAE credit. They can see the amount in FUNDAE's app.

3. 3

   Check levels and needs

   Run a placement test and a short needs analysis for each person, then group people by level.

4. 4

   Agree who organises

   The company on its own, you as the organiser or a consultancy. Put it in writing, with your price, the dates and what happens to cancelled sessions.

5. 5

   Leave time for the notice

   The start goes to FUNDAE at least 2 days ahead, and worker representatives can take up to 15 working days before that. Set the start date with both in mind.

6. 6

   Teach and keep the records

   Signed attendance at every session, tests and a detailed invoice. FUNDAE asks the company and the training provider to keep them for 4 years.

7. 7

   Close the course and offer the next one

   Hand out the evaluation questionnaire and the certificates, send HR a short progress report and offer the next course while the results are fresh.

VAT, IRPF and the invoice

Send the company a detailed invoice. English lessons you teach yourself can be VAT-exempt and, if you are a self-employed professional, the company withholds IRPF from your fee.

Whether your lessons are exempt depends on who teaches and how: the VAT guide covers lessons for a company's staff. For professional activities the withholding is 15% (7% the year you start and the next two), and the invoice generator adds the IRPF line and the exemption wording for you.

How SmartCookie helps with company groups

SmartCookie keeps each company group as a course with its own calendar, attendance and lesson notes, so the hours and progress HR asks about are in one place.