Internship of a student in a professional environment
Verified 01 January 2023 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)
During their studies, a student can do internships in company or in another professional environment. The trainee is not considered to be an employee, but must comply with the rules of his host institution. The trainee benefits from a number of protections: signature of a traineeship agreement, maximum duration of the traineeship, compulsory remuneration, time between 2 traineeships in particular.
A student can do an internship in a professional environment.
The internship can take place in a host organization of the private (company, association) or the public sector.
A foreigner student can do an internship, regardless of nationality, but must be in regular situation in France.
Warning
this scheme shall not apply to trainees in vocational training or to minors under 16 years of age in company observation period.
Permitted conditions
The internship is a temporary placement in the professional environment of the student.
It allows him to acquire the professional skills related to his training.
The tasks assigned to the traineeship must be in accordance with the educational project of the educational institution.
Prohibited conditions
A student internship cannot be offered for the following missions:
- Replacing an employee in the event of absence, suspension of employment contract or dismissal
- Perform a regular task corresponding to a permanent work position (the trainee does not have a production obligation as an employee)
- Dealing with a temporary increase in activity
- Seasonal employment
Number of authorized trainees
Company of less than 20 employees
Companies with less than 20 employees can accommodate 3 maximum trainees at the same time.
Each tutor follows a maximum of 3 trainees during the same period.
Company of at least 20 employees
In a host organization of at least 20 employees, the number of trainees whose traineeship agreement is in progress during the same period calendar week may not exceed 15% of the staff.
Example :
A company of 45 employees can accommodate at the same time 7 trainees maximum (45 x 15% = 6.75). The headcount shall be rounded up to the next integer.
Each tutor follows a maximum of 3 trainees during the same period.
FYI
in compulsory vocational training (for technological or secondary vocational diplomas) in companies with a maximum of 30 employees, the number of trainees may not exceed 20% of the staff. These companies cannot accommodate more than 5 interns at the same time.
The trainee must sign a traineeship agreement.
The agreement shall specify the competences to be acquired or developed during the traineeship.
The agreement shall also indicate the expected duration of the training period in the training curriculum.
The internship must take place within the framework of an agreement signed between the different parties:
- Trainee (or, if he is a minor, his legal representative)
- Host organization (company, public administration, local government, health institution, association or any other organization)
- Educational or training establishment
- Reference teacher in the educational establishment
- Traineeship tutor in the host organization
The following particulars must be included in the agreement:
- Full name of the trainee's curriculum or training and hourly volume per year or semester of instruction
- Activities entrusted to the trainee
- Names of the referring teacher and tutor
- Start and end dates of the traineeship and maximum weekly duration of the trainee's presence
- Conditions for authorization of absence
- Hourly rate of pay (called gratification), calculated on the basis of the trainee's actual presence, and the conditions for payment thereof
- Possible benefits to the trainee (e.g. catering, accommodation, reimbursement of expenses)
- Social protection scheme for trainees, in particular in the event of accidents at work
The employer must keep the list of internship agreements concluded up to date and enter the names and forenames of the interns accommodated in a specific part of the single staff register.
The labor inspector may request a copy of the traineeship agreements from the educational establishment or host organization.
If the traineeship takes place abroad, an information sheet setting out the host country's rules on the trainee's rights and duties must be annexed to the traineeship agreement.
Maximum Duration
The duration of the internship or training carried out in a professional environment shall be 6 months maximum per host organization and per year of instruction.
This period shall be determined taking into account the actual presence of the trainee in the host organization as follows:
- 7 hours of presence, consecutive or not, represents 1 day of presence
- 22 days of attendance is 1 month
The maximum duration of six months of training is reached once the trainee has completed, during the year of teaching, 924 hours actual presence in the host organization.
Please note
if the trainee is hired, within 3 months of the end of the traineeship, the duration of the traineeship shall be deducted from the trial period and shall be taken into account for the calculation of entitlements relating to seniority.
Waiting period
The employer must comply with a waiting period between 2 courses: it is 1/3 of the duration of the previous course.
Example :
After a 6-month internship, the employer must wait 2 months before welcoming a new intern to the same position.
This obligation does not apply if the trainee himself interrupts the traineeship.
Conditions for payment
Continuous training
One minimum bonus shall be paid to the trainee if the duration of the training is more than 2 consecutive months (equivalent to 44 days at 7 hours per day) in the same academic year.
Below these duration thresholds, the host organization is not required to pay a bonus.
If the hourly amount of the bonus is less than €4.05, the trainee shall be exempt from social security contributions.
Internship batch
One minimum bonus shall be paid from 309e internship time even if it is performed non-continuously.
Below these duration thresholds, the host organization is not required to pay a bonus.
If the hourly amount of the bonus is less than €4.05, the trainee shall be exempt from social security contributions.
Amount
The minimum amount paid for each hour of actual presence shall be €4.05.
In some professional branches, this amount may be higher than the minimum legal amount.
The employer must verify this in the collective agreement.
A computation simulator is available:
Payment
The bonus is paid at the end of each month and not at the end of the internship.
It's due as early as the firster day of training.
Example :
For a full-time internship (7 hours a day) of 1er January to March 31, 2023:
- January: 154 hours worked (22 days x 7 hours)
- February: 140 hours worked (20 days x 7 hours)
- March: 161 hours worked (23 days x 7 hours)
The amount of the total bonus due is 455 hours, or €1,842.75.
The bonus can be paid in 2 ways:
- either according to the actual number of hours worked per month,
- or by smoothing by month all the hours worked during the training period.
Period | Actual Hours | Smoothing (=€1,842.75/3) |
|---|---|---|
January | €623.70 | €614.25 |
February | €567.00 | €614.25 |
March | €652.05 | €614.25 |
Total | €1,842.75 | €1,842.75 |
Any temporary internship is subject to readjustment on the basis of the actual number of hours worked.
Any internship permanently interrupted is subject to a global regularization according to the number of hours worked.
When the internship lasts more than 2 months, the probationary agreement must provide for leave and leave to be taken.
If the internship lasts for a maximum of 2 months, leave is not mandatory.
Leave pay is optional.
In the event of maternity, paternity or adoption, the trainee shall be granted leave and leave for a period equivalent to that laid down for employees. During these absences, the maintenance of the gratification is not mandatory.
Tutoring
The trainee is welcomed and accompanied by a tutor throughout the course.
The tutor is responsible for ensuring that the educational objectives set out in the Convention are respected.
Rights identical to those of employees
The trainee shall enjoy the same rights as the employees of the host organization:
- Working time (working time daily and weekly maximum, daily rest, of weekly rest, of public holidays and night work),
- Access to the company restaurant or restaurant titles
- Access to social and cultural activities provided for in Social and Economic Committee (ESC)
Reimbursement of public transport costs
The trainee shall be entitled to reimbursement of a share of transport costs under the same conditions as employees.
Protection against harassment
The trainee shall enjoy the same protection as employees in the fight against psychological harassment and the sexual harassment at work.
Prohibited Tasks
It is prohibited to entrust the trainee with tasks dangerous to his health or safety.
Retirement
Some internships may be taken into account for retirement.
In case of interruption of the course
If the course is interrupted before its end, it may be validated by the educational institution, in one of the following cases:
- In case of interruption due to sickness, accident, maternity, paternity or adoption
- In the event of non-compliance with the traineeship agreement
- In the event of termination of the traineeship agreement at the initiative of the host organization
A postponement of the end of the internship is also possible, in whole or in part, if all the signatories of the internship agreement agree.
Sanctions
In the event of non-compliance with the rules governing traineeships, the employer is liable to an administrative fine of up to €2,000 per trainee concerned.
The fine may be up to €4,000 in the case of a new infringement within one year of 1era fine.
Proof of internship
At the end of the traineeship, the host organization must provide the trainee with a certificate of traineeship.
It shall state the total actual duration of the traineeship and, if necessary, the total amount of the bonus paid.
Rating
The trainee must provide his/her educational institution with a document assessing the quality of his/her traineeship.
This document is not taken into account in the trainee's graduation.
Hiring
The trainee may be hired by the organization in which he or she completed the traineeship.
The trainee then benefits from certain advantages, related to the length of the trial period and seniority.
- Education Code: Articles L124-1 to L124-20General principles
- Education Code: Articles D124-1 to D124-13Permitted and prohibited types of traineeship, validity of traineeship agreements, remuneration
- General Tax Code: Articles 79 to 81cExemption from tax
- Social Security Code: Articles D242-1 to D242-2-2Exemption from social contributions
- Calculate the minimum bonus amount for a learner
Simulator
- Model of certificate of probationary period
Document template
FAQ
- Minimum reward for a student or pupil in a companyService-Public.fr
- Internship in a company in EuropeService-Public.fr
- National Internship Award - InfointernshipsYouth Information and Documentation Center (CIDJ)
- Practical guide to student internshipsMinistry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation
- Payment of the traineeship allowance for disabled pupils and studentsFund for the Integration of Persons with Disabilities into the Public Service
- Guide to student internships in France and abroadMinistry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation
- A guide to students in France and abroadMinistry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation