© - ATH all rights reserved - Edition 2024 25 2024 EMPLOYER’S GUIDE APPRENTICESHIP PROCESS Apprentices are employees in their own right. The legal provisions and the company’s collective agreements are applicable to them. The apprentice’s salary is based on his/ her age and length of service, as a percentage of the minimum wage or the minimum set in the collective agreement. Collective agreements can set higher minimum wages. Apprentices can claim the payment of overtime and various bonuses and compensations. The apprentice is entitled to an additional 5 paid working days’ leave to prepare for exams, to be taken the month prior to the exams. If at the end of his/her apprenticeship contract, the apprentice signs a permanent contract with the same company, he/she cannot be required to work a probation period, unless stated otherwise in the collective agreement. His/her length of service is also taken into account. If aged under 18, the apprentice’s working hours are regulated (refer to Fact Sheet 15). ADVANTAGES OF THE APPRENTICESHIP CONTRACT Since 1 January 2019, specific exemptions from employer's social security contributions for apprentices have been abolished in favour of the general reduction in employer's contributions, which is now applicable to apprentices. Furthermore, the apprentices’ salary is exempt from employee social security contributions for up to 79 % of the minimum wage and from CSG/CRDS on all the salary. Apprentice contributions are now calculated on the apprentice’s actual salary. For contracts signed since 1 January 2023, employers of up to 250 employees who hire apprentices preparing for a qualification equivalent to the baccalaureate receive a single grant of € 6,000 for the first year of the contract. Apprentices are not included in the company’s staff numbers. Ask us : for contracts which are not eligible for a single grant, a special grant of € 6,000 for the first year of the contract has been implemented until the end of 2024. Check the provisions applicable in your company in relation to registering apprentices for benefit and health plans. TERMINATION OF APPRENTICESHIP CONTRACT The apprenticeship contract can be freely terminated by either of the parties up to the end of the apprentice’s first 45 days of in-company practical training (consecutive or not). Such termination must be recorded in writing. For contracts signed since 1 January 2019, the option to terminate the contract after the probation period is less restricted. Termination can occur either by written agreement signed by both parties or by termination at the initiative of the employer in a number of cases, or by « resignation » of the apprentice according to a specific procedure. The apprentice also has the option to unilaterally terminate the contract before its expiry if the applicable qualification is obtained, provided that he/she informs the employer in writing at least 1 months before. The apprenticeship contract cannot be terminated by a certified termination by agreement. Ask us about the terms to be respected for terminating an apprenticeship contract.
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