Loading…
Practical guide
An apprentice's pay is a share of the SMIC that depends on their age and the year of the contract. This guide gives the grid in gross and net terms, calculated by the site, the rules that move it, what the contribution exemption changes and how a professionalisation contract differs.
An apprentice is an employee: they have an employment contract, a payslip and a minimum wage set by law. That minimum is not a single amount but a share of the SMIC, which depends on your age and on the year of the contract. This guide gives you the full grid in gross and net terms, the rules that move it, the effect of contribution exemptions, and what sets an apprenticeship apart from a professionalisation contract.
Minimum gross monthly pay by age band and contract year, calculated on the SMIC of €1,867.02 in force since 1 June 2026, and net estimated by the site's engine (company health cover of €20 deducted, as everywhere on the site). From the 21 to 25 band, the percentage applies to the higher of the SMIC and the collective-agreement minimum for your job.
| Age | 1st year | 2nd year | 3rd year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 27% · €504.10 net €484 | 39% · €728.14 net €708 | 55% · €1,026.86 net €985 |
| 18 to 20 | 43% · €802.82 net €783 | 51% · €952.18 net €926 | 67% · €1,250.90 net €1,163 |
| 21 to 25 | 53% · €989.52 net €956 | 61% · €1,138.88 net €1,074 | 78% · €1,456.28 net €1,325 |
| 26 and over | 100% · €1,867.02 net €1,651 | 100% · €1,867.02 net €1,651 | 100% · €1,867.02 net €1,651 |
These are floors: a collective agreement can provide more, and the employer can always pay more. For your exact situation (age, year, collective-agreement minimum, start date), the apprentice pay simulator redoes the calculation and also shows the professionalisation contract grid.
For a contract that started on or after 1 March 2025, employee contributions, CSG and CRDS only apply to the part of pay above 50% of the SMIC, i.e. €933.51 a month. For an older contract, employee contributions remain exempt up to 79% of the SMIC, with no CSG or CRDS. Below the threshold, net pay therefore equals gross, minus only the company health cover:
| Profile | Minimum gross | Health cover | Contributions and CSG | Estimated net |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 to 20, 1st year | €802.82 | − €20 | − €0 | €783 |
| 18 to 20, 3rd year | €1,250.90 | − €20 | − €68 | €1,163 |
| 26 and over, 1st year | €1,867.02 | − €20 | − €196 | €1,651 |
An apprentice's pay is also exempt from income tax up to the annual amount of the SMIC. Overtime is paid as for other employees, and deductions for housing or meals provided by the employer are capped.
The professionalisation contract is the other work-study contract. Its grid depends on age and prior education level, not on the contract year, and above all it does not get the apprenticeship's employee exemption. For the same gross, net pay is therefore lower: for €1,493.62 gross, the minimum for a professionalisation contract aged 21 to 25 holding a vocational baccalauréat or a vocational qualification at the same level, the engine gives €1,160 net, against €1,355 for an apprentice paid the same gross. An apprenticeship leads to a diploma or registered qualification; a professionalisation contract aims at a registered certification, a sector vocational certificate (CQP) or a qualification recognised in the sector's collective agreement.
On the employer's side, most employer contributions are reduced: before aid, an apprentice aged 18 to 20 in the first year costs €838 a month for a gross of €802.82. On top of that comes state hiring aid, whose amount depends on company size, the level of the qualification and the contract date, paid in the first year. These rules change often: the official page on hiring aid gives the current scale. It is worth knowing if you ask for more than the minimum.
Start by checking your collective agreement: some set a more generous apprentice grid, and from the 21 to 25 band the percentage applies to its minimum if that is above the SMIC. Then make the case for what you bring: experience, a second qualification, autonomy. Your application matters as much as the figure: the guide to the CV for a work-study placement helps you prepare it. If you are torn between this and an internship, compare with the internship allowance, far lower and without an employment contract; and for the floor that applies to employees, reread the SMIC guide.
Only in the 26 and over band: at least the SMIC, or the collective-agreement minimum if higher, i.e. €1,867.02 gross a month at least. Before that, an apprentice receives a share of the SMIC, from 27% in the first year for those under 18 (€504.10) to higher shares with age and time in the contract.
No, on the first day of the following month. An apprentice whose March birthday moves them into a new age band is paid the new rate from 1 April. The contract year, for its part, changes on the anniversary of the contract's start date.
Yes, on the same terms as for the company's other employees, with the same premiums.
An apprentice's pay is exempt from income tax up to the annual amount of the SMIC; only the part above it is to be declared as taxable income. The year-to-date total on the last payslip of the year tells you whether you exceed that ceiling.
Not below the floor of your previous contract: with the same employer or a new one, your pay cannot be lower than the minimum for its last year, and the age-based grid applies if it gives more. If the new employer applies the same collective agreement, that floor includes the agreement's minimum; otherwise only the legal minimum is guaranteed.
This guide gives you a method, not legal advice: the official rules and amounts are those of the sources above, as at their date.
The site's tools and features that go with this guide: the figures there are calculated by the code, never by the AI.