"My mentor works from home three days a week, but I have to come into the office every day." The message resurfaces at the start of every academic year on work-study forums — and it raises a genuine legal question that few training centres cover in class.
In short: nothing in the French Labour Code prevents an apprentice from working remotely. Article L. 1222-9 defines remote work without excluding any type of contract: someone on an apprenticeship or professionalisation contract is a full-fledged employee and therefore enjoys the same rights as any other employee in the company (Article L. 6222-23 of the Labour Code for apprentices). In practice, remote work is opened up through a collective agreement, an employer charter, or a simple individual arrangement — and the employer may refuse, provided they give reasons for that refusal where an agreement or charter exists. In practice, many companies restrict remote work for apprentices during the first year, for a legitimate reason: apprenticeship rests on knowledge transfer by the apprenticeship mentor (Article L. 6223-5). As for expenses, the employer has no automatic legal obligation to pay an allowance, but URSSAF accepts a tax- and contribution-exempt flat-rate allowance of €2.70 per remote working day (capped at €59.40 per month in 2026). Finally, days spent at the training centre are never remote work: they are training hours, counted as actual working time.
Is an apprentice allowed to work remotely?
Yes. And the answer bears repeating, because the confusion runs deep.
The legal reasoning rests on two articles. First, Article L. 6222-23 of the Labour Code: "The apprentice benefits from the provisions applicable to all employees insofar as they are not contrary to those linked to their situation as a young worker in training." Second, Article L. 1222-9, which defines remote work as "any form of work organisation in which work that could also have been performed on the employer's premises is carried out by an employee outside those premises on a voluntary basis."
Nowhere has the legislator excluded apprentices, professionalisation contracts, vocational training trainees or fixed-term contracts. The Ministry of Labour has confirmed this several times in its Q&A documents: work-study status is not, in itself, grounds for refusal.
That said — and here is the sticking point — remote work is not an enforceable right. No employee, apprentice or otherwise, can demand it. What does exist is a right to a reasoned response when the company has adopted an agreement or a charter and the role is eligible.
"Refusal to accept a remote working position is not grounds for terminating the employment contract." — Article L. 1222-9 of the Labour Code
In other words: your employer cannot impose remote work on you against your will (outside the exceptional circumstances provided for in Article L. 1222-11), and you cannot impose it on them either.
How is remote work set up within a company?
Three routes coexist, and knowing which one applies where you work changes everything about how you frame your request.
| Framework | Who decides | What it means for the apprentice |
|---|---|---|
| Collective agreement (company- or industry-level) | Employer + representative unions | The most protective framework: number of days, eligibility, allowance — usually all set out in writing. Check whether work-study contracts are explicitly included or excluded. |
| Unilateral charter | Employer, after consulting the works council (CSE) | The employer sets the rules alone but commits publicly. Refusal is possible, but must be justified. |
| Individual arrangement | You + your manager | A simple exchange (email, contract amendment). The most flexible, but also the most fragile: always put it in writing. |
First thing to do at the start of the year: ask HR for a copy of the remote working agreement or charter. This document can be shared, it is often available on the intranet, and reading it carefully answers 80% of your questions. Pay particular attention to three points:
- the length-of-service conditions (many agreements require 3 or 6 months on site — which, on a 12-month contract, sharply narrows the window);
- whether work-study contracts are explicitly mentioned or not;
- the number of days allowed and how they must be booked.
Why do so many companies restrict remote work for apprentices?
It isn't (only) mistrust. Article L. 6223-5 of the Labour Code requires the employer to "take the measures necessary to organise the apprenticeship" and to ensure that the apprenticeship mentor has the time and resources to support the apprentice. The DGEFP and the OPCOs regularly reiterate this principle during inspections: an apprenticeship is a training contract, not merely a production one.
In practical terms: an apprentice sitting alone at home, without daily interaction, learns poorly. Companies that restrict remote work for first-year apprentices are often simply applying that logic. Many open up gradually — one day in the second semester, two days in the second year.
How many remote working days can you expect on a work-study contract?
There is no legal cap. The practices observed in large French companies hover around:
- 0 to 1 day per week for the first three to six months;
- 1 to 2 days thereafter, in line with the rest of the team;
- rarely more than 2 days for an apprentice, compared with sometimes 3 for an experienced employee.
Watch out for a calculation many apprentices overlook: your week at the company is not a full week. On a rhythm of 3 days at the company / 2 days at the training centre, taking one remote day means being physically present only two days out of five. Some agreements even include a pro-rata rule: the number of remote-eligible days is reduced in proportion to time spent at the company.
Another point to clarify from the moment you sign: days at the training centre are not remote work. Article L. 6222-24 of the Labour Code specifies that "the time devoted by the apprentice to training provided in apprentice training centres is included in working hours." You are paid, you are covered by workplace accident insurance, but you are neither working remotely nor on leave.
Who pays for equipment and remote working costs?
This is the most misunderstood question — and the one that costs apprentices the most, given that their pay is already pegged to a percentage of the minimum wage.
Work equipment
The national inter-industry agreement (ANI) of 26 November 2020 on remote work, extended by ministerial order, states that "it is for the employer to provide the necessary equipment." In plain terms: laptop, software licences, VPN access, and a phone if the role requires one. An employer who authorises remote work without providing a machine is on shaky ground, particularly with regard to data security obligations.
By contrast, furniture and workstation comfort almost always remain your responsibility. And there's no need for fatalism here: the INRS publishes very practical recommendations on screen-based workstations (its "Travail sur écran" dossier), stressing three points — screen at eye level, forearms supported, back well positioned. A simple adjustable laptop stand set at the right height, paired with an external keyboard, single-handedly corrects most of the poor posture seen in improvised home offices. An ergonomic desk chair is the second most worthwhile investment if you work remotely more than one day a week — well ahead of a second screen.
For apprentices in a shared open space or a house share, noise-cancelling headphones radically improve the quality of remote meetings — and head off the classic pitfall of the apprentice nobody can hear on video calls and eventually stops involving.
The remote working allowance
No law obliges the employer to pay a flat-rate allowance. But URSSAF has set out a widely used exemption framework: when an employer pays a flat-rate allowance to cover remote working costs (electricity, heating, internet), it is deemed to be used for its intended purpose and exempt from social security contributions up to:
| Frequency | Exempt ceiling (URSSAF scale) |
|---|---|
| Per remote working day | €2.70 |
| Per month | €59.40 (i.e. 22 days) |
| Monthly flat rate per weekly remote day | €10.70 per day per month, capped at €43.00 |
These amounts are revised annually: check the "Frais professionnels — télétravail" page on the URSSAF website before making any claim. If a company agreement provides for an allowance, it applies to apprentices on the same footing as other employees — a refusal based solely on apprentice status would be discriminatory under the principle of equal treatment.
One useful reminder: remote work does not do away with meal vouchers. Case law and URSSAF's position converge — a remote worker in a situation equivalent to that of an on-site employee is entitled to them. Check your payslip; the omission is common on work-study contracts. You can also cross-check your figures with our pay calculator.
How do you make a success of your apprenticeship while working remotely?
The number one risk isn't productivity: it's invisibility. A remote apprentice who doesn't ask questions is an apprentice people forget to train — and, at the end of the contract, forget to hire.
A few habits that make the difference:
- Lock in a weekly check-in with your apprenticeship mentor. Thirty minutes, same slot every week, even when "everything's fine." It's the only slot that survives busy periods.
- Keep a logbook. A written record of your assignments, difficulties and learnings: it feeds into your apprenticeship record, your end-of-year dissertation and your job interviews. An A5 notebook or a file shared with your mentor works just as well.
- Over-communicate at the start and end of the day. A short message in the team channel morning and evening. Nothing bureaucratic: it simply makes you present.
- Save your on-site days for learning tasks. Observation, shadowing, case reviews, technical questions. Keep solo tasks for your remote days.
- Set up a genuine work corner. A neutral-light desk lamp is often enough to turn a kitchen table into a workable station — the INRS highlights lighting as the leading cause of visual fatigue.
The apprenticeship mentor also has obligations at a distance. Article R. 6223-24 of the Labour Code provides that they "have the task of contributing to the apprentice's acquisition of the skills matching the qualification sought." If support starts to fall away, the apprenticeship mediator at the relevant chamber (CCI, CMA, chamber of agriculture) can be contacted free of charge — well before considering terminating the contract. We set out this procedure in our article on terminating an apprenticeship contract.
Accidents while working remotely: are you covered?
Yes — and it's a reassuring point that is too rarely explained. Article L. 1222-9 of the Labour Code sets out a clear presumption: "An accident occurring at the place where remote work is performed, during the remote worker's professional activity, is presumed to be a workplace accident."
In practice, a fall while fetching a file during your declared working hours falls under workplace accident legislation, with treatment covered at 100% by the French health insurance system (see the dedicated section on ameli.fr). Reporting follows the usual route: inform your employer within 24 hours, workplace accident declaration (DAT) within 48 hours.
Two precautions to avoid disputes:
- declare your remote working hours (the agreement or approval email serves as proof);
- notify your home insurer: most multi-risk policies cover remote work without an additional premium, but a written declaration prevents any dispute if a claim involves professional equipment.
Negotiating remote work: what to say, and when
The worst possible moment to raise the subject is the job interview. Not that the question is illegitimate, but coming from an apprentice with no experience, it signals a reluctance to be on the ground. Wait until you're in post.
The right moment is around the third month, once your first deliverables have been approved. The framing that works rests on three elements:
- a work-related justification ("writing and analysis tasks would benefit from more focus") rather than a personal one;
- a structured proposal ("one fixed day, Thursday, the day with no team meetings");
- a reversibility clause you offer yourself ("let's review it in six weeks").
If your company refuses, simply ask for the reasons in writing where an agreement exists: in many cases, the reason reveals a specific need ("you need to master tool X first") that then becomes your roadmap for the months ahead.
Finally, if you haven't yet signed and remote work matters to you — particularly if you live far from your training centre — factor that criterion in from the search stage, checking it in job ads and on careers pages. Our work-study job search engine lets you filter by geographical area, and our guide to balancing classes and company work is a useful complement. Commuting and housing questions, meanwhile, are best tackled early via the financial support available.
Key takeaways
- An apprentice can work remotely: no legislation excludes them, and they enjoy the rights of any employee.
- Remote work is not an enforceable right: it is negotiated through an agreement, a charter, or a written arrangement with your manager.
- Days at the training centre are not remote work: they are training hours, counted as actual working time and paid.
- The employer provides the professional equipment; the flat-rate allowance is not mandatory but benefits from a URSSAF exemption (€2.70/day, €59.40/month in 2026).
- An accident during remote working hours is presumed to be a workplace accident.
- The real issue remains the quality of mentoring: over-communicate, lock in a weekly check-in, and keep your on-site days for learning, not just for producing.