Work-Related Expenses in Apprenticeships 2026: What Your Employer Must Reimburse

"I did the maths: between my Navigo pass, the lunches I buy out and the round trips to a training centre 45 minutes from home, I'm left with €180 from my apprentice pay." We read messages like this every September. And in eight cases out of ten, part of those costs should have been reimbursed by the company.

In short: an apprentice is an employee, and therefore benefits from the same rules on work-related expenses as their colleagues. Three rights are mandatory: coverage of at least 50% of the public transport pass between home and work (article L. 3261-2 of the French Labour Code), full reimbursement of expenses incurred on behalf of the company (business travel, equipment purchases, assignments), and compliance with the principle that work-related expenses cannot be borne by the employee. Two others are optional but very common: meal vouchers and the flat-rate remote-work allowance. Finally, journeys to the CFA (apprentice training centre) are not strictly work-related expenses, but regional support schemes and possible reimbursement through the OPCO via the employer do exist. Claimed properly, these schemes are often worth €80 to €150 per month.

Why do apprentices miss out on these reimbursements?

Because they don't ask. It's as simple — and as frustrating — as that.

When you sign your first apprenticeship contract, you rarely think to ask questions about expenses. You're afraid of "making a fuss" when you've only just been hired, you assume HR "would have said something" if you were entitled to it, or you simply don't know that a transport pass can be reimbursed.

The problem is that transport coverage is not automatic: it requires you to provide proof of your subscription. No employer can guess that you hold a monthly pass if you never send it in. Likewise, meal vouchers often require you to sign up at the start of your contract.

Add to that a practical reality: in very small businesses and SMEs, the apprentice is sometimes the first employee ever to ask the question. The manager themselves is unaware of the full extent of their obligations. It isn't bad faith, it's a lack of awareness — on both sides.

"The employer covers at least 50% of the price of subscription tickets purchased by employees for their journeys between their usual residence and their place of work." — article L. 3261-2 of the French Labour Code, as set out on service-public.fr.

Transport reimbursement: the strongest entitlement

What is mandatory

Every employer, whatever their size, must reimburse at least 50% of the price of public transport passes (metro, bus, tram, train, RER) or public bike-hire services (such as Vélib', Vélov', etc.) taken out by the employee to travel to work.

Key points for an apprentice:

• The rule applies from day one of the contract, with no seniority requirement;
• It covers both apprenticeship and professionalisation contracts;
• It applies only to subscriptions (weekly, monthly, annual) — not to single tickets;
• The reimbursement is pro-rated if you work part-time below 50% of the statutory working hours, which is rare in apprenticeships;
• It must appear on your payslip, on a separate line.

In practical terms, with a Navigo pass at €88.80 per month, at least €44.40 goes back into your pocket. Over twelve months, that's more than €530. Some companies and collective agreements go all the way to 100% — check your collective agreement.

What is optional: the sustainable mobility package

If you commute by personal bike, carpool, electric scooter or personal mobility device, the employer may (but is not required to) pay a sustainable mobility package (forfait mobilités durables), exempt from social security contributions up to a limit set by the finance act. Many large companies and public bodies have introduced it.

It's a question worth asking explicitly during your job interview or your onboarding: "Has the company introduced the sustainable mobility package?" If you ride every day, investing in an approved U-lock for bikes and good lighting is no luxury, especially when your bike becomes your everyday commuting tool.

How to make the request, step by step

1. Gather your proof of a personal transport subscription (PDF invoice from your network's app, annual certificate, or a screenshot of your customer account).
2. Email it to your HR contact or your workplace mentor with a simple sentence: "Hello, please find attached my transport pass for the 50% coverage provided for under article L. 3261-2."
3. Send it again each time the price or type of subscription changes.
4. Check the corresponding line on your payslip the following month.

If your contract started several months ago and you've never claimed anything, the request is still possible: the limitation period for pay claims is three years. You can therefore ask for a retroactive adjustment, backed up by supporting documents.

Meal vouchers, canteen, meal allowance: what are you entitled to?

No law obliges an employer to fund its employees' meals. But as soon as a scheme exists within the company, the apprentice is entitled to it on the same terms as other employees. This is the principle of equal treatment: apprentice status cannot justify exclusion.

Three possible set-ups:

Watch out for a subtlety that trips up many apprentices: days spent at the CFA do not, in principle, give entitlement to meal vouchers, since a voucher is allocated per day worked that includes a meal within the working day. Some companies grant them anyway for the sake of simplicity — that's a perk, not an entitlement.

If your company offers nothing at all, the most cost-effective solution remains a lunch prepared the night before. A decent insulated lunch box pays for itself within a week and brings your lunch budget below €3 a day, compared with €10 to €13 for a sandwich and a drink in the city centre.

For the bigger budget picture, our pay calculator gives you your net take-home pay: then add these reimbursed expenses to work out your real disposable income.

Remote work during an apprenticeship: who pays for electricity and internet?

Remote work has spread widely, including among apprentices in office-based roles. Two rules to know.

First, remote work cannot be imposed on you. Your employer cannot force you to stay at home to save on a workstation without an agreement or a charter. And nothing obliges an apprentice to accept a 100% remote arrangement: the training dimension of the contract implies physical presence alongside your mentor. URSSAF and the Ministry of Labour point out that remote work is based on voluntary agreement outside exceptional circumstances.

Second, costs incurred at home remain work-related expenses. URSSAF allows a flat-rate remote-work allowance exempt from social security contributions, up to an amount per day of remote work per week, with a monthly cap. Many companies pay €2.50 to €10 per day worked remotely, or a monthly lump sum. It isn't an absolute legal obligation in the absence of an agreement, but it is an almost universal practice in companies covered by a collective agreement.

What clearly falls to the employer, on the other hand, is work equipment. Computer, software licences, phone if the role requires one. You don't have to use your personal PC if the company doesn't provide one — and if it tolerates that, compensation should in principle be discussed.

On a practical note, two days a week at home on a corner of the kitchen table eventually costs you in neck pain. An adjustable laptop stand, paired with an external keyboard, costs less than €40 and spares you months of poor posture. INRS (the French national institute for research and safety) in fact recommends a screen whose top edge is at eye level, which is impossible with a laptop lying flat.

Business travel, assignments, purchases: the golden rule

This is the least well-known aspect, and yet the most protective. Expenses incurred by an employee in the company's interest must be reimbursed in full. The Cour de cassation states this consistently: work-related expenses cannot be charged to the employee.

This covers, for an apprentice as for any other employee:

• work-related journeys during the day (going to a site, a trade fair, a client's premises) — reimbursed at actual cost or according to the mileage scale published each year by the tax authorities if you use your own vehicle;
• meals and overnight stays while travelling, within the limits set by company policy;
• purchases made on behalf of the company (supplies, equipment, consumables);
• personal protective equipment in the relevant trades: it is the employer's exclusive responsibility (article R. 4321-4 of the French Labour Code), never the apprentice's.

This last point deserves hammering home, because abuses persist in construction, catering and food trades: safety shoes, helmet, gloves, mandatory workwear = employer. If you're asked to buy your own PPE, that's illegal. On the other hand, school supplies and small personal items for the CFA remain your responsibility — hence the first-equipment grant, whose 2026 changes we detail in our article on the 2026 apprenticeship reform.

How to put together an expense claim that gets approved first time

• Keep all original supporting documents (till receipt, itemised invoice, ticket). A clear photo is enough in most digital tools.
• Note the date, the business purpose and who you met: "14/09 — client visit Dupont, Lyon, sales meeting".
• Submit your claim before the monthly payroll cut-off date, otherwise reimbursement slips to the following month.
• Get approval in principle before incurring the expense as soon as the amount exceeds a few dozen euros. A simple email saying "Confirming I'm taking the 8:12 train, cost €47" protects you.
• Keep a personal copy. A ring binder or a document storage wallet stops you losing thermal receipts that fade within three months.

And what about journeys to the CFA? The special case of training

Legally, the home–CFA journey is not business travel: it's a trip to your place of training. Three avenues nevertheless exist.

1. Your transport pass often covers both. If your monthly pass serves you just as much for work as for the CFA, the 50% coverage applies in any case, since it's the same subscription.

2. Regional support schemes. Every region offers schemes for apprentices: help with transport, accommodation and meals. Amounts and conditions vary widely from one region to another — check with your CFA, which often handles the applications. Our financial support page lists the main national schemes.

3. Ancillary costs covered by the OPCO. Where training requires accommodation or meals, the CFA can invoice these ancillary costs to the skills operator, within limits set by France compétences. It's indirect coverage, but real: ask your CFA what's already covered before paying out of your own pocket.

If your CFA is far away and you sleep there every other week, a well-designed cabin-size travel bag genuinely makes daily life easier — especially when you're juggling trains, trams and boarding accommodation.

Summary: your expenses, mandatory or not

What to do if your employer refuses?

Always start with a written conversation. A polite email citing article L. 3261-2 resolves the vast majority of situations: in small organisations, it's an oversight, not a strategy.

If the refusal persists:

1. Turn to your CFA: the training coordinator or the internal mediator regularly intervenes with companies and knows the right contacts.
2. Contact the apprenticeship mediator at your chamber of commerce or trades (CCI, CMA) — free and confidential.
3. Refer the matter to employee representatives if there are any (CSE), or to the labour inspectorate (DREETS) in cases of clear breach.
4. As a last resort, the employment tribunal (conseil de prud'hommes) can be asked to award back pay — but it almost never comes to that over a transport pass.

One methodological tip: always keep a written record of your requests. That documentary discipline also applies to your assignments and your progress, as we explain in our article on the first days of an apprenticeship.

The habit to adopt from the moment you sign

The best time to raise the subject is during your onboarding week, not six months later. Ask your HR contact or mentor three simple questions:

• "How should I send you my transport pass so it can be covered?"
• "Am I eligible for meal vouchers, and from when?"
• "What's the procedure for an expense claim if I have to travel?"

These three sentences won't make you look calculating. They'll make you look like someone who knows their status as an employee — which is precisely the message you want to send at the start of a contract.

And if you're still looking for a placement, bear in mind that these benefits vary enormously from one company to another: it's a perfectly legitimate criterion for choosing between two offers. You can compare the available openings on our vacancy search engine.

Sources and references: French Labour Code (articles L. 3261-2, L. 3261-3-1, R. 4321-4), service-public.fr, URSSAF (scale of work-related expenses and flat-rate remote-work allowance), Ministry of Labour, France compétences (ancillary costs of apprenticeship contracts), INRS (design of display screen workstations).