“My boss makes me finish at 11 p.m. on Fridays. I’m 17 and he says it’s normal because I’m an apprentice.” CFAs receive messages like this every year, and the answer is almost always no: before 18, the law regulates working hours very strictly.
In short: an apprentice under 18 falls under the protective regime for young workers (articles L. 3161-1 et seq. of the French Labour Code). Their working time is capped at 8 hours per day and 35 hours per week, CFA time included. Two waivers exist: on building, public-works and landscaping sites, up to 10 hours per day and 40 hours per week if the collective organisation of work justifies it, with rest in return; elsewhere, exceptionally, 5 overtime hours per week at most, with the labour inspector’s approval and the binding opinion of the occupational physician. These hours carry a 25% premium (the 50% band is never reached); under 16, no overtime at all. Night work (10 p.m. – 6 a.m., or 8 p.m. – 6 a.m. under 16) is prohibited, except for sector waivers granted by the labour inspector. Rest is reinforced: 12 hours per day (14 hours under 16), 2 consecutive days per week, a 30-minute break after 4.5 hours of work. For adult apprentices, see our guide on overtime in work-study contracts.
What are the working hours of an apprentice under 18 in 2026?
An underage apprentice is a full-time employee: their reference working time is the company’s, most often 35 hours per week. But until they turn 18, being a minor takes precedence: article L. 6222-25 refers, for the working time of apprentices under 18, to the young-worker rules of article L. 3162-1.
The second rule changes everything: time spent at the CFA is working time. Article L. 6222-24 says so expressly:
“The time spent by the apprentice on training provided in apprentice training centres is included in working hours […].”
A 35-hour week of classes at the CFA is therefore a full working week: the employer cannot ask the apprentice to “make up” hours on Saturday or in the evening after class.
What limits must never be exceeded?
| Rule | Apprentice aged 16-17 | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Daily hours | 8 h (10 h with the building-site waiver) | L. 3162-1, R. 3162-1 |
| Weekly hours | 35 h (40 h with a waiver) | L. 3162-1 |
| Uninterrupted work | 4 h 30 maximum, then a 30-min consecutive break | L. 3162-3 |
| Daily rest | 12 consecutive hours (14 h under 16) | L. 3164-1 |
| Weekly rest | 2 consecutive days | L. 3164-2 |
| Night work | Prohibited from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. (8 p.m. to 6 a.m. under 16) | L. 3163-1 and L. 3163-2 |
| Public holidays | Prohibited, except in authorised sectors or under a collective agreement | L. 3164-6 and L. 3164-8 |
In all cases, a young person’s working time can never exceed that of the adults employed in the same establishment. By comparison, an adult apprentice falls under ordinary law: 10 hours per day, 48 hours in a single week, 44 hours on average over 12 weeks and 11 hours of daily rest.
When can an apprentice under 18 work more than 8 hours a day and 35 hours a week?
Since 1 January 2019 (law No. 2018-771 of 5 September 2018, known as “Avenir professionnel”, and decree No. 2018-1139 of 13 December 2018), there have been two mechanisms that must not be confused.
The “building site” waiver: construction, public works and landscaping
Article R. 3162-1 allows a schedule of up to 10 hours per day and 40 hours per week for three activities only:
- activities carried out on building sites;
- activities carried out on public-works sites;
- creation, development and maintenance work on landscaping sites.
Condition: the collective organisation of work must justify it (for example, the team’s schedule on the site). The texts do not require prior authorisation, but they impose two forms of compensation:
- rest periods at least equal to the number of hours worked beyond 8 hours in the day;
- overtime and its premiums give rise to equivalent compensatory rest. Five overtime hours with a 25% premium thus represent 6 h 15 of rest.
Bakeries, hotels and restaurants or hairdressing are not on this list.
The labour inspector’s exceptional waiver
In other activities, an apprentice aged 16 or 17 may work overtime only exceptionally, up to 5 hours per week, with the labour inspector’s approval and the binding opinion of the occupational physician. “Binding opinion” means that an unfavourable opinion from the physician blocks the waiver. These hours remain overtime and carry a premium.
Under 16 (apprentices who have completed the final year of collège), no overtime is possible.
How is an underage apprentice’s overtime paid?
As for any employee, the statutory premium is 25% from the 36th to the 43rd hour (article L. 3121-36). Since an underage apprentice cannot exceed 40 hours, the 50% band (from the 44th hour) never applies. A collective agreement may set another rate, never below 10%: in hotels, cafés and restaurants, for example, the first overtime hours carry a 10% premium. A printed copy of your collective agreement remains useful for checking.
The premium applies to the apprentice’s hourly rate, i.e. the percentage of the SMIC (French minimum wage) for their contract year, calculated on €12.31 gross per hour since 1 June 2026:
| Apprentice under 18 | Gross hourly rate | Hour at +25% | 5 overtime hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year 1 (27% of the SMIC) | €3.32 | €4.15 | €20.77 |
| Year 2 (39% of the SMIC) | €4.80 | €6.00 | €30.01 |
| Year 3 (55% of the SMIC) | €6.77 | €8.46 | €42.32 |
These amounts apply to pay at the statutory minimum; if the contract provides for more, that salary is the base. On building, public-works and landscaping sites, these hours are compensated with rest rather than money. For a personalised calculation, use the pay simulator.
On the net side: apprentice pay is exempt from income tax up to the annual amount of the SMIC and, for a contract signed since 1 March 2025, exempt from employee contributions up to 50% of the SMIC (€933.51 gross per month since 1 June 2026). Overtime can push pay above this threshold, the portion above it then being subject to contributions and CSG-CRDS: see our article on apprentice net pay.
Can an apprentice under 18 work at night?
In principle, no (article L. 3163-2). Night means 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. for 16- and 17-year-olds and 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. for those under 16 (article L. 3163-1).
For 16- and 17-year-olds, the labour inspector may grant a waiver, for one year at most and renewable, in the sectors listed in article R. 3163-1, with strict time limits:
| Sector | Latest/earliest time allowed by waiver |
|---|---|
| Hotels, restaurants | Until 11:30 p.m. |
| Bakery, pastry | From 4 a.m., if production cannot be done between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. |
| Entertainment | Until midnight |
| Horse racing | Until midnight, 2 times a week and 30 nights a year at most |
Work between midnight and 4 a.m. is never allowed, except in extreme emergency (temporary work to prevent an accident, when no adult is available), with compensatory rest within 3 weeks. An apprentice pastry chef who starts at 4 a.m. with a waiver is within the law; an apprentice mechanic who finishes at 10:30 p.m. is not.
The 12-hour daily rest adds to these rules: an apprentice who finishes at 11:30 p.m. cannot start again before 11:30 a.m. the next day. For those who start before dawn, a blackout sleep mask helps recover during the day.
Can an apprentice under 18 work on Sundays and public holidays?
- Weekly rest: 2 consecutive days per week (article L. 3164-2). An extended collective agreement may derogate from this for young people no longer subject to compulsory schooling, if the activity justifies it, with at least 36 consecutive hours of rest.
- Sunday: prohibited in principle, except for apprentices employed in the sectors listed in article R. 3164-1: hotels, restaurants, caterers and event organisers, cafés-tobacconists and bars, bakery, pastry, butchery, delicatessen, cheese and dairy shops, fishmongers, florists, garden centres and seed shops, food retail.
- Public holidays: prohibited (article L. 3164-6), except in the same sectors and entertainment (article R. 3164-2) or if a collective agreement sets conditions for a waiver (article L. 3164-8).
- 1 May: a public holiday off for all employees, except in establishments that cannot interrupt their activity.
How do you check your hours and raise the alarm?
1. Keep your own record. Note your arrival time, break and departure time every day in a pocket notebook. Since a ruling of the Cour de cassation (France’s highest court) of 18 March 2020 (No. 18-10.919), the employee only has to present “sufficiently precise” evidence, and the employer must respond to it.
2. Check your payslip. Overtime must appear on a separate line, with the rate applied, or the rest earned must be tracked.
3. Raise the alarm in the right order: the apprenticeship supervisor, then the CFA, then the apprenticeship mediator, and finally the labour inspectorate.
The apprenticeship mediator, appointed by the chambers (CCI, CMA, chamber of agriculture), can be contacted free of charge by the apprentice or their family for any dispute about the performance or termination of the contract (article L. 6222-39).
If the situation becomes unbearable, our article on terminating an apprenticeship contract details the deadlines and steps to follow.
What does an employer who breaks the rules risk?
- Maximum hours: a 4th-class offence fine, applied as many times as there are young people concerned (article R. 3165-1).
- 30-minute break not respected: a 5th-class offence fine, per employee concerned (article R. 3165-2).
- Illegal night work: a fine of €1,500 (service-public.gouv.fr).
- Suspension of the contract: if there is a serious risk to the apprentice’s health or integrity, the labour inspection officer may propose suspending the contract to the administration (DREETS), with the employer continuing to pay the salary (article L. 6225-4).
On the apprentice’s side, unpaid hours can be claimed before the employment tribunal (conseil de prud’hommes) for 3 years (article L. 3245-1).
What are the most common mistakes?
- Believing the CFA “doesn’t count”. A week of classes is a working week: no make-up hours are owed.
- Thinking 40 hours is always possible. Outside building, public-works and landscaping sites, an exceptional authorisation from the labour inspector is required.
- Calculating the premium on the full SMIC instead of the apprentice’s hourly rate.
- Accepting informal “make-up” arrangements. Compensatory rest must be provided for by law or an agreement and tracked on the payslip.
- Neglecting fatigue and safety. Proper sleep and comfortable safety shoes matter; in case of injury, see our guide on workplace accidents in work-study.
What changes in 2026?
No text changed the protective core rules for young workers in 2026: 8 h / 35 h, the building-site waiver at 10 h / 40 h and exceptional overtime remain in force. What changes is the calculation base: the SMIC rose to €12.31 per hour on 1 June 2026 (see SMIC from 1 June 2026), and the apprenticeship landscape is evolving (see our article on the 2026 apprenticeship reform).
In an interview, asking about actual working hours and the typical schedule shows you are serious. Work-study job offers increasingly mention working hours: a criterion worth comparing as much as pay. And to keep your contract, payslips, collective agreement and time record in one place, a binder with plastic sleeves is all you need.
Sources and references: French Labour Code (articles L. 3161-1 to L. 3164-8, R. 3162-1, R. 3163-1 et seq., R. 3164-1, R. 3164-2, R. 3165-1, R. 3165-2, L. 3121-36, L. 3245-1, L. 6222-24, L. 6222-25, L. 6222-39, L. 6225-4) on legifrance.gouv.fr; law No. 2018-771 of 5 September 2018; decree No. 2018-1139 of 13 December 2018; service-public.gouv.fr (fact sheets “Durée du travail d’un jeune de moins de 18 ans” and “Travail de nuit d’un jeune de moins de 18 ans”); Cour de cassation, social chamber, 18 March 2020, No. 18-10.919.