Apprenticeships: Salaries Decreasing in 2025
28 February 2025 · 2 min reading time
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See job offersBig hit for apprentices: starting 1 March 2025, your net pay will change!
No more full exemptions—say hello to deductions… How could this reform wreck your budget? Who will be affected? Here is a detailed breakdown of a shift that will impact thousands of young people and businesses.
1 March: end of exemptions for alternants’ wages
On 17 February 2025 the bill on financing Social Security was finally adopted. Among all its measures, one in particular concerns students—and especially those future alternants who had planned to begin a work-study placement in the coming months. And rightly so: this regulatory change marks a turning-point in the way apprentices will be paid in France.
The main change lies in the threshold for exemption from employee contributions. At present, an apprentice enjoys total exemption from these contributions up to 79 % of the SMIC, which means that within that limit the net wage is almost the same as the gross wage.
From 1 March 2025, this threshold will be lowered to 50 % of the SMIC. Concretely, this means that:
A larger share of apprentices’ pay will now be subject to employee contributions (CSG and CRDS).
This will translate into a reduction in the net wage received by apprentices.
⚠️ This reform applies to apprenticeship contracts that will be signed from 1 March 2025 onward, in companies with more than ten employees. Contracts signed before that date are therefore not affected.
A lower net wage for alternants
The impact of this reform on apprentices’ purchasing power is a notable flashpoint—far from a mere administrative detail. Extending the calculation base for social contributions, CSG (contribution sociale généralisée) and CRDS (contribution pour le remboursement de la dette sociale), to apprentices makes them liable for these deductions on a larger portion of their pay. This legislative change concretely erodes their monthly net income, reducing the money available for daily expenses and personal projects.
According to an analysis by the Inspectorate General of Finance, the average amount of this loss has been estimated at €19 per month nationwide.
It is crucial to underline that this figure, although official, is an average and therefore smooths over major individual and categorical disparities. In reality, the actual impact proves much greater for certain apprentices.
The National Association of Apprentices of France (ANAF), the reference body representing apprentices, has carried out precise calculations that reveal a far more alarming situation for apprentices who earn a wage at SMIC level. According to their estimates, this category of apprentices could suffer a significant monthly loss of up to €146.43. Far from negligible for a young person in training, that sum makes up a substantial share of their budget and can directly affect their ability to secure housing, buy food, travel, or finance their studies and daily life.
It is therefore essential to understand that the impact of this income drop is closely linked to the apprentice’s initial wage level. The mechanism is relentless: the higher the apprentice’s gross pay, the larger the base on which social contributions are calculated, and consequently the greater the fall in net income will be. Although this reform may look modest at first glance through the average figure of €19, it in fact brings a real loss of purchasing power for alternants.
To bolster your purchasing power, think about temp work while studying on a work-study contract.
Who are the alternants affected by this decrease?
It is vital to define precisely who will be affected by these changes:
Only new apprenticeship contracts signed from 1 March 2025 will be concerned. Contracts already in progress before that date will remain subject to the current exemption rules.
The measure applies to contracts carried out in companies with more than ten employees.
This means that future apprentices who begin their contract after that date, as well as the employers in those firms, will have to take these new rules into account in their calculations and forecasts.
A lower net wage for alternants… but not only for them
This reform comes a few months after the announcement of a cut in the amount of State aid for hiring apprentices. Indeed, the bonuses and subsidies that encouraged companies—particularly very small enterprises (TPE) and SMEs—to recruit alternants are decreasing (€5 000 for SMEs and €2 000 for large companies, versus a single €6 000 amount in 2024). This reduction in financial support is a significant factor for employers, for whom economic considerations are obviously key when deciding whether to hire.
The risk is therefore twofold: not only will apprentices see their net income fall, but companies may at the same time be less inclined to offer apprenticeship contracts if the financial incentive becomes less attractive. Careful observation will be needed in the coming months to see whether this double blow really affects the dynamism of apprenticeship in France—a system that is nonetheless crucial for youth employment and skills transfer.
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