Understanding the Rights and Regulations of Internships: A Guide

An internship is a temporary period of experience in a professional environment, carried out as part of a school or university educational course. As a trainee, you are not bound to the company by an employment contract, and therefore do not have the status of employee. However, the law regulates the use of internships and requires the employer to comply with strict regulations, regardless of the sector of activity or the size of the company. You also have certain specific rights that are important to know. Let’s do a check in.

Signature of an internship agreement

Whether compulsory or not, the internship must be the subject of an internship agreement. In the absence of an agreement, the internship cannot take place. This document makes it possible to fix in writing the essential conditions of its execution, in particular the duration and the dates of the training course, the name of the referent teacher and that of your tutor in the company, your working hours, the activities which will be entrusted, the amount of the gratuity, or the terms of suspension and termination of the internship agreement.

READ ALSO

Internship, work-study: here is the list of the best employers according to the students

The internship agreement must be signed before the start of the internship, by:

• yourself and your legal representative if you are a minor;
• the company (or association, administration) in which you are doing the internship;
• your internship tutor;
• the educational institution;
• your referent teacher.

Pedagogical supervision

The company must appoint an internship tutor who will be responsible for guiding and supporting you, throughout the internship, in carrying out your assignments. A tutor can supervise up to three trainees.

Remuneration

If your internship lasts more than two months, consecutive or not, during the same school year, the company must pay you a bonus for each day of attendance, starting from your first day of internship. The amount of the gratuity must be at least equal to 4.05 euros per hour in 2023, knowing that contractual provisions applicable to the company may provide for a higher amount. This bonus must be paid to you monthly, either according to the number of hours actually worked, or by “smoothing” the overall amount of the bonus so that you receive the same amount each month.

READ ALSO

What should I do if my boss imposes one of his relatives on me on an internship?

To note : if your internship is temporarily interrupted, the amount of the bonus will be readjusted. If the interruption is definitive, then a global regularization will be carried out, according to the number of hours that you have actually worked.

On the other hand, when the duration of your internship is less than or equal to two months, the company has no obligation to pay you a bonus. However, if your internship is subsequently extended beyond two months, the company must pay you the bonuses that you should have received from the first month of the internship.

Absence authorizations and days off

When the duration of the internship is less than or equal to two months, the company is not obliged to grant you leave, unless contractual provisions provide for it. On the other hand, when the internship is longer than two months, the internship agreement must provide for the possibility of taking leave or benefiting from leave of absence, and must set the number of days granted. The law does not provide for a minimum number of days: the company can choose to apply the classic rule of paid leave (2.5 working days acquired per month of actual work) or define a number of days of absence per month of presence.

Whatever the duration of the internship, in the event of pregnancy, maternity, paternity or adoption, you benefit from leave and leave of absence for a period equivalent to that provided for employees.

To note : the internship bonus being calculated on the number of hours of effective presence, it will not be maintained during your absence.

READ ALSO

Paid leave: under what conditions can you postpone your days not taken after May 31?

Company restaurant and meal vouchers

As a trainee, you are entitled to access to the company restaurant or restaurant tickets under the same conditions as the employees of the company hosting you.

Payment of transport costs

Whatever the duration of your internship, you can benefit from the payment of transport costs between your home and your place of internship. The company has the obligation to reimburse you 50% of the cost of your subscription to public transport: bus, train, tram, metro, public bicycle rental service (type Vélib’, Vélo’v), etc. This reimbursement must be paid in addition to your internship gratuity, if you can claim it.

To note : this payment is made on the basis of second class fares and only concerns subscriptions (annual, monthly, etc.). Tickets purchased individually are non-refundable.

READ ALSO

Home-to-work transport costs: what your employer must reimburse you

Protection sociale

Whether you are paid or not, you are insured, from the first day of the internship, against the risk of accident at work or occupational disease. The accidents covered are those that occur during the course, or during the journey (outward or return) between the place of the course and your home or school.

During the internship, you remain affiliated to the Social Security scheme from which you benefit as a student. You benefit from the coverage of your health costs in the event of illness or accident at work. The terms and extent of social protection vary according to the amount of your internship bonus:

• if your internship is unpaid or if the gratuity does not exceed the legal compensation floor (4.05 euros per hour), you cannot claim daily social security allowances (IJSS) in the event of stoppage work, nor to invalidity-death benefits;
• if your internship is remunerated beyond this threshold, you contribute on the part of your gratuity greater than 4.05 euros per hour. It is on this basis that you can receive IJSS in the event of sick leave, as well as disability-death benefits, if you meet the conditions for allocation.

READ ALSO

Work stoppage: the reasons for the record absenteeism of employees in 2022

Hiring at the end of the internship

If hired within three months of the end of your internship, the duration of the latter must be deducted from your trial period. The duration of the internship must also be taken into account for the calculation of rights linked to seniority.

Redemption of internship periods

It is useful to know that you can request the redemption of your paid internship periods in a company, within the limit of two quarters of pension insurance. Currently, this request must be made within a maximum period of two years following the end of the internship. To buy back a quarter, you must pay contributions set at 12% of the monthly value of the Social Security ceiling in force on the day of the request, i.e. around 440 euros in 2023.

To note : from September 1, 2023, the redemption of internship periods will no longer be open within two years after the internship, but up to a certain age, which must be determined by decree but which cannot be less than 25 years (Law 2023-270 of April 14, 2023).

READ ALSO

Redemption of quarters of retirement: why the reform complicates your calculations

* Éditions Tissot has been publishing specialized documentation in labor law for more than 40 years for HR and CSE.