Employees living in a third-party country in the European Economic Area and Switzerland may have the status of trainee in order to undertake continuous vocational training if they are in France to follow a training course delivered by a competent body (see Article L 6531‑1 of the French labour code (‘Code du Travail’)).

In some cases they may also work a placement in a company in the group or in an undertaking with which the employer maintains business relations.

In this case, a placement agreement must be signed by the three parties:

- The trainee;

- The training establishment or employer established outside France;

- The host company in France or the training body.

In special cases, certain training centres within a group or company may be considered to have the status of a training body. For more information, please contact the DIRECCTE.

Trainees in continuous vocational training must be registered with the general social security scheme, but only for the “accident in the workplace” risk. Responsibility for paying the corresponding contributions is incumbent on the training centre (or the host company if it fulfils this role).

The flat rate contribution for the “accident in the workplace” risk is fixed at 2.21% for 2024. It is calculated on a flat-rate basis of 1.74 euros per hour of training (personnel type code 233). More information here.

The contributions should be paid to URSSAF office to which the training company pays their contributions. If the host company pays supplementary remuneration, the paid amount is subject to contributions at the ordinary rate.