Qualiopi indicator 15: informing apprentices of their rights and duties — what belongs in the welcome booklet

A CFA (apprenticeship training centre) prepares a flawless welcome booklet on the pedagogical side, but forgets to explain that the apprentice also holds employee status — with their own rights, their own obligations, and workplace safety rules that go well beyond the centre’s internal rules. That is exactly the gap indicator 15 of the Qualiopi framework is designed to close. Attached to criterion 3 (welcome, support, follow-up and assessment of beneficiaries), it is specific to CFAs and concerns a public that is often young and discovering both statuses at once, without knowing either.

What the framework requires

The obligation is twofold: inform every apprentice of their rights and duties both as an apprentice and as an employee, and inform them of the health and safety rules that apply in the workplace. An apprentice signs an employment contract from the moment they enrol at a CFA — they therefore fall simultaneously under labour law (working time, leave, pay) and the specific apprenticeship status (exams, workplace mentor, dedicated benefits). Many apprentices are completely unaware of this on arrival, which is precisely why the requirement exists.

Like indicator 14 on citizenship or indicator 33 on apprenticeship, indicator 15 only applies to CFAs and organisations running apprenticeship courses. Without an apprenticeship activity, it is marked not applicable from the initial diagnosis and falls outside the audit’s scope.

What the auditor actually checks

The auditor reconstructs the journey of a randomly chosen apprentice, from enrolment to today, and checks three things: the content of the information, whether it was actually delivered, and whether it was traced.

The content covers the dual status. On the employee side: statutory pay based on age and contract year, working time, leave, and the role of the workplace mentor. On the apprentice side: attendance obligations both at the centre and in the company, compliance with both sets of internal rules, sitting exams, and the benefits available. A booklet that only talks about life at the CFA, without ever addressing the employment contract, does not meet the requirement.

The health and safety component. A pre-employment or start-of-contract medical check, personal protective equipment appropriate to the trade, work activities that are restricted or require a waiver for minors, and the procedure to follow in the event of a workplace accident. This part is scrutinised especially closely for 16-17-year-old apprentices.

Contacts in case of difficulty. Auditors often ask the question directly: “how does an apprentice know who to turn to in case of a conflict with their employer?” Your answer needs to be documented — the apprenticeship mediator, attached to the relevant chamber, is the central point of contact here, alongside the disability referent for situations that require one.

Timing and format. The information must be delivered at the start of training — an induction day, a dedicated welcome booklet, a specific session — and remain accessible throughout the entire programme, not just on day one.

What changed in the benefits to mention in 2026

An outdated apprentice booklet, wrong on amounts and schemes, is an easy non-conformity for an auditor to spot, and 2026 reshuffled the benefits landscape. The €500 driving-licence grant, paid without means-testing to adult apprentices since 2019, was scrapped by the 2026 finance law, published in the Official Journal on 20 February 2026 — only applications filed before 21 February 2026 and forwarded to the payment agency (ASP) before 30 April 2026 were processed under the old rules. If your booklet still mentions this grant without qualification, that is a gap to fix before your next audit.

The Mobili-Jeune housing grant from Action Logement, on the other hand, remains fully in force: up to €100 per month, capped at €1,100 per training year, for apprentices under 30 in a private-sector, non-agricultural company, subject to a pay condition (no more than 120% of the minimum wage). The student-apprentice card, which unlocks various discounts and benefits, is likewise still current. Also check that the pay scale quoted in your materials reflects the current minimum wage: the percentages by age bracket and contract year haven’t changed, but the euro amounts move with every uprating.

Step-by-step compliance

1. Draft an apprentice booklet or a dedicated section of the welcome booklet: up-to-date status and pay, available rights and benefits (excluding any that have disappeared), obligations, health and safety, contacts and recourse. About ten clear pages is enough — auditors assess the effectiveness of the arrangement, not its thickness.
2. Schedule an induction session at the start of the cycle: presenting the dual status, the internal rules, and safety rules, with a signed attendance sheet every time. The same day can feed evidence for indicator 9, 14 and 15 at once, provided the programme spells out the corresponding segments.
3. Check comprehension with a short quiz at the end of the induction session — far stronger evidence of delivery than a document simply handed over against a signature.
4. Display and repeat the contact details of the apprenticeship mediator and the disability referent, both in the booklet and on-site, with a mid-course reminder about exam deadlines and attendance obligations.
5. Update it every year, especially after a finance law: pay amounts, benefits and their conditions evolve, and sometimes disappear entirely. An outdated booklet is one of the easiest gaps for an auditor to spot, since it only takes comparing two dates.

Expected evidence and common mistakes

Evidence that works: the dated and version-tracked apprentice booklet, the programme and attendance sheets for the induction session, the results of a comprehension quiz, the displayed contact details for recourse, and the health-and-safety materials handed to apprentices.

The most common mistakes: information limited to the CFA’s internal rules with no employee or health-and-safety component; a booklet handed over with no proof of delivery; outdated benefit or pay amounts (the driving-licence grant topping the list since 2026); no identified contact for an apprentice struggling with their employer; evidence mixed up between indicators 9, 14 and 15; information delivered only once at enrolment, with no ongoing access or reminder.

Why clear information genuinely reduces contract terminations

This requirement is far from an isolated formality: the quality of the information received at the start of a contract has a direct bearing on the risk of termination. A landmark study by Céreq (the French centre for research on qualifications) covering the 2004 cohort found that 17% of apprentices left their employer before the end of their contract, a rate that climbs to 22% for level-V qualifications and drops to 8% in higher education; among the factors associated with termination, the authors note that affected apprentices had received significantly less clear, precise information about the company, the job and its context when they started their contract (Cart, Toutin-Trelcat & Henguelle, Contrat d’apprentissage, les raisons de la rupture, Céreq Bref n° 272, 2010). In other words, the apprentice booklet and induction session you document for indicator 15 aren’t just an audit formality: they are among the concrete levers for keeping your apprentices on track through to graduation.

Take action

Indicator 15 is resolved with an up-to-date apprentice booklet, a signed-off induction session and clearly displayed recourse contacts. The Complete Kit Certif (€297, 14-day guarantee) provides ready-to-use templates for this indicator and all 32 indicators of the framework. To structure your entire CFA activity from day one, the kit + ebook pack (€347) remains the fastest route.