• Apprentices must be employed for a minimum of 30 hours a week, if an apprentice works less than 30 hours their time on programme must be extended so that they can meet the minimum duration and the off the job training requirements.
• The minimum age for an apprenticeship is 16 years old (The apprentice can start their apprenticeship after the last Friday in June of the academic year in which they have their 16th birthday).
• Must hold a contract of employment and receive itemised payslips.
• Must be paid the minimum Apprenticeship wage https://www.gov.uk/become-apprentice/pay-and-conditions.
• The apprenticeship must be materially different from any prior qualification or previous apprenticeship and must ensure the apprentices is acquiring substantive new skills.
• Must be eligible to work in England.
• They must not be enrolled on another apprenticeship.
• They must not be in prison.

This list is not exhaustive. Please speak to KEITS business development team for further advice on learner eligibility.

The incentive payment is in addition to the £1,000 employers already receive for hiring an apprentice:

• aged 16 to 18 years old.
• under 25 with an education, health and care plan or who has been in the care of their local authority.

To receive the full payment, the apprenticeship must last for at least one year.

Please note employer incentives are subject to change, in line with government policy.

How to apply

You can apply for the incentive payment after you add new apprentices to your apprenticeship service account.

When you’ll get paid

The ESFA cannot make any payments until they’ve received and verified your organisation and finance details. This could take up to 80 days and they may contact someone from your organisation.

The payments are made in 2 equal instalments for each apprentice. The first payment is due after an apprentice completes 90 days of their apprenticeship and the second is due after 365 days.

Payments are made by Bacs on the 14th working day of the month. It usually takes 3 working days to process.

After you apply, you can view applications, estimated payment dates and check the status of each payment in your apprenticeship service account.

Get help from the ESFA by clicking here.

What is the Apprenticeship Levy?

The Apprenticeship Levy came into effect on 6 April 2017 and is part of the Government’s plan to increase the quantity and quality of apprenticeships.

The Apprenticeship Levy is an amount paid at a rate of 0.5% of an employer’s annual pay bill.

As an employer, you have to pay Apprenticeship Levy each month if you:

• have an annual pay bill of more than £3 million.
• are connected to any companies or charities for Employment Allowance purposes and have a combined annual pay bill of more than £3 million.

The rules for connected companies are the same for Apprenticeship Levy and Employment Allowance.

You must report and pay Apprenticeship Levy monthly through your Employee Payment Summary.

All sectors must pay the levy if they have an annual pay bill of over £3 million (including any connected companies or charities).

The sectors that have specific rules for paying Apprenticeship Levy are:

• Franchises
• Off-payroll working in the public sector
• Short-lived companies
• Managed service companies
• Employment or recruitment agencies
• Joint ventures
• Schools

Your annual pay bill

Your annual pay bill is all payments to employees that are subject to employer Class 1 secondary National Insurance contributions such as wages, bonuses and commissions.

What happens to the money once it has been paid?

The money will be collected by HMRC and for apprenticeship training in England will be accessed via your Digital Apprenticeship Service (DAS) account. You will be able to use this to pay for your apprentice training.

What can Levy be spent on?

When an apprenticeship has started, monthly payments will be automatically taken from your digital account and sent to the training provider. This spreads the cost over the lifetime of the apprenticeship. You will see funds entering your digital account each month as you pay the Levy, and funds leaving the account regularly each month as you pay for training.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/pay-apprenticeship-levy

Am I a Non-Levy employer?

A non-levy employer is an employer, or group of connected employers, with a collective annual pay bill of less than £3 million who therefore do not pay the levy.

If you employ under 50 employees

• 16-18yrs will be fully funded by the Government and there will be a £1,000 incentive, £500 payable after day 90 and £500 after day 365 of the learners’ Apprenticeship.
• 19-24 with an education, health and care plan provided by their local authority or has been in the care of their local authority will also be fully funded by the Government and there will be a £1,000 incentive, £500 payable after day 90 and £500 after day 365 of the learners’ Apprenticeship.
• 19yrs+ will require an employer contribution of 5% 

If you employ over 50 employees

• 16-18yrs will require an employer contribution of 5% and there will be a  £1,000 incentive, £500 payable after day 90 and £500 after day 365 of the learners’ Apprenticeship.
• 19yrs+ will require an employer contribution of 5% and the £1,000 incentive will only apply for care leavers or learners that hold an EHC plan.

Please click here to find out what courses the ESFA funds. KEITS only offers the courses on our website.

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