Are you considering hiring an apprentice?

National Apprenticeship week took place from 4 to 8 March 2019 and was a celebration of the success of apprenticeships.

The introduction of the apprenticeship levy and the move to employer-led standards have made apprenticeships a much more attractive proposition for employers especially as they now have greater control over funding and can now recruit employees on degree level apprenticeships.

Recent government research found that 96% of employers employing apprentices have experienced at least one benefit from taking on apprentices and most have been able to count at least 8 benefits.

Apprenticeship funding

Since April 2017, any company with an annual employee wage bill in excess of £3 million has been required to make monthly payments to the Apprenticeship Levy, an initiative launched by the government to encourage employers to invest in training. Employers that pay the levy receive funds to spend on training and assessing their apprentices.

Non-levy paying employers share the cost of training and assessing their apprentices with the government. Employers pay 10% towards the cost of apprenticeship training and the government pay the remaining 90%, up to the funding band maximum.

How to hire an apprentice

First of all it’s crucial to know and understand your legal obligations as an employer before taking the following steps:

• Choose an apprenticeships framework or standard for an apprenticeship in your industry and at a suitable level
• Gain the support of your colleagues and senior managers for the apprenticeship programme
• Find an organisation that offers training for the apprenticeship framework or standard you’ve chosen
• Check what funding is available
• Advertise your apprenticeship – your training organisation will do this for you through the find an apprenticeship service
• Select your apprentice
• Make an apprenticeship agreement and commitment statement
• Find out what you need to know about possible employment law issues

You can find out more about hiring an apprentice and the funding available on GOV.UK.

The law on apprenticeships

Apprenticeships have been assimilated into the employment relationship and are covered by employment law. This means that both employers and apprentices have rights and responsibilities.

Our team at Brachers can advise on any employment law issue that may arise in the course of recruiting or employing an apprentice including but not limited to:

• Drafting of apprenticeship agreements and commitment statements
• Minimum wage queries
• Working Time Regulations queries
• Terminating an apprenticeship

If you would like further information then please contact a member of the employment team.

This content is correct at time of publication