The financial cost of an apprentice

There is a lot of government support to help employers take on apprentices. There is an apprenticeship levy scheme for employers with a pay bill over £3m, which is explained here: Funding an apprenticeship for levy payers

Otherwise, employers pay just 5% towards the cost of training and assessing an apprentice, unless they have fewer than 50 employees, in which case the Government pays 100%

-          for apprentices aged 16-18,

-          and apprentices aged 19-24 if they have an education, health and care plan provided by their local authority or has been in the care of their local authority

-          and up to the funding band maximum. (You pay all additional costs, over the maximum.)

There is a government incentive payment of £1,000 for people in both the groups above.

In addition, there is an incentive payment of £3,000 for new apprentices of any age who join between 1 April 2021 and 30 September 2021 (can be claimed up to 30 November 2021). This also applies for apprentices who have previously been made redundant from other apprenticeships.

You must pay the apprentice for their normal working hours plus any training time at the National Minimum Wage rate for their age.

The rates from April 2021 are:

The funding band for apprenticeships depend on the length and complexity of the training required, and the field. There are 30 funding bands with the upper limit of those bands ranging from £1,500 to £27,000. Employers must negotiate a price for their apprentice’s training within the relevant upper band, or pay the excess themselves.

One final thought – for some apprentices, working onsite is a given, for others, working remotely might be feasible, but if you will need to spend time in an office with your apprentice, you might need to consider moving out of a home-office into a more formal location.

You can find the latest link on the Gov.uk website here: Apprenticeship funding rules