WHAT IS THE APPRENTICESHIP LEVY?

The Apprenticeship Levy was introduced in 2017 as part of a Government bid to recruit 3,000,000 Apprentices by 2020. If a company has a wage bill that exceeds £3m each year then 0.5% of that will automatically go to Apprenticeship funding. The Government are committed to supporting Levy Employers and will top up your fund by 10% once payments have begun. The funding is collected through Pay As You Earn (PAYE) and has to be used each year, there’s no carry-over option. This means it’s important to a) know if you’re a Levy-payer and b) spend it wisely.

Recruitment Incentives

You will receive a £1000 incentive payment if you recruit:

• 16-18 year old apprentice
• 19 to 24 year old care leaver
• 19 to 25 year old with a Local Authority Education, Health and Care plan

If you employ apprentices under the age of 25, you will no longer have to pay National Insurance (NI) contributions for these recruits.

Apprenticeship Service

As a Levy-paying Employer, you will have access to the Apprenticeship Service. Your account allows you to receive levy funds, pay your training provider and manage apprentices. Funds show in your account on the 23rd day of each month and have been calculated by:

• the levy you declare to HMRC through the PAYE process
• multiplied by the proportion of your bill paid to your workforce who live in England
• plus a 10% government top-up on this amount

When you add a PAYE scheme to your account, any backdated levy funds will be added to your account.

Click here to find out more on what your funds can pay for.