Incentives for Employers

To view the latest information about employing an Apprentice and how Apprenticeship funding works, please visit the Government website. 

Incentive payments for hiring a new Apprentice

There are incentive payments available to employers who hire a new Apprentice. Employers can also claim the incentive by hiring an apprentice who has been made redundant. To make a claim you’ll need to register for an apprenticeship service account.

Additional Payments

The employer and main provider will receive a payment towards the additional cost associated with training if, at the start of the apprenticeship, the apprentice is:

• aged between 16 and 18 years old (or 15 years of age if the Apprentice’s 16th birthday is between the last Friday of June and 31 August), or
• aged between 19 and 24 years old and has either an Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan provided by their local authority or has been in the care of their local authority

A child in care is defined as:

• An eligible child: a young person who is 16 or 17 and who has been looked after by the local authority/health and social care trust for at least a period of 13 weeks since the age of 14, and who is still looked after; or
• A relevant child: a young person who is 16 or 17 who has left care after their 16th birthday and before leaving care was an eligible child; or
• A former relevant child: a young person who is aged between 18 and 21 (up to their 25th birthday if they are in education or training) who, before turning 18, was either an eligible or a relevant child

To be eligible for these payments the employer must have evidence in respect of each apprentice before the apprenticeship starts. The employer must check this and either they or the apprentice must give the main provider evidence to keep in the evidence pack.

Where these payments are for apprentices aged between 19 and 24 years old at the start of their apprenticeship with an EHC Plan, the main provider must include consent from the apprentice to inform the employer that they have an EHC Plan, or that they have been in the care of their local authority and either:

• a signed email or letter from a local authority appointed Personal Advisor to confirm they are a care leaver; or
• evidence of an EHC Plan

The additional payments will be paid to the main provider as follows:

• 90 days after the apprentice starts, 50% will be paid if the apprentice is still undertaking their apprenticeship; and
• 365 days after the apprentice starts, the remaining 50% will be paid if the apprentice is still undertaking their apprenticeship

The main provider must pass these on in full to the employer within 30 working days of receiving this funding from the ESFA.