The introduction of the Apprenticeship Levy in April 2017 has changed the way that government funds apprenticeships in England. All businesses operating within the UK with a wage bill of over £3million are required to contribute to the apprenticeship levy.
- If the levy applies to your business you will be required to pay 0.5% of your entire wage bill into the levy. This will be offset against a levy allowance worth £15,000 for each tax year.
- You will only be able to use your levy payment for government backed apprenticeships.
- Levy payments will expire after 18 months.
Speak to our Employer Engagement team on 01206 712043 where an Apprenticeship Advisor will help you to make your levy payments work for you.
As the largest college provider of apprenticeships in Essex, we can provide expert advice and guidance on all areas of apprenticeship provision, including helping you find the right apprenticeship for your business, recruiting apprentices, quality delivery and assessment with on-going support and advice.
The online system that employers will use to manage apprenticeship funds is now open for registration to all levy-paying companies. Click here for more information.
Since April 2017 the way that government funds apprenticeships in England has changed. All businesses operating within the UK with a wage bill of over £3 million are required to contribute to the apprenticeship levy monthly via HMRC.
- If the levy applies to your business you will be required to pay 0.5% of your entire wage bill into the levy. This will be offset against a levy allowance worth £15,000 for each tax year
- You will only be able to use your levy payment for government backed apprenticeships through providers who are registered on the Register of Apprenticeship Training Providers
- Levy payments will expire after 18 months.
Since April 2017 all existing apprenticeship frameworks and new apprenticeship standards (often referred to as trailblazer standards) have been allocated to Government funding bands.
Funding bands determine the maximum amount of money that Government will contribute for the training delivery and end-point assessment of each apprenticeship. All approved apprenticeship standards have already been allocated to funding bandings with maximum funding caps.
If you take on an apprentice who is between 16 and 18 years old at the start of their apprenticeship, you will receive a payment to help meet the extra costs of employing them. This will be paid to you through the training provider in two £500 instalments at 3 months and 12 months if the apprentice continues in learning beyond this point.
Non-levy paying employers will need to contribute 10% of the maximum funding band as published by the Skills Funding Agency for the delivery of training and assessment for their apprenticeship. Levy paying employers will pay the full cost of the agreed funding band using their Digital Apprenticeship account. Where there are no longer funds in this digital account the Government will co-invest 90% of the funding with the levy paying employer being the asked to contribute the remaining 10% on a monthly basis.
Levy paying employers can estimate their funding contributions through the use of the free Pay Apprenticeship Levy section of the gov.uk website.
The agreed funds will be taken from the employer’s digital account to pay the training provider, up to a maximum amount of funding allocated by Government to that particular apprenticeship.
- All businesses operating in the UK will need to pay the apprenticeship levy if they are an employer with a pay bill of more than £3 million each year.
- Employers will pay the levy on their entire pay bill at a rate of 0.5%. However, they will have a levy allowance to offset against this. The levy allowance is worth £15,000 for each tax year. This means employers will need to have an annual wage bill of more than £3 million before they are required to pay the levy.
- Employers will pay the levy to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) through the Pay as You Earn (PAYE) process.
If you have a pay bill of more than £3 million, your payments will be based on 0.5% of your annual pay bill. This will be offset by a £15,000 allowance.
Example 1: an employer who would pay the levy
An employer with an annual pay bill of £5,000,000:
- Levy sum: 0.5% x £5,000,000 = £25,000
- Subtracting levy allowance: £25,000 – £15,000 = £10,000 annual levy payment
Example 2: an employer who would not have to pay the levy
An employer with an annual pay bill of £2,000,000:
- Levy sum: 0.5% x £2,000,000 = £10,000
- Subtracting levy allowance: £10,000 – £15,000 = £0 annual levy payment
- As only payable on pay bills over £3 million (because 0.5% x £3 million = £15,000)
The levy allowance will operate on a monthly basis and will accumulate throughout the year.
For example:
- You will have an allowance of £1,250 a month (£15,000 annually). Any unused allowance will be carried from one month to the next.
- If you have multiple PAYE schemes and do not use the full £15,000 allowance, you will be able to offset the unused amount against another one of your schemes once the tax year has ended.
- Government will apply the top-up monthly, at the same time the funds enter your digital account.
- For every £1 that enters your digital account to spend in England on apprenticeship training, you get £1.10.
From January 2017 were able to register to create your account on the Digital Apprenticeship Service.
Levy payers have been able to use the full service from April 2017 to:
- see the funds you have available to spend in England
- set the price you’ve agreed with your training provider
- pay for apprenticeship training and assessment through the digital apprenticeship service
Funds appear in your digital account monthly, a few working days after you have confirmed your pay bill and levy contribution to HRMC for the previous month. The first funds in your digital account will be late May 2017.
It’s expected that non-levy paying employers will be able to fully use the Digital Apprenticeship Service from 2018.
Government plan to use data that they already hold about the home address of employees. They’ll use this data to work out what proportion of your pay bill is paid to employees living in England. Government are testing the accuracy and suitability of this approach and will provide more details in October 2016.
- Levy funds will expire 24 months after they enter your digital account unless you spend them on apprenticeship training. This will also apply to any top-ups in your digital account.
We recognise that providers face some additional costs associated with training younger learners and those that need additional support.
Providers will get an extra £1,000 payment for supporting apprentices aged:
- 16 to 18
- 19 to 24 who have either:
- previously been in care
- an education, health and care plan
We pay this over 2 equal instalments at 90 days and 365 days. This is on top of the funds that providers receive for training. It does not come from employer accounts.
Levy paying employers will pay the full cost of the agreed funding band using their Digital Apprenticeship account.
For new starts from 1st April 2024, employers who do not pay the levy, the government will fully fund apprenticeship training costs, up to the funding band maximum for apprentices who at the start of their apprenticeship training are aged between:
- 16 and 21 years old (or 15 years of age if the apprentice’s 16th birthday is between the last Friday of June and 31 August)
- 22 and 24 years old and have either an education, health and care plan (EHCP) provided by their local authority or have been in the care of their local authority and their employer has fewer than 50 employees
For starts before 31st March 2024, for employers who do not pay the levy and have fewer than 50 employees, the government will fully fund apprenticeship training costs, up to the funding band maximum, for apprentices who at the start of their apprenticeship training are 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
- 19 and 24 years old and has either an education, health and care plan (EHCP) provided by their local authority and / or has been in the care of their local authority
Non-levy paying employers taking on an apprentice who does not meet the above age and eligibility criteria will be required to pay the 5% co-investment fee.
An employer contribution fee will be required for:
- All non-levy paying employers recruiting an apprentice aged 22 or over
For more information about funding bands, please visit Apprenticeship Funding Bands.
Any associated cost to the individual will be made clear when you speak with our employer engagement team.
For any agreed associated costs, payments will be made directly to the training provider at the point of enrolment or a payment schedule. Payment schedules can be discussed with our employer engagement team prior to signing contracts. For more information about apprenticeship contribution fees please contact our engagement team on 01206 712043.
Contributions will be reflective of the apprenticeship framework/standard and can be discussed and agreed with Account Managers.
