If you’re an employer with a salary bill over £3 million each year, you must pay the apprenticeship levy.
If you have less than 50 staff, the service is fully funded. If you have over 50 staff, there is a 5% employer contribution, for example a Business Admin Level 2 will cost the employer £200.
In either scenario, if you employ a 16-18 year old learner, you will receive a cash incentive grant of £1000.
More than £1.28 billion paid by employers is languishing unspent in the National Apprenticeship Service accounts, according to new data analysis commissioned by The Open University (OU). Just one year on from the introduction of the Apprenticeship Levy, organisation have paid in more than £1.39 billion but only withdrawn £108 million. Any funding that remains in their National Apprenticeship Service accounts will expire after 24 months.
If the money is not used within 24 months, it will be made available for smaller businesses to spend on Apprenticeship schemes, and it will NOT go back to the employer.
The minimum wages for 16 -18 year olds and people aged 19+ vary, all of details can be found here.
