From 1 May, 2017 employers with a wage bill of more than £3 million will pay the Apprenticeship Levy.

• The Apprenticeship Levy requires all employers to pay 0.5% of any wage bill over £3 million into the Government’s new apprenticeship service, to pay for apprenticeship course fees.
• Employers paying the Apprenticeship Levy will be able to access the funds they have paid for the cost of apprentice training through a new digital account. The Government top-up this amount by an additional 10%.

For employers who do not pay the Apprenticeship Levy

• If your company has more than 50 employees but still doesn’t pay the levy, you will pay 10% of the training costs of each apprentice you take on.
• If you are a small employer (fewer than 50 employees) there will be no cost towards training an apprentice who is under 18 or aged 19-24 with an EHC plan, providing the cost of their training is within the maximum funding band.
• Employers who do not pay the Apprenticeship Levy will be subject to the same apprenticeship funding bands as employers who do.
• £1,000 is available to any employer taking on a 16-18 year old apprentice, or a 19-24 year old with an EHC plan – the same as for levy paying employers.
• From 2018, you will access funding through a new digital account, in the same way as levy paying employers will do from 2017, to pay for the costs of training.