Apprenticeship Hiring Payment for Non-levy Employers.
EmployerApprenticeship hiring payment for non-levy employers
From 1 October 2026, you may be eligible for a hiring payment of up to £2,000 if you are a non-levy employer and recruit an apprentice aged 16 to 24 as a new employee.
The payment is part of the government's plans to increase the number of young people starting apprenticeships.
Eligibility
You may be eligible for the payment if:
the apprentice is aged 16 to 24
you are a non-levy employer
the apprentice starts their apprenticeship training on or after 1 October 2026
the apprentice started working for you no more than 90 days before their apprenticeship training started
Please note that an apprentice who started working for you on 1 July or 2 July may be eligible if their apprenticeship training starts on 1 October.
The apprentice must still be in learning when each payment is due.
We will complete employment checks with HMRC to confirm the apprentice was not employed by you more than 90 days before the apprenticeship training start date after the provider reports the apprentice has completed 90 days in learning and then again at 365 (or 242 if apprenticeship is under 12 months) days in learning.
How the payment works
You do not need to apply for the hiring payment. We will automatically check whether you are eligible.
If we cannot confirm your eligibility, we will repeat the employment checks 3 times at 30-day intervals. After the third unsuccessful check, the apprentice will no longer be eligible for the payment.
Make sure the correct PAYE scheme is linked to the apprentice's National Insurance number in your Apprenticeship Service account. This will help us confirm your eligibility.
Payments will be made to the training provider through their monthly payments after the 90-day employment check has been completed. The training provider will pass the payment to you within 30 days of receiving it.
The earliest payments to training providers will be made from January 2027.
Apprenticeship Service account
In the coming weeks, your Apprenticeship Service account will be updated to show whether your apprentices meet the initial eligibility criteria for the hiring payment.
You will see one of three employment statuses:
Checking employment status
Eligible
Not eligible
We will update this article with more information about what you can see in your Apprenticeship Service account.
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Check your account details Check that your PAYE details in your employer account are accurate and up to date before 1 October 2026. Keeping your details up to date will help us check your eligibility and avoid delays with your payment.
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Access additional funding support
When you recruit a young person, you could receive up to £8,000 in additional payments, alongside fully funded apprenticeship training and assessment cost. The amount you receive depends on the apprentice's age and the size of your organisation.
Find out about the Financial support to hire a young person.
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