Incentive payment for hiring a new apprentice - check who is eligible

Incentive payments for hiring a new apprentice are available for employers who recruit apprentices as new employees to their organisation between 1st August 2020 and 31st September 2021.  You’ll need to add the new apprentices to your apprenticeship service account before you apply. 

Apprentices who joined your organisation before 1 April 2021  

You can only apply for this payment for new apprentices who started their contract of employment between 1 August 2020 and 31 March 2021 inclusive and have an apprenticeship agreement containing a practical period start date between 1 August 2020 and 31 May 2021 inclusive. 

You can apply for apprentices who: 

• work full or part-time 
• are on zero hours contracts 
• have been made redundant by a previous employer, as long as the previous employer has not received an incentive payment in respect of the same apprentice 

You can apply for new apprentices hired from 1 August 2020 to 31 March 2021 until 31 May 2021. 

What you’ll get 

For apprentices aged: 

• 16 to 24, you’ll get £2,000 
• 25 or over, you’ll get £1,500 

Apprentices who joined your organisation from 1 April 2021  

You can only apply for this payment for new apprentices who start their contract of employment between 1 April 2021 and 30 September 2021 inclusive.  

You can apply for apprentices who: 

• work full or part-time 
• are on zero hours contracts
• have been made redundant by a previous employer, as long as the previous employer has not received an incentive payment in respect of the same apprentice 

You can apply for new apprentices hired from 1 April 2021 to 30 September 2021 from 1 June 2021 until 30 November 2021. 

What you’ll get 

For apprentices of all ages: 

• £3000 per apprentice 

 To get the full payment, the apprenticeship must last for at least one year. You’ll only get the payments after the apprentice completes 90 days and 365 days of their apprenticeship. Your payment will take longer if your apprentice takes a break in learning. 

The payment is in addition to the existing £1,000 you’ll already get for taking on an apprentice who is: 

• aged 16 to 18 years old 
• under 25 and has an education, health and care plan or has been in the care of their local authority 

 Who is not eligible 

You cannot claim the incentive payment for hiring a new apprentice if: 

• the apprentice has changed employer (unless this change is because of redundancy and the previous employer has not already received an incentive payment in respect of the same apprentice) 

• the payment has already been made to a different employer for the apprentice.  This includes if the apprentice was made redundant from their previous role or has multiple employers where the payment has already been claimed 
• the apprenticeship is not being managed using the apprenticeship service 
• the apprentice is a current employee with a contract of employment start date outside of the qualifying period outlined in the funding rules 

Last updated on 09 June 2021 12:25