Does the apprenticeships levy apply to your firm?

In November 2015 the then Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, announced an apprenticeship levy scheme. The purpose of the levy is to fund 3 million places for apprentices. The money to pay for this will be raised by the imposition of a levy on employers in England with a payroll of more than £3m per year. The levy will be charged at a rate of 0.5% of their annual salary bill and will be collected via PAYE.

The levy is designed to assist smaller employers by providing 90% of the training for their apprentices paid for by the state.

November 2015 seems a long time ago - particularly following the Brexit vote to leave the EU on 23 June 2016. Many larger employers have been arguing that the introduction of the levy should be delayed beyond the proposed introduction date of April 2017. Their argument is that in a much changed economic climate the levy will be an extra cost burden that larger employers can ill afford.

The counter argument is that smaller employers will not have the pool of European employees to call on in future years, so they need to skill up their workforce and apprenticeships will help them to do this.

The current Government has reaffirmed the intention to introduce the levy. This means that employers of all sizes will need to start thinking about the levy and the implications for their business.

To discuss this or any other company / commercial related issue, contact us.