The Kickstart Scheme and other grants for new placements

(Updated 8 July 2020)

The Kickstart Scheme is effectively one of four different grants available to employers. All but one of them targets employees who are under 25 years old.

1. The Kickstart scheme – Subsidy for giving workplaces to those aged 16 to 24 on Universal Credit

What will be paid?

The Government will pay the employer the equivalent of the national minimum wage for up to 25 hours per week, for 6 months.  It was also announced that the grant would pay for “overheads” as well, but as to what these are it is not yet clear.

Criteria

1. It must be a new placement on or after the 1 August 2020
2. The employee must be on minimum wage or more*
3. The placement must be for 25 hours per week or more
4. The individual must have been claiming Universal Credit immediately prior to employment

*The subsidy will pay the employer the national minimum wage, employers can pay the employee more than national minimum wage if they choose.

How do I apply?

Information for how you apply for this subsidy has not yet been released.

When can I apply?

The scheme only starts in August, so earliest application would be assumed to be in August. It seems somewhat unfair to those employers who are recruiting in July for the summer.

2. Grant for taking on a “trainee”

The Government will pay £1,000 to employers for every new trainee taken on who is aged 16 to 24. It can be assumed that this will also start from the 1 August although no details have been published by HMRC as of this update

3. Grant for taking on a young apprentice

For every new apprentice aged under 25 and taken on between 1 August 2020 and 31 January 2021, the Government will pay £2,000 to employers.   These payments will be in addition to the existing £1,000 payment the government already provides for new 16-18-year-old apprentices, and those aged under 25 with an Education, Health and Care Plan.

For both the trainee and apprentice grants it appears you will receive this as an employer even if you are getting the subsidy for employing a young person who was on Universal Credits.

4. Grant for taking on an apprentice who is 25 or over

For every new apprentice who is aged over 25 and taken on between 1st August 2020 and 31st January 2021, the Government will pay £1,500 to employers.

We hope to have more details throughout July about these grants. We will keep you updated on out emails when we find out more.

We hope to have more details throughout July about these grants. We will keep you updated on our emails when we find out more.

If you have any questions or would like any further guidance on taking on trainees and apprentices or anything discussed above, please call us on 01474 853 856 or email discovery@a4g-llp.co.uk.