Guidance

T Level employer incentive scheme: provider guidance

Updated 9 September 2021

Applies to England

This guidance must be read alongside the T Level Industry Placement Employer Incentive Funding Rules, which providers have agreed to adhere to in order to receive their funding allocation.

The Employer Incentive Scheme

Employers will be eligible to claim a £1,000 payment for hosting a T Level industry placement that commences between 27 May 2021 – 31st July 2022. No extension will be made to this date.

This short-term initiative has been introduced to encourage more employers to offer T Level industry placements, recognising the impact of COVID-19 on the national economy. This is not available to support the delivery of CDF T Level style placements.

This offer is open to any employer that can offer a suitable industry placement in the Construction, Digital, Education and Childcare or Health and Science industries, which make up the list of T Level subjects available to study within this time.

Each of our T Level 2020 providers have been allocated an amount of funding based on their T Level student numbers. The provider is responsible for making the payment to the employer once a start date has been agreed or the placement has commenced.

A further allocation based on the T Level 2021 student cohort figures will be transferred this Autumn.

Employer eligibility for the employer incentive

• Employers can receive a maximum, one off payment of £1,000 per placement.
• This incentive scheme is open to all sized employers, with the exception of government departments and arm’s length bodies
• Any employer who offers a suitable placement opportunity for a T Level student and the student starts the placement between the 27 May 2021 and 31 July 2022, will be eligible for the payment.
• Payments cannot be backdated for placements that have already begun before the 27 May 2021 launch date. However, if the employer were to offer additional placements that have not yet started, these would be eligible.
• There will be a cap of 20 payments per employer, per region, so the maximum funding any one employer (in a single region) will be eligible for, across all providers, is £20,000.
• Placements must be delivered in the workplace and cannot be offered through a remote-working model.
• There are no restrictions on what the funds can pay for – employers may choose to use the money to enhance the placement experience for the student, buy equipment for students to use in the workplace, or use it to train staff on how to supervise and/or mentor placement students.
• An employer cannot receive an incentive payment in addition to an Employer Support Fund payment for the same placement. It will be down to the provider to work with the employer to decide which payment is appropriate.
• The incentive fund is strictly to support T Level placements only and not CDF.
• Where industry placements are delivered across two employers, both employers are eligible to claim to receive the full incentive payment.
• Employers offering work taster activities only are not eligible for an incentive payment.

Incentive claim and payment process

• Employers can claim for an incentive payment by submitting a complete and signed Employer Declaration to the provider they are working with. This will include basic information about the employer and confirmation that they will be hosting an industry placement and that they agree to the terms and conditions.
• Placement opportunities must have an agreed start date and commence on or after the 27 May 2021 but before 31 July 2022, before any payment will be made.
• Payments can only be made to employers by the relevant provider where the student is studying.
• We recommend that providers make payments to employers as close to the placement start date as possible.
• Providers should agree with the employer the preferred method of payment however we would recommend using BACs.
• It is recommended that employers submit incentive claims as close to the placement start date as possible and it is recommended that claims are processed within 15 working days of receipt.
• Providers are required to make a submission via an Online Data Tracking Tool, once a payment to an employer has been made. They will need to specify basic information about each employer being paid, as well as the ULN of the student and which T Level they are studying. Employers will also need to sign a declaration form prior to receiving an incentive payment. Providers should countersign this form and upload this to the Online Data Tracking Tool, as supporting evidence. Access to the online tracking tool and the relevant guidance is available here: 2020 and 2021 T Level Providers Industry Placement Employer Incentive data tracking tool – Support with delivering T Levels
• It is recommended that providers complete the Online Data Tracking Tool soon after payments are made (within 15 working days). We have published the dates in the Funding Rules that states when the Department will be reviewing the data submitted and undertaking validation checks. These will be at 6 weekly intervals, and we ask providers to ensure that the data collected at these points is up-to-date and accurate.
• The Department is collating this information to monitor expenditure and take-up of the employer incentive.

Ensuring high-quality placements

• Placement opportunities will be subject to the same stringent quality assurances that are already in place – it must be adhere to the principles of an industry placement as set out in the Industry Placement Delivery guidance (e.g., be an in-person placement, relevant to the specialism being studied (except for Digital that can be delivered at Route level) and the student must work towards pre-agreed learning goals.
• We expect this incentive offer will appeal mainly to the micro and SME employer market and it is expected that employers will only be able to host a finite number of placements at any given time. We expect that employers will consider what is an appropriate number of placements they can host whilst still being able to uphold the quality of the placement.
• Where a placement does not commence, we expect employers to refund any incentive payments already made back to providers, or if a placement is cut short, the provider and employer should discuss the reasons for this to determine if repayment is appropriate. We appreciate the funds may be used for upfront costs for the purchasing of equipment or training which may not be suitable to be repaid.

Frequently asked questions

Can providers pay an employer for work taster activities?

We only expect employers to be offered an incentive payment if they offer an industry placement opportunity, and not just a work-taster opportunity. However, if an employer delivers a work-taster opportunity as well as hours in the workplace which qualify as part of the T Level industry placement and the placement hours begin between 27 May 2021 and before the 31 July 2022, this employer may be offered a single incentive payment.

Can I pay multiple employers the full incentive payment where the placement is delivered using the supply chain model?

No. Claims must be restricted to the lead employer, and it will be for the claimant to determine if they distribute the funds to the other employers that were involved in delivery.

Can I offer an incentive payment to a government department/arm’s length body?

No. As part of the eligibility criteria, incentive payments cannot be made to government departments or arm’s length bodies.

Are there any restrictions on what providers can do with the money they receive?

The funding allocated to providers to be given to employers as an incentive payment is for this use only and must not be used for other purposes other than what is set out in the relevant guidance. We will be providing you with an online form to complete for each claim processed and we will be monitoring expenditure at regular intervals. We will look to recover any unspent funds at intervals and at the end of the 2021/22 academic year.

What documentation will providers need to complete?

As above, providers will be required to complete an Online Data Tracking Tool for each claim processed. Access to the online tracking tool and the relevant guidance is available here: 2020 and 2021 T Level Providers Industry Placement Employer Incentive data tracking tool – Support with delivering T Levels. Providers will need to specify basic information about each employer being paid, as well as the ULN of the student and which T Level they are studying. All the required employer details can be taken from the Employer Declaration form that employers will need to sign prior to receiving the incentive payment. Providers should countersign this form and upload to the online tool when prompted. Providers are expected to complete the form and upload the employer declaration form within 3 weeks from processing the payment. This process should take no more than 5 minutes to complete.

This is separate from the provider’s responsibility to record T Level placements accurately on the ILR or School Census, and the Manage T Level Results Service.

At what point should providers pay employers the incentive payment if the provider is concerned about the placement falling through?

Providers will be able to make a payment to employers once a placement start date has been agreed, and you are content the placement will adhere to the principles as set out in the Industry Placement Delivery Guidance. We do recommend that payments are made as close to the start date of the placement as is reasonable. By this point, we expect that employers will have demonstrated a commitment to offering a placement by having invested time working with providers to create a suitable placement structure and content, agree learning objectives for the student and ensure the student can be supervised/mentored in the workplace.

If providers have to reclaim funding from an employer where they cannot provide a placement but have already been given an incentive payment, then how do providers record that?

We expect that employers will have demonstrated a commitment to offering a placement by the point of payment, and therefore do not expect this scenario to occur in many instances. However, we do recognise that a placement opportunity may break down for numerous reasons. Where it is deemed appropriate for providers to reclaim a payment back from an employer, we ask that providers email the details, including the name of the employer and reasons for why the payment(s) has been reclaimed to: ip.employerincentivefund@education.gov.uk.