Introduction and purpose of the document

What the rules cover and definitions of terms.

Introduction and purpose of the document

New for 1 August 2022:

  • EP5 to EP8 – Clarification: To reflect Department for Education / Education and Skills Funding Agency organisational changes following the review of the Education and Skills Funding Agency.

  • EP13.3– Clarification: To reflect that the changes to rules on English and maths (detailed in paragraphs EP113.1and EP117.1) will apply irrespective of the apprentice’s start date and will include existing learners who started their apprenticeship programme in previous funding years. Updated for version 1.

  • EP17 – New Rule: If you are taking part in the portable flexi-job apprenticeships pilot, you must also refer to the supplemental funding rules for employers delivering the portable flex-job apprenticeships pilot programme. We will provide these rules when you join the pilot programme.

New for 30 September 2022 – Version 2

  • EP3 - Clarification: To reflect that only levy-paying organisations are eligible to deliver apprenticeships as employer-providers.

  • EP13.4 - New rule: To reflect that prisoners are eligible to start apprenticeships from 30 September 2022.

EP1

This document sets out the funding rules for employer-providers delivering apprenticeship training and on-programme assessment under the apprenticeship programme from 1 August 2022.

EP2

You can find details on the features of the apprenticeship funding system including how we will calculate funding for organisations receiving funding from us in the Apprenticeship Technical Funding Guide. You can also use the Provider Support Manual which provides additional guidance to support you to meet the requirements for Individualised Learner Record (ILR) data returns. The document includes detailed guidance and examples for completing the ILR for different types of learning provision and in different scenarios, in some cases worked examples relating to funding are provided.

EP3

We use the term ‘you’ to refer to the ‘employer-provider’, that is, any levy-paying organisation who delivers some, or all, of the ‘off-the-job’ training element of an apprenticeship to their own staff and holds a funding agreement with us through which we directly route funds from your apprenticeship service account or government-employer co-investment. The employer-provider will have overall responsibility for the training and on-programme assessment conducted by themselves, their delivery subcontractors and will have a contractual relationship for the end-point assessment conducted by an end-point assessment organisation. The payment for the end-point assessment is through the employer-provider..

EP4

We use the term ‘employer’ to mean an organisation that has a contract of service and an apprenticeship agreement with an apprentice. This can include an apprenticeship training agency (ATA) or Flexi-Job Apprenticeship Agency (FJAA). This may also include a company or charity whose PAYE scheme the employer has connected to their apprenticeship service account in accordance with HMRC’s definition of connected companies and charities. All references to an ‘employer’ are in relation to the whole organisation and not individual sites or locations.

EP5

The terms ‘we’, ‘our’, ‘us’ and ‘ESFA’ refer to the Department of Education and / or the Education and Skills Funding Agency.

EP6

These rules form part of your terms and conditions for the use of funds in your apprenticeship service account or for government-employer co-investment. You must read them in conjunction with your funding agreement with the Secretary of State for Education.

EP7

We may make changes to these rules at any time.

EP8

You must operate within the terms and conditions of your funding agreement, which includes these rules and the individualised learner record specification. If you do not, you will be in breach of your funding agreement with us

EP9

If you breach your funding agreement, we reserve the right to take action.

EP10

We will review and monitor whether the training you provide represents good value for money. If we consider that the funds in your apprenticeship service account, or the government-employer co-investment we have provided, are significantly more than the cost of the education and training delivered, we may reduce the amount of funding we pay you or seek recovery of funding

EP11

We may take action including the recovery of all or part of the government funding from you if we are satisfied that there has been a breach of the funding rules. This includes where claims are made for funding through your apprenticeship service account, government co-investment or incentive payments for hiring a new apprentice to which you are not entitled.

EP12

You can contact us through our enquiry form. You can also contact your employer account manager / adviser.

EP13

These rules will apply to all apprenticeship programmes starting on or after 1 August 2022, with the following exceptions:

  • EP13.1 The redundancy rules (detailed in paragraphs EP257 to EP258). These rules will apply irrespective of the apprentice’s start date and will include existing learners who started their apprenticeship programme in previous funding years.

  • EP13.2 The rules on changing to a new version of a standard (detailed in paragraphs EP268 to EP281), which describe the rules for when an existing apprentice wishes to move to a new version of the same standard. These rules will apply irrespective of the apprentice’s start date and will include existing learners who started their apprenticeship programme in previous funding years.

  • EP13.3 The rules on English and maths (detailed in paragraphs EP116.1 and EP120.1). These rules will apply irrespective of the apprentice’s start date and will include existing learners who started their apprenticeship programme in previous funding years.

  • EP13.4 The rules on prisoner apprenticeships (detailed in paragraphs EP71 to EP72). Prisoners are eligible to start apprenticeships from 30 September 2022.

EP14

All new apprentices must start on an approved apprenticeship standard.

EP15

All new apprentice starts must be funded through the apprenticeship service.

EP16

Any apprenticeship which started before 1 August 2021 will continue to follow the rules in force at that time. These can be accessed on GOV.UK.

EP17

If you are taking part in the portable flexi-job apprenticeships pilot, you must also refer to the supplemental funding rules for employers delivering the portable flexi-job apprenticeships pilot programme. We will provide these rules when you join the pilot programme.

EP18

Some occupations require the training provider to be approved by a regulatory body before being able to deliver training for the apprenticeship. We may take action to recover apprenticeship funding where you have delivered training but do not have the necessary approval.

Relevant legislation

EP19

These rules constitute funding conditions made under section 101 of the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009 (ASCLA 2009), in connection with the Secretary of State’s power to fund English statutory apprenticeships under section 100(1A) (as inserted by the Enterprise Act 2016).

EP20

These rules will make clear where necessary how they apply to English statutory apprenticeships taking place on apprenticeship standards.

Recruit an apprentice

New for 1 August 2022:

  • EP21.2 New rule: Whilst it is not mandatory for employer-providers to use Recruit an apprentice, where it is not used, a reason for this must be recorded in the evidence pack. We have confirmed that the information can be recorded at either learner or employer-provider level and we have explained how we will use this information. Updated for version 1.

EP21

Recruit an apprentice is a free tool to help you recruit new apprentices into your business. It is not mandatory to use this service.

  • E21.1 ‘Recruit an apprentice’ is the official government service for posting and managing apprenticeship vacancies (‘Find an apprenticeship’ is the corresponding candidate portal).

  • E21.2 It is not mandatory for employer-providers to use this service. However, where you do not use this service, you must record the reason for this; this can be recorded at either learner or employer-provider level. We will ask for this information to be returned to us periodically and we will use this information, along with other employer survey data, to improve usage of the service.

  • E21.3 Where you do advertise a vacancy on Recruit an apprentice, you must make it clear in the advert how many hours the apprentice will be expected to work per week for the role and how long the apprenticeship will last. This must meet the minimum duration requirements (see paragraphs EP35 to EP39).