Apprentices


Much has changed in apprenticeship regulation in recent years. The Apprenticeship, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009 (ASCL 09) created a framework for apprenticeships. Apprenticeships are available to anyone over the age of 16. There are different entry requirements for the different types of apprenticeship. There are now apprenticeship levels up to and including post-graduate degree level, in around 1,500 occupations across 170 industries, including construction, manufacturing, IT and the creative and digital sectors. Key features of apprenticeships include:


• a minimum duration of one year. Most apprenticeships will last between one and four years;



• all apprentices must be employees with an Apprenticeship Agreement. An apprentice cannot be self-employed, a worker or a volunteer;



• minimum working hours;



• minimum levels of guided learning hours for on and off-the-job training; and



• minimum requirements for skills training, including in English and Maths.



The ACSL 09 requires the whole of the apprenticeship to be delivered within the contracted hours under the employment contract. In other words, all training time for off-the-job learning must be paid. For information on minimum rates of pay for apprentices, see Chapter 4. In workplaces where a union is recognised, pay rates are likely to exceed the statutory minimum.


All Apprenticeship Agreements must take the form of a written statement of particulars of employment or contract of employment, which must include a statement of the skill, trade or occupation for which the apprentice is being trained (Apprenticeships (Form of Apprenticeship) Regulations 2012) (AFAR 12). The Apprenticeship Agreement is a contract of employment, not a “contract for apprenticeship”.


Apprentices have all the rights and responsibilities of ordinary employees, including rights as to unfair dismissal and redundancy, to statutory sick pay, statutory holiday pay and rest breaks under the Working Time Regulations, and to protection from discrimination (see Chapter 7: Discrimination).



In the past, it was very difficult for an employer to dismiss an apprentice for capability or misconduct. An apprentice who was dismissed prematurely could bring a substantial contract claim for damages for loss of training and status, as well as loss of earnings for the remaining term of the apprenticeship (Dunk v George Waller & Son Limited [1970] 2 QB 163).



The change to the law making all apprentices into employees may make it easier for employers to impose attendance, performance management and capability procedures on apprentices, who will be covered by unfair dismissal law, just like any other employee, as long as they have signed a valid Apprenticeship Agreement. However, given the purpose of an apprenticeship arrangement, which is to provide a transferable qualification, a tribunal is likely to expect to see particularly high levels of employer involvement, clear rules, training and opportunities to reach the expected standard before an apprentice can be fairly dismissed. Nevertheless, surprisingly apprentices are not exempt from the normal two year service requirement for a standard claim for unfair dismissal (see Chapter 10).


The redundancy rules that apply to apprentices in England are summarised in Chapter 11. The rules in Scotland and Wales are different.



Just because an employer describes a contract as one of apprenticeship, or refers to the employee as an apprentice, does not make the relationship one of apprenticeship (Chassis & Cab Specialists Ltd v Lee UKEAT/0268/10). Using the label “apprenticeship” to promote an arrangement that does not qualify as a statutory apprenticeship is an offence (section 25, Enterprise Act 2016). 



There are specific grants and funding available to employers to take on apprentices.



On 6 April 2017, the government introduced a new apprenticeship levy to fund new apprenticeships, to be charged at a rate of 0.5% of an employer’s pay bill, payable by employers with a payroll of over £3 million. There is a new website, www.apprenticeship-levy.co.uk, with information about the new levy, which the government hopes will fund three million apprenticeships by 2020. Employers in England can to access funding through a new digital service. Although the levy is UK-wide, a different funding system will apply in Wales and Scotland.


There is a new regulatory body – the Institute for Apprenticeships – whose job is to regulate the quality of apprenticeship standards and advise on funding bands. Unlike apprenticeship models in other European countries such as Germany and Norway which use a social partnership model based on close cooperation between the government, employers and unions, there is no provision for any trade union voice on the Institute board.


As an incentive for employers to create more apprenticeships, since 6 April 2016, employers no longer have to pay national insurance contributions for apprentices aged under-25 on earnings up to the Upper Earnings Limit (£866 per week: 2017-18). Large public sector employers are to be required to meet new apprenticeship targets.