Apprentice pay


The government’s English apprenticeships: our 2020 vision report points out that the National Minimum Wage (NMW) for apprentices aged 16-18 and those aged 19 who are in their first year went up by 20% to £3.30 an hour in October 2015. Other apprentices are entitled to at least the NMW for their age (currently £3.87 an hour for 16- 17-year-olds, £5.30 for 18- 20-year-olds, and £6.70 thereafter).


The government said the 2015 increase was intended to improve the attractiveness of apprenticeships, adding that from April 2016 employers will no longer pay National Insurance contributions for apprentices under 25. This should provide an opportunity for trade unions to argue that the benefit should be passed on to apprentices in higher wages. 


Unions are particularly concerned about apprenticeship pay. The latest government Apprentice Pay Survey dates back to late 2014. It found that half of all level 2 apprentices were paid £6 an hour or less (the median salary). The median was £6.60 for those at level 3 and £9.68 for those at level 4-5.



The level 2-3 median for hairdressing apprentices was just £2.94 an hour, well below the next level 2-3 median (£5.02 for children’s care). A National Union of Students’ report published in 2015 revealed that many apprentices find that their wages quickly disappear on travel, rent and food.



Research carried out by the Labour Research Department (LRD) details the apprentice rates available from LRD’s Payline database (Workplace Report, February 2016). 
It found around a third have starting or fixed apprentice pay at or above the adult NMW. The highest rates are at South West Trains (starting at £18,264 a year); HM Land Registry (15% below the minimum grade, around £18,000); Southeastern (from £16,014); Bentley Motors (from £14,778); and Abellio Scotrail (from £14,390). 



At the other end of the scale, Poundland is paying 50p an hour above the apprentice NMW (£3.80), while the Scottish Agricultural Wages Board rate is £4.02 an hour. 



General union Unite officers Bernard McAulay and Richard Clarke argue that young apprentices (and adults entering or returning to the construction industry) should be “underpinned” by direct employment and the prospect of a rewarding lifelong career, “not the all too prevalent precarious work practices and a hire-and-fire culture”.



They highlight the Common Framework Agreement negotiated with energy group EDF for the Hinkley Point C nuclear plant. It calls for a minimum of 500 apprentices and sets the starting rate at £5.46 an hour, rising to £13 over three years (for achieving the NVQ Level 3 training standard or on completion with NVQ Level 2).



In the health service, UNISON points out that there is wide variation in pay and conditions for the growing number of apprentices. The NHS Agenda for Change national agreement says the starting pay for any trainee must be no less than the rate of the main (adult) rate of the National Minimum Wage (currently £6.70 an hour) which “sets a floor rate of pay for apprentices”. 



Some of the NHS apprenticeships currently on offer start at £3.30 an hour, £125 a week, or less than £6,500 a year, but others pay a lot more. UNISON wants a new pay framework for apprentices in the NHS, while its wider agenda calls for apprenticeships to be negotiated; provide high quality training on the job; uphold working time and health and safety regulations; and carry the same terms and conditions as other workers.