Apprenticeship levy guidance published

The Department for Business Innovation and Skills has published guidance on the new apprenticeship levy to be introduced in April 2017. Legislation in Finance Bill 2016 (Part 6) will provide for payment of the levy through PAYE set at a rate of 0.5% of the employer's pay bill. Each employer will have an allowance of £15 000 to offset against their levy payment which means the levy will only be paid on an annual pay bill in excess of £3m.

Apprenticeship levy: how it will work also explains what happens once the money has been paid. Employers in England will have access to funding for apprenticeship training via new Digital Apprenticeship Service accounts. The funds can be used to cover an apprentice’s training assessment and certification against an approved standard or framework but may not be used for overheads supervision costs or wages.