Key facts you should know about the apprenticeship levy

I am a business owner; do I need to pay the levy?

• The levy is paid by large employers with a pay bill of over £3 million (they pay 0.5% of their total annual pay bill). 

I am a levy paying business, how can I access my funds?

• Levy paying employers access their funds through the online apprenticeship service. The funds in their accounts are available to spend on apprenticeship training in England. For more advice and information visit.

Does the levy only help big businesses?

• The levy is there to fund apprenticeship training for all employers. Smaller employers (those with a total annual pay bill of less than £3 million) pay just 5% of the cost of their apprenticeship training and the Government pays the rest.

I am a business owner and I am struggling to spend my levy funds?

• We understand that employers want and need flexibility. To support this the Government extended the amount of time employers have to spend their levy funds from 18 to 24 months. Levy paying employers can now also transfer up to 25% of their Levy funds to other employers.

What happens to unspent levy funds?

• Employers have 24 months to use their funds once they enter their apprenticeship service account. After this point, their funds will expire. The funds expire to encourage levy paying employers to invest in high-quality training and assessment. It also prevents levy payers from accruing very large balances. However, any unspent levy funds within each financial year are then used to support existing apprentices to complete their training or pay for apprenticeship training for smaller employers.

My employee wants to do an apprenticeship programme that last longer than 24 months, but my levy funds expire after 24 months. How I can fund this?

• The fact that an employer’s funds expire after 24 months in their apprenticeship service account doesn’t stop employers meeting the full costs of an apprenticeship that lasts longer than 24 months. New funds enter an employer’s account every month for as long as they pay the levy.
• The costs of an apprenticeship are spread over the full length of the apprenticeship and are met in monthly instalments. The Government always uses the oldest funds in an account first to minimise the potential for funds to expire.
• Only funds that are not spent will expire 24 months after they enter an employer’s account. If an employer does not have sufficient funds in their account to cover the monthly cost, the Government will pay 90% of the balance due.
• Employers can use the National Apprenticeship Service’s ‘Estimate my apprenticeship funding’ tool to estimate how much your organisation will have available to spend on apprenticeships.

I pay the levy but I find the apprenticeship system bureaucratic and complicated. Who can I talk to for help?

We have helped thousands of employers including top firms like Channel 4, Royal Mail and Lloyds Banking Group as well as public sector organisation like the NHS and the British Armed Forces to use their levy funds effectively to set up a range of high-quality apprenticeship programmes.

For more information speak to a member of our team today