Enhanced Hire a New Apprentice incentive – start dates

The start date on the Apprenticeship Agreement should be the date the Apprentice commenced employment as a new employee (same as on the contract of employment, containing a start date between 1 April 2021 and 30 September 2021 (inclusive).

The practical period start date on the Apprenticeship Agreement may be later (as the ILR start date) and between 1 April 2021 and 30 November 2021 inclusive.

HTH

So for an existing employee (not one applying for incentive and not paid app minimum wage) that may be more than year before? The DAS date and ILR can be October then? 

Please can you send me that detail on the apprenticeship agreement start date and what evidence we need to hold for that, as the apprentice won't be in learning. Thanks. It's also different to the answer I had from the ESFA helpdesk in the past, who said the two start dates were the same . Thanks 

No, for an existing employee the start date on the Apprenticeship Agreement would be the date they were employed as an apprentice, evidenced by a change in their contract of employment or the Apprenticeship Agreement.

The DAS and ILR start date (start of practical period) must be between 1 April 2021 and 30 November 2021, so October is Ok

The information you received from the ESFA helpdesk was incorrect and is covered on the Apprenticeship Agreement by note 3 and 4:

3. When the apprenticeship agreement must be in place An apprenticeship agreement must be in place when an individual starts a statutory apprenticeship programme and should remain in place throughout the apprenticeship. The end date is when the end-point assessment is due to be completed.
4. The ‘practical period’ The practical period is the period for which an apprentice is expected to work and receive training under an approved English apprenticeship agreement. The practical period does not include the end-point assessment. For the purpose of meeting the Education and Skills Funding Agency funding requirements, the practical period start date set out in the apprenticeship agreement must match the practical period start date in the commitment statement and the start date in the Individual Learner Record

The reason for the difference in the dates in 3 and 4 is to allow the employer to pay the apprentice   the minimum of the NMW rate for an apprentice and for the employer to claim NI rates reduction for the employee as an Apprentice, also the employer may require a probationary period or a period of time to arrange training with a Provider and set up a DAS account after they have agreed to employ them as an apprentice.

HTH

Thanks, I had read the guidance on the form but took the when an individual starts a statutory apprenticeship programme , to mean they had started in learning/ ILR start date. If this isn't the case is there anything to stop an employer starting an apprentice on an apprenticeship agreement and paying the app minimum wage from Jan, but then not starting them on the actual course until September?

The Apprenticeship Agreement has two start dates for the reasons stated in its notes, an apprenticeship is undertaken with an employer and not only a course with a training provider although some think that this is the case.

Hi - We have an employer who had a learner start at the end of September 2021, he is querying the fact that when he logs on to his DAS account, that he can only claim incentive if the employee had a start date/ employment date of October 2021- does this mean that he has missed the window to claim and if so is there any other way he is able to claim his incentive?

Thank you

Donna

See: Incentive payment for hiring a new apprentice – you can no longer claim for apprentices who joined your organisation between 1 April and 30 September 2021 – Apprenticeship Service Support (education.gov.uk)

Hi Martin - Is there anyway we would be able to claim the incentive, the start date should have been the beginning of October? However I don't think we are able to amend the start date on DAS?

Thank you

Donna

You said they started end of September 2021 but now the beginning of October or have you entered incorrect date on the ILR?

Hi Martin  -Their paperwork was signed September but they didn't actually start until 04/10/2021?  

The start date on the Apprenticeship Agreement, Commitment Statement and ILR must all be the same its not the date they were signed.