There has been surprisingly little publicity over the Government’s draft bill which will introduce the apprenticeship levy.  Over recent years there has been a lot of funding and initiatives to encourage businesses to take apprentices.  This has been partly due to the unemployment crisis of the young.

The new levy is expected to come into force in April 2017 and answers the unanswered question as to how all the initiatives of late have been funded in times of austerity.  The levy will be on UK employers to fund new apprenticeships.

It is to be charged at a rate of 0.5% of an employer’s wage bill but each employer will receive an allowance of £15,000 to offset against their levy payment.  This means that it will only hit employers with a payroll over £3 million.  The levy will be payable regardless of whether the employer actually employs apprentices.