Using the levy for existing staff - Forum

Hi Harriet,

Well this is quite a popular question - and a bit of a grey area, so you are not alone!

To gain some clarification, we contacted the National Apprenticeship Service regarding the rules about upskilling existing staff. Here's what they said:

“When using the apprenticeship levy to upskill existing members of staff, it is not a requirement to change the employee's job title or contract of employment. However, the employer would have to ensure that there is an Apprenticeship Agreement that has been signed by both the Employer and the Apprentice. They would also have to ensure that a Commitment Statement has been signed by the Employer, Apprentice and the Training Provider. You can find information for the Commitment Statement, as well as a template for the Apprenticeship Agreement, on the link below:

https://www.gov.uk/take-on-an-apprentice/apprenticeship-agreement ”

So existing employees don’t need to be ‘promoted’ or have their titles officially changed, but they must have an Apprenticeship Agreement and Commitment Statement in place.

This is a super useful page giving you all the steps you need to take on an apprentice: https://www.gov.uk/take-on-an-apprentice 

I hope that helps!

If any employers have successfully utilised the levy to help train existing staff we'd love to hear your thoughts on the process.

With best wishes,

The findcourses.co.uk team

Your answer to Harriet's question was exactly the information I have been looking for, so thanks!

Unfortunately the company I work for doesn't have any requirement to hire new apprentices currently so will want to utilize the funds to up-skill some existing employees within our organisation.

My understanding is that apprentice agreements provide a much higher degree of protection to the apprentice, particularly against dismissal. Is that correct and would that then apply to existing employees if we enter into an apprentice agreement with them?

Hi Rebecca,

I'm so glad the answer helped!

I've been looking into your question and here's what I've found:

In the gov.uk doc "Employing an Apprentice", it states: "Apprentices have the same employment rights as your other employees. Follow the process for making staff redundant if you have to make an apprentice redundant."

You can find this guidance in full through the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/take-on-an-apprentice/pay-and-conditions-for-apprentices

These regulations apply to all apprentices regardless of whether they are new to the company or existing members of staff whose roles are being converted into apprenticeship roles.

I hope that helps!

Best wishes,

The findcourses.co.uk team