WFM UK: HR: Managing Apprentices – Fourth & HotSchedules Customer Success Portal

Overview

The Apprentice Levy was introduced in 2017 and all employers with a payroll greater than £3m (NIable pay) are required to pay the Levy.

To offset this payment, businesses may employ apprentices* and these employees can be recorded in the system to ensure that they:

Are paid the correct rate of pay for apprentices
Have the correct NI category assigned

There are also alerts that will notify users when an employee has been an apprentice for a year and is entitled to the National Minimum/Living Wage.

For information about how the Levy is calculated by the system, please refer to the release note:
Release Note: Apprentice Levy Functionality (please note - only release note contacts will be able to view this).

*For advice on employing apprentices, please speak to your HR professional, HMRC, or ACAS.
The following government document may also be useful. Employer_rules_v3

Setup

It is not necessary to create new job titles for Apprentices - any standard job title can be used.

To allow a job title to be used for apprentices:

Go to HR > Company Admin > Job Titles > select a Job title > set Allow Apprentices to Yes

Fig.1 – Allow Apprentices for a Job Title

National Minimum Wage (NMW) rates for apprentices can be entered in the Pay Banding within the job title. These are not age related and apprentices over 19 should be moved to the NMW after 1 year.

Go to HR > Company Admin > Job Titles > select a Job Title
Select the Link Rates of Pay button
Tick the box against Link rates of pay to job titles
Set the Pay Rates accordingly and then Save

Fig.2 – Setting pay rates for Apprentices

Employee Details

Go to HR > Employees > Employee List
Search for and select the required Employee
Go to Employee Info > Employment Details
Tick the box against Apprentice? and enter the Start and End Dates of the apprenticeship

Fig.3 - Entering apprenticeship dates

The employee will then comply with relevant National Insurance and NMW/NLW regulations associated with apprentices.

Reminders

Reminders can be set up to ensure users are notified when an employee has been an apprentice for more than a year.

Fig.4 - Reminders

For information on setting up Reminders in the system, please refer to WFM - Setting Reminders

Permissions

The ability to add employees as apprentices can be restricted to certain users via the Payroll Permission Templates.

Go to Payroll > Users > Templates
Select the required User Template and then the Assign Permissions button

A new window will open.

Scroll down to the 'Employees' section and tick the box against Employees Apprentice
Scroll all the way down and select Save

Fig.5 - Amending Permissions Template

Amend User Templates via the Hierarchy

These templates can also be accessed via the Access Level Hierarchy.

Go to HR > Company Admin > Access Level Hierarchy
Select a Hierarchy and then select an Access Level
Select Edit against the HR Module Access Level

Fig.6 - Access Level Hierarchy

A new window will open.

As before:

Scroll down to the 'Employees' section and tick the box against Employees Apprentice
Scroll all the way down and select Save
Repeat and amend all required access levels

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