Wages
The employer must pay the apprentices’ wages and any other related contributions e.g. National insurance. An apprentice must receive national minimum wage, the minimum wage rates from April 2019 are as follows;
- Apprentices £3.90 per hour
- Under 18s £4.35 per hour
- 18-20 year olds £6.15 per hour
- 21-24 year olds £7.70 per hour
- 25+ year olds £8.21 per hour
For apprentices the following must be observed;
Apprentices are entitled to the apprentice rate (£3.70) if they’re either:
- aged under 19
- aged 19 or over and in the first year of their apprenticeship
Apprentices are entitled to the minimum wage for their age if they both:
- are aged 19 or over
- have completed the first year of their apprenticeship
Working hours
16-18 year old apprentices can only work a maximum of 8 hours a day, and 40 hours per week; this includes any time spent on the required 20% off the job training related to their apprenticeship programme.
Apprentices are entitled to a minimum of 28 days paid holiday per year, including bank holidays.
It is a government requirement that every apprentice spends 20% of their working week away from their workplace completing study or structured activities that contributes towards the achievement of their apprenticeship. This is an auditable component and must be recorded and monitored by the employer, apprentice and the college.
