What are apprenticeship additional payments?

Apprenticeship incentive payments are sums the government pays on top of the funding for training and assessment. The funding rules call them 'additional payments'. They recognise the extra cost of training and supporting certain apprentices, mainly younger apprentices and those with care experience or an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan, which is the plan a local authority issues for a young person with special educational needs.

The money is not paid to employers directly by the government. It is generated through your training provider's funding claim and passed on to you, or to the apprentice, by the provider. The figures on this page apply to apprenticeships in England that start between 1 August 2026 and 31 July 2027. Apprenticeships that started earlier follow the rules in force when they began.

Which additional payments are available?

Each instalment is only paid if the apprentice is still on their apprenticeship on the day it falls due. Day counts run from the apprentice's learning start date.

Who gets the £1,000 employer and provider payments?

Both the employer and the training provider receive £1,000 each towards the extra costs of training if, when training starts, the apprentice is:

• aged 16 to 18 (or 15, if their 16th birthday falls between the last Friday of June and 31 August); or
• aged 19 to 24 and has an EHC plan from their local authority, or is, or has been, in the care of a local authority.

This payment is open to every employer, whether or not you pay the apprenticeship levy, and it is not taken from your levy account. It is paid in two halves: 50% once the apprentice has been on programme for 90 days and the remaining 50% at 365 days.

Does the apprentice have to tell me about their EHC plan or care experience?

No. For an apprentice aged 19 to 24, we must get their consent before telling you that they have an EHC plan or care experience. If they would rather keep it private, we record that confidentially. In that case only the provider payment is made.

How does the £2,000 hiring payment for non-levy employers work?

The apprenticeship hiring payment is a newer incentive aimed at smaller firms. If your business does not pay the apprenticeship levy (broadly, your annual pay bill is under £3 million), you receive £2,000 when you take on a new apprentice who, at the start of their training:

• is aged 16 to 24 (or an eligible 15-year-old, as above);
• has an apprenticeship agreement with a practical period start date on or after 1 October 2026;
• is on the PAYE scheme that is linked to the apprenticeship service account paying for the training; and
• has been employed by you for no more than 90 days before their practical period starts. This is a payment for recruiting someone new, not for training existing staff.

Non-levy employers receiving transferred levy funds from another employer can still claim it, provided they meet the same conditions.

When is the hiring payment paid?

Half (£1,000) is paid after the apprentice has been on programme for 90 days and half after 365 days, in each case only if the apprentice is still employed by you and still on their apprenticeship. Before paying, the government checks your HMRC PAYE data against the apprentice's National Insurance number, so make sure the right PAYE scheme is added to your apprenticeship service account. If the apprentice moves to a new employer to continue the same apprenticeship after the first instalment, the new employer can receive the balance if it meets the conditions.

What is the £3,000 care leavers' bursary?

The care leavers' bursary is paid to the apprentice, not the employer. Any apprentice who starts an apprenticeship aged under 25 and who is, or has been, in the care of a UK local authority can receive £3,000, in three payments of £1,000 at 60, 120 and 300 days after they start. In the funding rules a care leaver includes a young person looked after by a local authority for at least 13 weeks since the age of 14, and anyone under 25 who was in that position before turning 18. If an apprentice has had a leaving care personal adviser, they are likely to qualify.

• The bursary is tax free and is not treated as income for Universal Credit.
• The apprentice does not have to tell their employer that they are care-experienced to receive it.
• It can only be received once. If an apprentice leaves or finishes before receiving all £3,000, they can receive the rest on a later apprenticeship.

We give every apprentice under 25 the chance to declare their eligibility at enrolment and can help them get confirmation from their local authority. A letter or email from the local authority is enough, in any format.

Is there funding for learning support?

Yes, but it is paid to the training provider rather than to you. Where an apprentice has a learning difficulty or disability and needs reasonable adjustments to complete their apprenticeship, the provider can claim £150 a month for each month the adjustments are delivered, with higher costs claimable on evidence. It does not come from your levy funds and you are never asked to contribute towards it. We screen every apprentice for learning support needs as part of the initial assessment.

There is also a separate £2,000 employer incentive for foundation apprenticeships, which are entry-level programmes. Our conveyancing and probate apprenticeships are not foundation apprenticeships, so it does not apply to them.

When are the payments made, and how do they reach me?

All additional payments are generated through the training provider's funding claim. Once we receive a payment for you, the funding rules require us to pass it on in full within 30 working days. You do not need to invoice us. We will ask for your bank details and confirm to you when each payment has been sent.

These dates apply to apprenticeships with a typical duration of 12 months or more, which includes all of our conveyancing and probate apprenticeships. For shorter apprenticeships, the final instalments fall at day 242 instead.

What if the apprentice takes a break, or finishes early?

• Break in learning: a payment that falls due during a break is delayed, not lost. It is paid once the apprentice returns and reaches the required total number of days in learning.
• Leaving: no further instalments are paid once an apprentice leaves their apprenticeship.
• Finishing early: if an apprentice completes in less than 12 months, for example after a large reduction for prior learning, the final day 365 instalments are not paid.
• Unclaimed payments: if an employer does not reply to at least three requests for bank details over three months, the payment has to be returned to the government.

How do additional payments fit with training funding?

Additional payments are separate from the funding that pays for the training itself. For apprenticeships starting from 1 August 2026, the government contributes the following towards training and assessment, up to the funding band maximum:

Where the government pays 100%, a provider cannot ask you for any contribution. You also never contribute towards learning support or additional payments. See our guide to apprenticeship funding explained for more on levy and non-levy funding.

Worked examples

Example 1: a small firm recruits a 22-year-old care leaver

A non-levy conveyancing firm recruits a 22-year-old who left care at 18 and starts them on the Level 4 Conveyancing Technician apprenticeship within their first few weeks, after 1 October 2026. The apprentice agrees that the firm can be told about their care experience.

• Training: 100% government funded, so the firm pays nothing towards it
• The firm receives £1,000 (employer payment) plus £2,000 (hiring payment): £3,000 in total
• The apprentice receives the £3,000 care leavers' bursary

Example 2: a levy-paying firm recruits a 20-year-old with an EHC plan

• Training: paid from the firm's levy funds
• The firm receives the £1,000 employer payment (if the apprentice consents to the firm being told)
• No hiring payment, because the firm pays the levy

Example 3: a small firm upskills an existing 30-year-old paralegal

• Training: the government pays 95% and the firm pays 5%
• No additional payments, because the apprentice is over 24 and is not a new recruit

What evidence is needed?

Before any payment is claimed we must hold confirmation that the apprentice is eligible. Depending on the payment, that means:

• proof of the apprentice's date of birth;
• a letter or email from the local authority confirming care leaver status, or evidence of an EHC plan for apprentices aged 19 to 24;
• for the bursary, a signed declaration from the apprentice, and their consent if their status is to be shared with you; and
• for the hiring payment, an apprenticeship agreement showing a practical period start date on or after 1 October 2026.

We collect all of this during onboarding, so there is nothing for you to submit to the government yourself. To check whether a candidate can start an apprenticeship at all, use our apprentice eligibility checker.

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Frequently asked questions

Do apprenticeship incentive payments come out of my levy funds?

No. Additional payments are paid on top of the funding for training and assessment. They are never taken from your apprenticeship service account, and you are never asked to contribute towards them.

Can I get the £2,000 hiring payment for someone I already employ?

Only if they are aged 16 to 24 and have worked for you for no more than 90 days before their apprenticeship practical period starts, and that start date is on or after 1 October 2026. The payment is for non-levy employers recruiting new staff, so it does not cover upskilling longer-serving employees.

Can I receive the £1,000 employer payment and the £2,000 hiring payment together?

Yes. If you do not pay the levy and your new apprentice also qualifies for the £1,000 payment, for example because they are 19 to 24 and care-experienced, you can receive both: £3,000 in total, paid in instalments at 90 and 365 days.

Is the care leavers' bursary taxed, and does it affect Universal Credit?

No. The £3,000 bursary is tax free and is not treated as income for Universal Credit. It is paid to the apprentice in three £1,000 instalments at 60, 120 and 300 days, and the apprentice does not have to tell their employer they are care-experienced to receive it.

Does the training provider keep any of the employer's payment?

No. The provider must pass employer payments on in full within 30 working days of receiving them. The provider's own £1,000 additional payment is a separate sum paid to the provider, not a share of yours.

What happens to the payments if my apprentice leaves or takes a break?

Each instalment is only paid if the apprentice is still on their apprenticeship when it falls due, so no further instalments are paid after they leave. A payment due during a break in learning is delayed until the apprentice returns and reaches the required number of days in learning.

Authoritative sources: DWP, Apprenticeship funding rules (2026 to 2027, version 3, paragraphs 40 to 46, 125 to 141 and 212 to 215); GOV.UK, Apprenticeships care leavers' bursary guidance. Funding rules are reissued each year, so always check the version that applies to your apprentice's start date.