Employer Responsibilities: A Clear Guide to Your Role

You understand the benefits, the funding is clear, and you know who you want to train. The final question is: what is actually required of me as an employer?

This is a key part of the process, and the responsibilities of hiring an apprentice are clear and manageable.

Your role is essential, but it’s also straightforward. It is not about you becoming a training expert; that’s our job. Your role is to provide the professional environment where an apprentice can learn and grow.

Think of it as a three-way partnership:

• You (The Employer): Provide the job, the salary, and the workplace support.
• The Apprentice: Commits to learning, working hard, and completing their studies.
• Us (Your Training Provider): We manage the entire training programme, handle the funding and compliance, and support both you and the apprentice from day one.

Here are your five key responsibilities as an employer.

1. Provide a Genuine Job and Contract

An apprentice is an employee, not a temporary intern. Your primary responsibility is to provide them with a genuine job.

This includes:

• A Contract of Employment: Just like any other employee, your apprentice must have an apprentice contract of employment that is valid for at least the full duration of their apprenticeship.
• A Full-Time Role: To be eligible for funding, the apprentice must be employed for a minimum of 30 hours per week.
• A Proper Job Title: They should have a role that reflects their work, such as 'Trainee Conveyancer', 'Probate Assistant', or 'Legal Apprentice'.

2. Pay Their Salary

As an employee, your apprentice must be paid a salary. You are responsible for paying their wages for all the hours they work, including the time they spend on their "off-the-job" training.

You must pay at least the National Minimum Wage for apprentices, but for specialist roles like conveyancing and probate, we strongly recommend paying a competitive wage. This allows you to attract and retain the highest-calibre candidates.

3. Support Their "Off-the-Job" Training

This is the most misunderstood part of an employer's responsibility, and it's very simple. An apprentice must spend a proportion of their paid working hours on formal learning.

This does not mean they disappear to a college for a day.

As your training provider, we manage and deliver this training for you. This "off-the-job" time is flexible and fully integrated into their role. It can include:

• Attending a live online workshop with one of our expert tutors.
• Working on a case study or research project.
• Dedicated time to write an assignment.

Your only responsibility is to allow and protect this time. You must ensure their workload is manageable enough that they can dedicate this time to their studies, which we will schedule with you in advance.

4. Provide In-House Mentoring and Support

This is the "on-the-job" part of the training, and it’s likely something you already do. Your responsibility is to create a supportive environment where the apprentice can put their new knowledge into practice.

This simply involves:

• Assigning a Mentor: This is usually their line manager or a senior team member.
• Providing Supervision: They need someone to go to for day-to-day questions.
• Giving Practical Experience: You must give them opportunities to do the work they are learning about, such as assisting with file opening, drafting documents, or client communication.
• Offering Regular Feedback: Checking in with them, just as you would any other employee.

5. Partner with Us (Your Training Provider)

To ensure the apprenticeship is a success, we work in close partnership with you. Your responsibility here is simply to engage with us. or administrator who is capable of more? You can enrol your existing staff onto a legal apprenticeship to formally qualify them.

This allows you to:

• Sign the Key Documents: Before the start, we will prepare an Apprenticeship Agreement and a Training Plan (or Commitment Statement). These documents are handled by us and simply outline the plan and everyone's role.
• Attend Progress Reviews: Every 8-12 weeks, your apprentice's dedicated coach will schedule a short (often virtual) review meeting. This is a three-way conversation with you, the apprentice, and the coach to check on progress, celebrate achievements, and offer any support needed.
• Upskill your team to create your next generation of fee earners from within, securing the future of your practice. to create your next generation of fee earners from within, securing the future of your practice.

How We Support You

This partnership is designed to take the administrative burden away from you. Here is a clear summary of what we do, versus what you do.

You're Ready. What's Next?

You now have the complete picture: what an apprenticeship is, who it’s for, how it’s funded, the powerful benefits, and your straightforward responsibilities.

The final step is to see how this proven strategy can be applied to your practice.

• Explore our specialist Conveyancing Apprenticeship Programmes
• Discover our dedicated Probate Apprenticeship Programmes

Ready to build your firm's future talent? Contact our expert advisors today for a no-obligation chat about your specific needs.