New “Kickstart Scheme” for employers
Employment incentive. Under the new Kickstart Scheme, which is scheduled to start in November 2020, the government will pay employers across England, Scotland and Wales 100% of the national minimum wage, the associated NI and workplace pension contributions for qualifying new employees they take on where conditions are met. The government will also pay employers £1,500 per job placement towards the cost of support and training of the employee and to help pay for uniforms and other job set-up costs.
Job conditions . The scheme will apply where employers offer youngsters aged 16 to 24 a six-month work placement if at the time of the job offer they are claiming Universal Credit. You’ll also be required to help the employees look for long-term work and with CV and interview preparations (see The next step ). While the funding will only be given where there are at least 30 new job placements the government says employers can join forces to meet this target figure. Tip. Even if you can only offer one or two job placements you can benefit from the Kickstart Scheme by partnering with other employers, such as charities and even your local authority.
Kickstart groups. Creating a syndicate might still seem a lot of extra fuss and red tape given the other responsibilities of the Scheme but if you’re in the market for employing a young person anyway, it might be worth your while checking with your “employer representative” if they are aware of any Kickstart groups you can tag onto.
Employer representative. Government help with accessing the Scheme is available from regional or national employer contacts. You can start the ball rolling with an email to the employer contact containing your name and other basic details (see The next step ).
For links to the government’s guide to the Kickstart Scheme and a list of employer contacts, visit https://www.tips-and-advice.co.uk, Download Zone, year 21, issue 22.
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