Employers of apprentices – National Minimum Wage

As an employer of apprentices, you have a legal responsibility to ensure you’re paying them at least the National Minimum Wage. Mistakes can be easy to make but there is help and advice available to get it right.

When paying your apprentices make sure you’re not making the following common minimum wage mistakes:

• If an apprentice is aged 19 and over and has completed the first year of their apprenticeship, they are entitled to the higher minimum wage rate for their age group
• An apprentice can only be paid the apprentice rate of £4.30 once they have officially started their apprenticeship and not after it ends
• All training time must be paid no matter whether this takes place at work, college or elsewhere – the training can even be outside normal working hours

Employers can get help and advice on paying the correct minimum wage by:

• visiting the Check your pay website
• calling the Acas Helpline on 0300 123 1100