REWARD
The Kickstart Scheme
Danny Done, managing director of Portfolio Payroll, outlines what employers need to know
T he Kickstart Scheme (‘the scheme’) was announced on 8 July with the aim of creating new high-quality jobs to help 16–24-year-old unemployed people on universal credit, covering participants’ expenses for six months. The first placements are likely to be available from November 2020 and will be open until December 2021 with the option of it being extended. The government is investing £2billion into creating thousands of state-funded jobs for young people who are at risk of being in long-term unemployment. The government grant will cover 100% of relevant national minimum wage (NMW) rate for 25 hours per week, as well as National Insurance contributions and pension contributions. In addition, the government will also pay employers £1,500 towards set up, training for participants and other costs that are likely to be incurred. The scheme is being run across several industries in England, Scotland and Wales and is open to all employers that meet the minimum requirements. To be eligible, employers must: ● be an existing business with a track record of fiscal competence ● apply with at least thirty new vacancies which are not replacements of existing jobs and should not cause current staff to have a reduced workload ● be prepared to offer at least 25 hours a week to participants for at least six months at the appropriate NMW rate for their age group ● demonstrate the employability support they will provide to participants to give them the transferable skills needed to continue into gainful employment, training or education ● demonstrate that the jobs they are offering are quality placements
● show how they plan to monitor the progress of participants to the satisfaction of the compliance and quality requirements for the scheme – including participants’ safety ● show how publicity activities, such as branding, will comply with the publicity requirements of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). Employers that are unable to achieve the minimum thirty job placements criterion – which may be the case with smaller businesses that only want to offer one or two placements – can partner with other organisations to reach the minimum placement requirement as a combined bid. The government has also published guidance on how organisations can act as a ‘representative’ that will apply to the scheme on behalf of employers unable by themselves to reach the minimum placement threshold. What are ‘new’ job placements? In order to prove that job placements are ‘new’, employers can provide the following supporting information during their application to join the scheme. Information should be provided on: ● changes made to the workforce within the last six months, including redundancies or change in working hours of existing staff ● the number of people such changes have affected and the size of the workforce as a whole ● the type of roles, their function, and the salary, on average, of the roles that such changes affect ● if the scheme job placements will be similar to jobs where changes have been made due to things such as redundancies or change of working hours ● if these ‘new’ jobs would have been created without the scheme funding and
how recruitment either started, completed, or paused in the last six months and how similar these are to the roles proposed under the scheme ● if the employer has sought advice from trades unions, and details of the advice received. Making ‘Kickstarters’ employable Employers will need to show how they will improve the skills and experience of their ‘Kickstarters’. They can do this by adding the following to their application form: ● details of the support that will be offered (e.g. CV writing and interview prep) ● at what stage this support will be offered, which can be at the start, midway or at the end of the scheme ● how many hours it will take to offer this support and by whom ● how support will be monitored to ensure it is effective ● how feedback can be provided to employers by participants during and after the process, and how it will be taken on board to improve the service (if necessary). Applying for funding Employers can apply now using a portal on the government website. To complete the application, employers will need: ● their Companies House reference number or Charity Commission number ● the organisation’s address and contact details ● details of the scheme job placements and their location ● supporting information to show that the job placements are new jobs and meet the scheme criteria ● information about the support the organisation can give to develop employability skills of young people. If the application is successful, the initial set up cost will be paid to employers when they have confirmed to the DWP that the participant has started work. Wages costs will be refunded to the employer in arrears. n
...first placements are likely to be available from November 2020 and will be open until December 2021...
| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward | November 2020 | Issue 65 36
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