Guidance to help employers with the Kickstart Scheme
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The Department for Work and Pensions has published information for
Kickstart gateways on how to help employers with the Kickstart
Scheme and how to add jobs or employers to the grant agreement.
Contents What the scheme is What is a Kickstart gateway? Essential
responsibilities Optional responsibilities What you’ll get Job
criteria What the employer needs to give you How...Request free trial
The Department for Work and Pensions has published information for Kickstart gateways on how to help employers with the Kickstart Scheme and how to add jobs or employers to the grant agreement. Contents
What the scheme is The Kickstart Scheme provides funding to create new jobs for 16 to 24 year olds on Universal Credit who are at risk of long term unemployment. Employers of all sizes can apply for funding which covers:
Employers can spread the job start dates up until 31 December 2021. They’ll get funding until 30 June 2022 if a young person starts their job on 31 December 2021. What is a Kickstart gateway? A Kickstart gateway helps an employer get a Kickstart Scheme grant. They may also offer employability support to the young person on the scheme. They already have (or are waiting on) a Kickstart Scheme grant agreement. The Kickstart gateway can add more employers and jobs to this grant agreement. If you are a Kickstart gateway who applied for Kickstart Scheme funding before 28 January 2021 but not yet heard back, we will contact you with a decision. You do not need to apply again. Kickstart gateways can be any type of organisation. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has performed due diligence checks on these organisations. Employers can find a Kickstart gateway on this list. Change your details on the Kickstart gateway list Email kickstart.interest@dwp.gov.uk if:
Gateway Plus A Gateway Plus is a specific type of Kickstart gateway. They can help smaller organisations, such as sole traders and partnerships, apply for a Kickstart Scheme grant. Alongside the essential responsibilities of a Kickstart gateway, they will also:
The Gateway Plus organisations that are approved to act as a Gateway Plus are:
There are no plans to add any further Kickstart gateways to this list of approved Gateway Plus organisations. Essential responsibilities As a Kickstart gateway with an existing grant agreement with DWP, you’ll need to:
Optional responsibilitiesEmployability support You may choose to offer employability support to the young person on behalf of the employer. This can include:
You can offer employability support to an employer outside of your grant agreement. If you do this, this arrangement is between you and the employer. What you’ll get You’ll get an initial payment of £1,860. This includes: £360 per job for admin costs Kickstart gateways will get £360 for each job to contribute towards admin costs. You may have to pay £60 of VAT depending on your individual circumstances. Find out if your organisation needs to register to pay VAT. If you do not pay VAT £60 from the £360 payment must be added to the £1,500 paid to the employer to provide the young person with employability support. £1,500 per job for setup costs and employability support This will be paid to you and you will need to pay this to the employer (as well as an extra £60 if you do not pay VAT). This funding should be spent on setup costs and supporting the young person to develop their employability skills. Employers can choose to get someone else to do this for them, such as a Kickstart gateway or a service provider. If they choose to do this they will have to agree how to share the £1,500. The employer should use this funding for:
DWP may ask the employer for their records to show that they’ve spent the funding on setup costs and supporting the young person’s employability. Kickstart Scheme wages and related costs for employers Kickstart Scheme wages and costs are paid to you, but you will pass this on to the employer. This funding covers:
Employers can pay a higher wage and for more hours but the funding will not cover this. Job criteria The jobs created with Kickstart Scheme funding must be new jobs. You need to check all of this with the employers you represent. The jobs must not:
The jobs must:
Each job needs to help the young person become more employable. The Kickstart gateway needs to agree with the employer how this is done. This employability support could include:
It’s possible that the young people applying for Kickstart Scheme jobs have limited work experience and qualifications. We advise you not to ask for specific qualifications such as driving licenses or degrees – if you do, we may have to reject or change these jobs. Check with your local Kickstart Scheme contact to ensure your job descriptions and entry requirements are suitable. If the employer is not eligible for Kickstart Scheme funding, they can find out about other employment schemes. The young person may be able to move to another employment scheme when they’ve finished their 6-month Kickstart Scheme job. What the employer needs to give you They’ll need to give you:
DWP performs due diligence checks on all employers using the Cabinet Office Spotlight tool. Ask them how their jobs are new and created just for the scheme The jobs must not:
The employer needs to tell you:
How they will support young people to become more employable They should also tell you:
We provide funding per job for setup costs and support. If employers get someone else to do some of this, such as a Kickstart gateway, they will have to agree how to share this money. How you will get the funding DWP will send the funding to you as the Kickstart gateway. You will be responsible for sending the funding to the employer. How the funding is calculated for each young person The calculation is:
*For example, if a young person starts the job aged 17 and turns 18 before the end of the 26 weeks, the funding will cover National Minimum Wage for 18 year olds from the first day of their job. £1,860 per job You need to inform DWP when the young person starts the job. The £1,500 setup costs and £360 admin costs funding will then be paid. You’ll be told how to do this in the email you receive when a work coach refers a young person to a job vacancy. If the Kickstart gateway or another provider does some of the job setup and employability support, the employer can use the £1,500 funding to cover this. Kickstart Scheme wages and related costs Every 30 days we use information from HMRC to check that the young person is being paid through Pay As You Earn (PAYE). We’ll then send the funding for the wages and related costs to cover the last 30 days of employment. The employer can pay a higher wage and for more hours but the funding will not cover this. Each time you’ll receive a remittance advice explaining what you’ve got. You’ll be able to identify the young person in the remittance advice by their ‘Introduction ID’. We’ll send the Introduction ID in an email when the young person is referred by a work coach to the job placement. Funding schedule The schedule shows when the funding will be sent to you. You then need to send it to the employer within 5 working days.
Getting the young people into the jobs Kickstart Scheme jobs are only available for Universal Credit claimants aged 16 to 24 who are referred to employers by DWP. If the jobs are successfully added to the grant agreement:
You or the employer can advertise vacancies, but all jobs must receive an introduction through a DWP work coach to receive full funding. After a job ends the employer can get another Kickstart Scheme young person to start another job. If a young person leaves the job early You must email DWP as soon as possible if the young person:
The email address is the same one you use to tell DWP about the young person’s start date. You’ll be told how to do this in the ‘referral’ email you get when a work coach refers a young person to a job vacancy. If they leave their job early, DWP will pay the grant until the end of the month that they stopped working. DWP may be able to extend the funding period if the young person has to temporarily stop working. How to add more employers or jobs to your grant agreement (grant variation) You will need to get information about the jobs from the employers. The new jobs or employers will be assessed to make sure they meet the Kickstart Scheme criteria. You can add more employers and jobs online using the application service. Other employment schemes Kickstart Scheme is part of the government’s Plan for Jobs. Other employment schemes in this include: Apprenticeships You may be able to get funding for any apprentices you employ in England. Find out more about apprenticeships. Sector-based Work Academy Programme (SWAP) Jobcentre Plus can support you to create a skilled workforce for your business by offering unemployed people sector-based work academies in England and Scotland. Traineeships Employers in England can also help young people by setting up a traineeship. Funding is available for this scheme. Further support and help Get in touch with your local or national Kickstart Scheme contact if you need help with the application process. You can also read top tips for making a Kickstart Scheme application and guidance for employers on choosing a Kickstart gateway. Disability Confident The Disability Confident scheme provides employers with the knowledge, skills and confidence they need to make the most of the talents disabled people can bring to the workplace. Coronavirus support
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