Kickstart Scheme closure

Kickstart Scheme applications closed at midday on 17 December 2021.

Employers who applied for a Kickstart Scheme grant before midday on 17 December 2021 should have received a decision on their application. It is recommended that employers contact their local or national Kickstart Scheme contact if they have not received a decision.

Those with successful applications should have signed and returned their grant agreement by 7 January 2022, submitted their vacancies to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) by 31 January 2022 and started the young person in the job on or before 31 March 2022.

To help DWP process the funding, they ask that employers tell them as soon as possible or by 30 April 2022 that the young person has started their job (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/manage-your-kickstart-scheme-funding#how-youll-get-the-kickstart-scheme-funding).

Employers will get funding for 6 months once the young person has started their job.

See: Kickstart Scheme closure - GOV.UK (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/kickstart-scheme-closure)

Kickstart Scheme Grant

If you are an employer looking to create jobs for young people, you can apply for funding as part of the Kickstart Scheme.

Recent changes have been made to the guidance including advertising vacancies yourself to ‘Getting the young people into the jobs’, the remittance advice employers receive when they get the funding in the section ‘How you will get the funding’ and updated instructions for adding more jobs to the grant agreement following launch of online route for employers.

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:

• 100% of the National Minimum Wage (or the National Living Wage depending on the age of the participant) for 25 hours per week for a total of 6 months
• associated employer National Insurance contributions
• minimum automatic enrolment pension contributions

Employers can spread the job start dates up until 31 December 2021. You will get funding until 30 June 2022 if a young person starts their job on 31 December 2021.

Further funding is available to provide support so that young people on the scheme can get a job in the future.

You can apply for a Kickstart Scheme grant by either:

• applying online yourself
• applying through a Kickstart gateway who is already working with the Kickstart Scheme

If you already have a Kickstart Scheme grant agreement and reference number, you can request to add more jobs to it. This is known as a ‘grant variation’.

See: Apply for a Kickstart Scheme grant - https://www.gov.uk/guidance/apply-for-a-kickstart-scheme-grant

25th June 2021 – Hillmans Weekly Update

Below I have summarised all the main tax related updates we have seen this week.

• Check if you're eligible for the coronavirus Additional Restrictions Grant
• Kickstart Scheme grant
• Pension Contributions are tax efficient for employee and employer
• Reminder - P11D Forms due by 6 July

If you have any queries about this week’s content, or if you need any assistance please do not hesitate to contact me.

I hope you have a great weekend.

Stay safe and well.

Cheers,

Steve

Steven Hillman BSc (Hons) ACA
Chartered Accountant
Tel: 01934 444100

Kickstart Scheme grant

If you are an employer looking to create jobs for young people, you can apply for funding as part of the Kickstart Scheme.

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:

• 100% of the National Minimum Wage (or the National Living Wage depending on the age of the participant) for 25 hours per week for a total of 6 months

• associated employer National Insurance contributions

• minimum automatic enrolment pension contributions

Employers can spread the job start dates up until 31 December 2021. You will get funding until 30 June 2022 if a young person starts their job on 31 December 2021.

Further funding is available to provide support so that young people on the scheme can get a job in the future.

There is now a link to a video walkthrough of the online application in the ‘How to apply – Apply online’ section.

See: Apply for a Kickstart Scheme grant - https://www.gov.uk/guidance/apply-for-a-kickstart-scheme-grant

Apply for a Kickstart Grant

 

The Kickstart Scheme provides funding to employers to create job placements 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:

•         100% of the National Minimum Wage (or the National Living Wage depending on the age of the participant) for 25 hours per week for a total of 6 months
•         associated employer National Insurance contributions
•         employer minimum automatic enrolment contributions

Employers can spread the start date of the job placements up until the end of December 2021.

A Kickstart Scheme application must be for a minimum of 30 job placements. If a single employer cannot provide this many job placements, they can find an existing Kickstart gateway, such as a local authority, charity or trade body for help applying.

Further funding is available for training and support so that young people on the scheme can get a job in the future.

The Department for work & Pensions have announced new entries of organisations who can help employers with the Kickstart scheme across all regions of the UK So you can find a Kickstart gateway in England, Scotland or Wales who have expressed interest in helping employers get a Kickstart Scheme grant.

See: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/find-someone-to-apply-for-a-kickstart-scheme-grant-on-your-behalf

APPLY FOR A KICKSTART SCHEME GRANT: 29 OR LESS JOB PLACEMENTS

If you are an employer looking to create 29 or less jobs placements for young people, apply for funding as part of the Kickstart Scheme.

As an employer with 29 or less job placements you need to find an existing Kickstart gateway, such as a local authority, charity or trade body.

See: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/find-someone-to-apply-for-a-kickstart-scheme-grant-on-your-behalf

Whoever represents you will apply on your behalf. You will need to give them information about the job placements.

The job placements must not:

•          replace existing or planned vacancies
•         cause existing employees, apprentices or contractors to lose work or reduce their working hours

Tell your Kickstart gateway:

• how many employees you have
• about changes to your workforce in the last 6 months and why (for example redundancies and changes to hours worked by existing staff)
• the number of people affected by changes to your workforce in the last 6 months
• about the kinds of roles, functions and average salary of those who were made redundant or who had their hours reduced in the last 6 months
• if you would be able to create these job placements without Kickstart Scheme funding and what funding source you would use
• what recruitment you have completed, started or paused in the last 6 months, including how similar these vacancies are or were to the roles you are creating for the Kickstart Scheme
•  if the job placements will be similar to existing or planned roles or the roles previously done by those made redundant or with fewer working hours, why you are using Kickstart Scheme funding to create similar roles
•  if you have engaged with any relevant trade unions and any advice the unions have given

See: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/apply-for-a-kickstart-scheme-grant-29-or-less-job-placements

Kickstart Scheme Employer Contacts

If you need help with the Kickstart Scheme Process, The Department of work and pensions (DWP) has listed local employer contacts regionally.

You can email:

• your local employer contact if you are located in a specific region
• the national employer contact if you are located across several regions

Please include the following information in your email:

• email subject
• company name
• main contact
• preferred contact information (for example phone or email)
• your postcode
• town or city of your proposed job placements

You will receive a telephone call from your local employer contact or the national contact within 2 working days.

England

South West: southwest.kickstart@dwp.gov.uk

South East: southeast.kickstart@dwp.gov.uk

West Midlands: westmidlands.kickstart@dwp.gov.uk

East and Central Midlands: eastmidlands.kickstart@dwp.gov.uk

London and Essex: londonandessex.kickstart@dwp.gov.uk

North Central (includes West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Cumbria and Lancashire): 
northcentral.kickstart@dwp.gov.uk

North East (includes North Yorkshire, East Yorkshire, Humberside and North Lincolnshire): northeast.kickstart@dwp.gov.uk

North West (includes Greater Manchester, Merseyside and Cheshire): northwest.kickstart@dwp.gov.uk

Scotland 

scotland.kickstart@dwp.gov.uk

Wales
wales.kickstart@dwp.gov.uk

National
national.kickstart@dwp.gov.uk

Kickstart Scheme Opens

The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) has launched the Kickstart Scheme, designed to create new 6-month job placements for young people who are currently on Universal Credit and at risk of long-term unemployment.

The £2 billion Kickstart Scheme is designed to create hundreds of thousands of new, fully subsidised jobs for young people across the country. 

The 6-month placements are open to those aged 16-24 who are claiming Universal Credit and at risk of long-term unemployment. They will be available across a range of different sectors in England, Scotland and Wales. The first placements are likely to be available from November.

Employers will receive funding for 100% of the relevant National Minimum Wage for 25 hours a week, plus associated employer National Insurance contributions and employer minimum auto-enrolment pension contributions.

There will also be extra funding to support young people to build their experience and help them move into sustained employment after they have completed their Kickstart funded job.

If you are an employer looking to create jobs placements for young people, you can apply for funding as part of the scheme.

See: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/kickstart-scheme-opens-for-employer-applications

Who can apply

You can submit your application online.

If you are applying for 30 or more job placements, you can apply directly.

If you are applying for less than 30 job placements, you must apply through a representative of a group of employers. They can submit an application on your behalf, using other employers to create 30 or more job placements in one application.

What you need to provide during the application

You will need:

• the Companies House reference number or Charity Commission number
• the organisation address and contact details
• details of the job placements and their location
• supporting information to show that the job placements are new jobs and meet the Kickstart Scheme criteria
• information about the support the organisation can give to develop employability skills of young people

After you have applied

Your application will be reviewed to check it meets the requirements of the Kickstart Scheme. It will then go to a panel for consideration. This is not a competitive process, but Kickstart will only provide funding when the job placements meet the criteria.

DWP aims to respond to applications within 1 month.

If your application is successful

If your application meets the requirements of the scheme, you will receive a letter with a grant agreement. This agreement will include what your company has agreed to provide, and how much funding you will receive from the Kickstart Scheme.

See: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/apply-for-a-grant-through-the-kickstart-scheme

Kickstart employers guide

Read the guide here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/913209/kickstart-scheme-employer-guide.pdf