The Kickstart Scheme: helping stimulate employment for young people

The Kickstart Scheme: helping stimulate employment for young people

The UK Government recently introduced the £2bn Kickstart Scheme to provide employers with funding to create job placements for 16 to 24-year olds on Universal Credit. The grant is on offer to organisations of all sizes for placements up until 31 December 2021 and 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.

In addition to this, employers will receive £1,500 per job replacement to cover setup costs and help develop the employability skills of the young person.

The job placements must be new jobs. They must not replace existing or planned vacancies or cause existing employees or contractors to lose or reduce their employment.

It is important to note that any direct Kickstart Scheme application must be based on a minimum of 30 job placements. For placements of 29 or less, a Kickstart gateway, such as a local authority, charity or trade body can help with applying. More information on applying for this can be found here.

For full details of the scheme, including the application criteria, click here.

Get in touch

If you have any further queries regarding the Kickstart Scheme or would like to discuss the support available in more detail, please get in touch with your usual Azets contact.