With changes to employment law due in April 2020, it's time to prepare and review your policies and procedures.

As a result of its commitments set out in the Good Work Plan the government will be extending the entitlement to a statement of ‘written particulars’ to include workers as well as employees. Currently employers have up to two months to issue the statement to any employee working for them for more than a month but from April 2020 the right to a statement of written particulars will become a “day one” right.

The information to be included in the written statement from day one is also being expanded. In addition to the current information that must be provided, from April 2020 the statement should also include:

• how long a job is expected to last, or the end date of a fixed-term contract

• how much notice the employer and worker are required to give to terminate the agreement

• details of eligibility for sick leave and pay

• details of other types of paid leave e.g. maternity leave and paternity leave

• the duration and conditions of any probationary period

• all remuneration (not just pay) e.g. vouchers, lunch, health insurance

• the normal working hours, the days of the week the worker is required to work, and whether or not such hours or days may be variable, and if they may be how they vary or how that variation is to be determined

• any training entitlement provided by the employer, any part of that training entitlement which the employer requires the worker to complete, and any other training which the employer requires the worker to complete and which the employer will not bear the cost.

Employers should start to review their current contracts and recruitment processes to ensure that all the required information is included in contracts and that procedures are in place to ensure documentation is issued on or before the first day of work.

A note to finish..

As the year draws to a close, 2019 will be remembered as a rather turbulent one on the

political front that has no doubt had an impact on many businesses throughout the country.

With Thursday’s landslide election result for the ruling Conservative party, there is at last an

end in sight for the first hurdle of the Brexit Saga. The next stage being the trade negotiations

with a deadline currently set for the end of 2020, which will no doubt be no easy task, however,

hopefully having a Government with a large majority will add some strength to our negotiation

strategy and also give a boost of confidence to the business community as well as consumers

in the months ahead. It has just been announced that the Government will be bringing forward

a bill to enshrine in law that the transition period cannot be extended past 31.12.20.

There were many promises in all the political parties’ manifestos and the Conservatives Skills

pledges included:

• a £3bn National Skills Fund over the next 5 years with a consultation to be carried out by

the Government on the overall design of this fund.

• an improvement to the Apprenticeship Levy with many more apprentices being trained.

• a £500 million of the proposed UK Shared Prosperity Fund (a replacement to ESF

funding) that will be used to give disadvantaged people the skills they need to make a

success in life.

As we are currently seeing many providers running out of non-levy apprenticeship funding, it

will be interesting to see how the Government will fund increased numbers of apprentices.

Currently, only employers with a payroll of above £3m pay into the levy pot, perhaps this limit

will be reduced to widen the number of employers who pay the levy? Or another suggestion is

raising the levy from the current 0.5% which would not be popular and would also put further

pressure on the public sector organisations such as the NHS, whom are major levy

contributors. Or it could be that no longer funding degree level apprenticeships is also an

option, the take up of these expensive apprenticeships significantly reduces the funding

available to SME’s.

With the Queen’s speech on Thursday and the Budget early next year, hopefully we will have

an indication of the Governments direction regarding Skills.

In the meantime, I wish you a Merry Christmas and a successful, healthy and prosperous

2020.

David Rose

Chief Executive

Apprenticeship Vacancies

Are you in the position to offer another apprenticeship?

If so, we know that finding and recruiting the right candidate can be

difficult and time consuming. KEITS are proud to offer a free recruitment

service where we create an advert, which we then manage, and only put

you in contact with suitable candidates to interview.

KEITS advertise vacancies on the government apprenticeship site, our

personal website and our social media platforms, allowing a large

coverage and varied applications.

If you think you could benefit from this service then please contact our BD

Team on:

T: 0208 327 3800

E: info@keits.co.uk

W: www.keits.co.uk

Kent and Medway's 1st Apprenticeship Graduation Ceremony 2019 – Rochester

Cathedral.

On the 4th October one of our Animal Care Assessors, Kelly Jones was invited

along to the 1st Graduation Ceremony for Apprenticeships in Kent as she had

two nominated learners, Richard and Marie, attending. Both Richard and Marie

had completed their Level 2 Apprenticeship in Animal Care and Welfare this

summer at Vets4Pets in Maidstone.

This was the first event of its kind to take

place and the organisers had been busy

in the lead up promoting the event,

gaining sponsorship and gathering

momentum. Businesses, employers and

learning providers, known as VIP’s for

the day, were called to recognise and

celebrate achievers from across the

county.

Kelly wanted to attend the ceremony to support all KEITS learners and was

intrigued to see if any of her other learners had been nominated and encouraged

to attend. Kelly was pleasantly surprised to see another of her apprentices,

Emily, had also attended the ceremony. Emily, who works at Shaggy to Chic in

Ashford had recently completed a Level 3 Apprenticeship in Dog Grooming.

KEITS also had some Horse Care learners attend the graduation, including Leah

who gained her Level 3 in Horse Care (Coaching and Riding) at Ellenwhorne

Equestrian Centre. It was great to have a showcase of KEITS learners

celebrating their successes.

Before the ceremony, learners were asked to register and measure for

mortarboards and gowns. There was also the opportunity to have professional

photos taken. VIPs were welcomed to a drinks reception in the Crpyt and friends

and family gathered in the Cathedral itself. Following this, all attendees were

shown to their seats and the ceremony proceeded.

VIP’s hosting the ceremony were Paul Andrews (Former Kent Entrepreneur of

the year), Nicola Everett (KMFM Radio) and David Ward (Chief Exec, Ward

Securities). Speakers including Kelly Tolhurst MP for Rochester and Strood &

Minister for Small Business, Consumers and Corporate Responsibility

congratulated the apprentices and welcomed each on stage to collect their

certification.

KEITS Winter Newsletter 2019

Welcome to the KEITS Winter newsletter. We hope you have had a lovely year and are now

looking forward to the festive season and New Year!

Kent & Medway’s Graduation Ceremony

Learner of the Month

In Other News..

KEITS’ Learner of the Month Scheme continues to recognise and

congratulate our hard working learners. It has been extremely well

received and it has been a lot of fun seeing what all our learners are up

to. Learners can be nominated by either their assessor or employer and

are featured on our social media platforms before receiving a letter and

certificate. Here are some of the latest learners who have been

nominated:

Hamish Oct 2019 Your Horsemanship Level 3 Horse Care

Caliph Dec 2019 Every Dog Level 2 Animal Care

Josie Nov 2019

Pets at Home (Ashford) Level 2 Dog Grooming

Penelope Dec 2019

Bromstone Primary School Level 3 Teaching Assistant

Special Recognition

As well as KEITS’ Learner of the Month Scheme, we also love to celebrate those learners who deserve extra recognition. We have two learners that we feel deserve extra recognition the first is Daniel, a KEITS apprentice who is currently finishing his Level 2 in Animal Care and Welfare. Daniel’s KEITS assessor Jon and his employer, Kentish Town City Farm are incredibly proud of all his recent achievements and hard work and have provided this small write up:

“Daniel first attended the "young farmers" weekend club at Kentish Town City Farm when he was just 8 years old. His confidence working with farm animals was noticeable from the start. He was one of a handful of young farmers that attended every weekend through rain, snow or sunshine and he soon became one of their most committed volunteers. Daniel has dyslexia and this can be extremely challenging for him, but he never gives up or feels sorry for himself and refuses to let it define him. Daniel learns best by physically doing tasks on the farm and listening. He is always willing to give things a go which allows him to tackle any task eventually. He enjoys working with his peers and they have huge respect for him. His good mood is only ever changed if he doesn’t have time for a cup of tea first thing in the morning!.

Recently Daniel went abroad for the first time and the whole team commented on how quiet the farm seemed without him. The farm is situated in an area of London that has a history of strong community spirit, but it also suffers many disadvantages such as overcrowding and unemployment, drugs, gangs and youth related crime. Daniel is such a great example of a hard working, committed & responsible young man. The apprenticeship with KEITS made so much sense for Daniel as it has allowed him to continue learning and

gain a qualification and as a result the farm are offering Daniel a job when it finishes.

Daniel continues to be a greatly valued member of the staff team. Volunteering and working at the farm has given Daniel the opportunity to achieve, to learn and to inspire others; to strengthen his connection with the animal kingdom and to create solid, positive friendships that we have no doubt, will continue for the rest of his life.

His hard work and inspirational attitude does not go unnoticed and this year Daniel was awarded the Craig Morris Young Achiever Award in recognition of how much he has achieved and his potential to go on to do more in his own unique way.”

Well done to Daniel, and we wish you the best of luck in your future career.

Another KEITS apprentice who has also recently had a great achievement is Naomi, who has just completed a Level 3 Apprenticeship in Floristry with KEITS.

Naomi, who works for Willow & Blooms Florist in Newbury, gained a place in the World Skills UK Finals in November.

World Skills UK is the UK’s largest skills, apprenticeships and careers event and the finals

took place on 21st-23rd November 2019 at the NEC Birmingham

These finals are a set of dynamic skills competitions for young people and adults, designed and delivered by industry experts. The competitions run each year in over 70 skills across the UK. Top scorers from across the regional heats and selection events are invited to compete at National Finals at World Skills UK Live.

Naomi attended these finals and achieved third place within the Floristry sector which was fantastic alongside finishing her qualification. Both KEITS and Willow & Blooms are extremely proud of Naomi’s achievement and it is clear to all that she has a real talent when it comes to flowers!

National Apprenticeship Wage

KEITS wants to remind all employers of the current national apprenticeship wage rates and how these may alter with age and time on programme.

The current apprenticeship wage is £3.90 per hour, which apprentices are entitled to if they are:

• aged under 19

• aged 19 or over and in the first year of their apprenticeship

An example of this could be an apprentice who is aged 22 but in the first year of their apprenticeship is entitled to minimum hourly rate of £3.90.

Apprentices are entitled to National Minimum Wage for their age if they are:

• are aged 19 or over

• have completed the first year of their apprenticeship

An example of this could be an apprentice who is 22 and completed the first year of their apprenticeship is entitled to a minimum hourly rate of £7.70.

For more information and advice please visit:

https://www.gov.uk/national-minimum-wage-rates

Follow us

The ESFA have updated their apprenticeships off-the-job training guidance to bring the text within the materials in line with the 2019 and 2020 funding rules.

The suite of materials includes a new guide where we have added clarity and addressed frequently asked questions. There is also an updated commitment statement, infographic and myth-buster

The commitment statement template is non-mandatory and training providers are free to use alternative templates, including their own. However, the completion of the ESFA template will ensure that the apprenticeship funding rules have been met.

To view these please visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apprenticeships-off-the-job-training