How to Hire an Apprentice
A Step-by-Step Compliance Guide for Employers
Demystify employer obligations, reduce compliance anxiety, and let Solveway manage the complexity of apprenticeship onboarding.
This guide explains exactly what you must do to hire an apprentice compliantly in England, from DAS setup to critical compliance documents, OTJH delivery, and safeguarding responsibilities.
How to Navigate Apprenticeship Compliance
Watch our comprehensive guide to understanding your employer obligations and how Solveway simplifies the entire process.
Is Your Business Ready?
Before you begin the apprenticeship journey, you must ensure your business and the role meet the following eligibility requirements.
Genuine Job Requirement
The role must be a substantive position requiring new skills and knowledge, not just formalising existing competence.
You cannot use apprenticeships to certificate existing staff without new learning.
Minimum Training Duration
For new apprenticeship starts in England from 1 August 2025, the minimum duration is reduced to 8 months. For apprenticeships starting before this date, a 12-month minimum duration applies.
Shorter programmes may result in funding clawback.
50%+ Working Hours in England
The apprentice must spend at least half of their working hours at a location in England to be eligible for DfE funding.
Remote or international work arrangements must be verified for compliance.
How Solveway Ensures Compliance
Solveway validates every job role against the relevant apprenticeship standard before you begin recruitment. We ensure the role delivers genuine new knowledge and skills, protecting you from funding clawback.
Our initial assessment process identifies existing competence and designs a training plan that meets DfE requirements whilst adding measurable value to your organisation.
The Compliance Lifecycle
Navigate the apprenticeship process with confidence. Select a step to learn more.
Your Compliance Questions, Answered
Hiring an apprentice involves navigating complex regulations. Here are the answers to the most common employer compliance questions.
Our compliance specialists have guided hundreds of employers through the apprenticeship onboarding process.
The employment contract is your standard HR document covering salary, hours, holidays, and employment terms. The apprenticeship agreement is a separate statutory DfE document that links the apprentice to a specific apprenticeship standard, including training dates, off-the-job hours, and End-Point Assessment gateway. You must have both documents in place. Solveway creates the apprenticeship agreement and ensures it meets compliance requirements.
Yes, but only if the apprenticeship teaches significant new knowledge and skills. The role must not be formalising existing competence. Solveway conducts an initial assessment to determine whether your existing employee requires sufficient new learning to justify an apprenticeship. If they already possess most of the skills in the standard, you may face funding clawback.
If an apprentice leaves before completing their programme, you must notify Solveway and the Digital Apprenticeship Service immediately. Funding will stop from the date of leaving. You are not required to repay funding already claimed unless the apprentice left due to non-compliance (e.g., failure to deliver off-the-job training). Early leavers do not receive their apprenticeship certificate, though they may be eligible for partial credit towards future apprenticeships.
Off-the-job training can be delivered through mentoring sessions, job shadowing, online training modules, industry research, and structured learning activities. It must happen during paid working hours and must not be productive work. For a full-time apprentice (37.5 hours/week), this equates to approximately 6 hours per week. Solveway provides a tracking system to log and evidence all off-the-job hours, ensuring you remain compliant throughout the apprenticeship.
Yes. The apprenticeship agreement is legally separate from the employment contract. The employment contract governs the employment relationship (pay, hours, notice), whilst the apprenticeship agreement governs the training relationship (standard, training plan, OTJH commitment). Both documents are mandatory and must be signed before the apprentice's start date.
As the employer, you own and control your Digital Apprenticeship Service (DAS) account. However, you must grant Solveway permission to act as your training provider within the DAS system. This allows Solveway to create apprentice records, submit funding claims, and manage compliance documentation on your behalf. We guide you through the permission-granting process step-by-step during onboarding.
Ready to Hire Your First Apprentice?
Book a free discovery call and let our onboarding specialists guide you through every step of the process.