From 6 April employers may no longer be required to pay Employers Secondary Class 1 NI contributions for apprentices aged under 25.
This applies to any earnings up to the Upper Earnings Limit which is £827 per week – more than most apprentices are being paid we are sure!
The apprentice must be following an approved statutory apprenticeship framework and you may be required to provide evidence in the form of your written agreement (usually the employment contract) between the employer and apprentice and evidence of receiving government funding.
Employees continue to pay their contributions as before.
We are not payroll experts and we recommend that you seek advice on this matter before making any changes to any NI contributions you pay over to the HMRC.