Social service 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 six months
- associated employer National Insurance contributions
- minimum automatic enrolment pension contributions.
This funding is available for new jobs with a start date up to 31 December 2021.
A further £1,500 is available for each job you create which should be spent on setup costs and supporting the young person to develop their employability skills. The grant can also be used to purchase uniform, personal protective equipment (PPE) and digital technology, like a laptop.
Useful information
- You can apply for a Kickstart grant yourself or if you prefer you can ask a gateway organisation to apply for a grant on your behalf. https://secure.dwp.gov.uk/find-a-kickstart-gateway
- Some gateway organisations offer employability services too, for example training programmes and advice on how to recruit and support your new young employees.
- Employers can pay higher than the National Minimum Wage (for example the Scottish Living Wage is currently £9.50) and offer more hours per week, however the grant will not cover this extra amount. A breakdown of UK national minimum wage and Scottish living wage rates is available on the Young Scot website
https://young.scot/get-informed/national/national-minimum-wage - Jobs must be new and cannot be used to replace existing or planned vacancies and must not result in a reduction of hours for any other member of staff including apprentices.
Webinars for employers
In partnership with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), Scottish Care and the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) we are offering free Kickstart webinars.
These will help you understand the Kickstart scheme and give you ideas how you can use it in your service. We’ll show you how to create a Kickstart opportunity and provide advice on how you can create pathways from Kickstart roles to long term employment opportunities in your organisation.
You can use this anonymous survey to tell us about your experiences with Kickstart. We’ll use the responses to shape the webinars. https://ecv.microsoft.com/DOJyWjfmBj
Choose one of the webinar dates below to sign up on Eventbrite. Please note the webinars will take place as ‘live events’ on Microsoft Teams. You do not need a Microsoft Teams account to take part and you will receive a direct link to watch the webinar.
You can find more information at: