Information for apprentices and employers

Apprenticeships have been designed to be responsive to changes in apprentices’ circumstances, for example during a period of illness. If you need to self-isolate, please talk to your employer and course tutor about the best way to continue with your apprenticeship or report a break in learning.

Options include:

• an increase in e-learning to replace face-to-face teaching. For the start of the autumn 2020 term, all learning is provided through a blend of on-campus and digitally enabled remote learning that will provide opportunities to interact and engage and to help you feel as connected as possible to our staff and your fellow students. It’s also flexible so that, where possible, you can study remotely during the first term if you need to. This means that if you are well, you should be able to continue your studies from home and will not need to attend university for classes
• you may require a short pause (less than 4 weeks) in your apprenticeship while you are in self-isolation. This will not affect the planned end-date of your apprenticeship but must be discussed and agreed with your Tutor
• a formal break in learning of 4 weeks or more, which the university will report to the ESFA. This will result in the planned end-date for your apprenticeship being re-planned, upon returning to learning, to take into consideration the duration in line with the length of your break
• re-scheduling planned assessment activity such as placements or end point assessment for a later date

The appropriate steps will be agreed based on you and your employer’s situation.

Yes, where possible, and with agreement from your employer, you can study remotely during the first term if you need to. Apprentices should check My Brighton for more details about their modules and continue to log off the job training hours.

If you are unable to continue with your apprenticeship, you can take a formal break in learning of 4 weeks or more, which the university will report to the ESFA. This will result in the planned end-date of your apprenticeship being re-planned upon returning to learning, to take into consideration the duration of your break.

Please talk to your employer and course tutor to agree the appropriate steps for your circumstances.

For the start of the autumn 2020 term, all learning is provided through a blend of on-campus and digitally enabled remote learning that will provide opportunities to interact and engage and to help you feel as connected as possible to our staff and your fellow students. It’s also flexible so that, where possible, you can study remotely during the first term if you need to. Apprentices should check My Brighton for more details about their modules.

For the start of the autumn 2020 term, all learning is provided through a blend of on-campus and digitally enabled remote learning that will provide opportunities to interact and engage and to help you feel as connected as possible to our staff and your fellow students. It’s also flexible so that, where possible, you can study remotely during the first term if you need to. Apprentices should check My Brighton for more details about their modules.

Where you are no longer able to work, but have not been made redundant, you can take a break from your apprenticeship and resume when you return to work. Please inform your course tutor and contact your Student Support and Guidance tutor (SSGT) to discuss your situation. You will need to be placed on a formal Break in Learning from your apprenticeship.

Once you are back at work, you can resume your apprenticeship. You should refer any queries around terms and conditions, including wages, to your employer in the first instance. The ACAS website may also be a good source of information.

Universal Credit may be available for both workers and the unemployed alike, as long as they meet the other conditions of entitlement (including that the applicant and their partner have savings of under £16,000 between them). Apprentices may be entitled to access Universal Credit during a period of unpaid leave. They may also have access to Universal Credit even if they were working and being paid. Being laid off or on a lesser number of hours could increase the rate of Universal Credit entitlement.

Apprentices on unpaid leave may also be eligible for other benefits.

You will already be recording your off-the-job training activity using an approach agreed with your course tutor. This is likely to be in the form of a monthly off the job (OTJ) training log which may be part of your portfolio. Please continue to use this in the coming weeks. It could be that during this time you are able to focus more intently on your OTJ training activities, such as reading around your subject area and completing assessments. In this case, you will likely be recording more OTJ hours than you had previously anticipated, which is fine. It is important you continue to capture this as you will need to evidence that you have maintained a minimum of 20% of your time undertaking off the job training activities throughout your apprenticeship.

If you are unsure about how you should track your OTJ hours, email Apprenticeships@brighton.ac.uk and we’ll send you a template form to track your hours during this interruption of normal studies.

If your work circumstances change because of COVID-19, you will need to liaise with your employer and the university to agree a break in learning.

Please get in touch with your course tutor and speak to your Student Support and Guidance tutor (SSGT) if you are made redundant as your apprenticeship training may be able to continue. We will do our best to advise and support you to find another employer using the Find an Apprenticeship Vacancy tool and other signposting activities. In instances where a significant number of apprentices are made redundant, we will seek support from the ESFA to provide exceptional practical support.

An apprenticeship is a job with training, so even when you are not able to do your training, you are still employed. You will be paid in line with the details in your employment contract.

Where you are unable to work, we suggest speaking to your employer about their polices on pay.

For the start of the autumn 2020 term, you’ll learn through a blend of on-campus and digitally enabled remote learning that will provide opportunities to interact and engage and to help you feel as connected as possible to our staff and your fellow students. It’s also flexible so that, where possible, students can study remotely during the first term if they need to. Remote learning means face-to-face interactions will be replaced with online lectures/seminars or alternative activities which may include pre-recorded lectures, notes and learning materials or on-line discussions, live seminars and lectures provided through Microsoft Teams. Your Module Leaders will provide you with details of how the module will be delivered remotely through the My Brighton module area. You can find more here.

You should be employed when you are taking your end-point assessment so where a break in learning has been necessary, and the planned end-date for your apprenticeship has had to move back, please speak to your employer and contact the university apprenticeship office: Apprenticeships@brighton.ac.uk.

If you are unwell, or in a period of self-isolation, and unable to attend your end-point assessment, please make sure you have let your employer know and contact Apprenticeships@brighton.ac.uk as soon as you are able, to allow them maximum time to re-schedule your assessment.

If you need to move your staff member into a different role which is no longer related to their apprenticeship, they will need to pause their apprenticeship until they are able to return to a relevant role. Where this is the case, you must notify the university as soon as possible.

It is our goal, and that of the Department for Education, that apprentices can promptly resume their apprenticeship and continue to successful completion of end-point assessment. Funding rules currently state that a break in learning must be initiated by the apprentice. Employers and training providers can now temporarily also report and initiate a break in learning where the interruption to learning is greater than 4 weeks. If that move becomes permanent, you should look to see which alternative apprenticeship your apprentice can transfer to at Find Apprenticeship Training and liaise with your training provider in the usual way.

If you need to make your apprentice redundant, you must notify the university as soon as possible.

Where apprentices are made redundant, the university and the employer should do what is possible to support the apprentice to find alternative employment (taking into consideration the current economic climate as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic) and continue their apprenticeship within 12 weeks. As a Training Provider, the university can support the apprentice to find another employer using the appropriate vacancy tools and signposting activities. 

Apprentices can be furloughed in the same way as other employees, and unless health or personal circumstances prevent it, they can continue to study whilst furloughed. If you have placed your apprentice(s) on furlough, you must let us know. it is a mandatory requirement for us to keep a record on file, so please download, complete and return this form to apprenticeships@brighton.ac.uk as soon as possible.

In circumstances related to COVID-19, employers should use the ‘Pause’ function in the service if you need to place an apprentice on a Break in Learning. Employers must only use the ‘Stop’ function when they are certain that training will not resume at any point. Using ‘Pause’ will stop payments temporarily and allow the employer and apprentice to resume the apprenticeship at a later date. ESFA are reviewing options to simplify the process of re-starting apprentices on the service, including to facilitate a transfer to a different apprenticeship or employer in due course. 

For the start of the autumn 2020 term, all learning is provided through a blend of on-campus and digitally enabled remote learning that will provide opportunities to interact and engage and to help our apprentices to feel as connected as possible to our staff and their fellow apprentices. It’s also flexible so that, where possible, apprentices can study remotely during the first term if they need to. Apprentices should check My Brighton for more details about their modules and continue to log off the job (OTJ) training hours.

If your apprentices are unable to continue to access their learning activities in line with the timetable provided on My Brighton they should contact their tutor to discuss what additional flexibilities may be required.

Additional options include:

• you could provide them with additional on-site mentor support
• if required, they could take a short pause in their learning of less than four weeks while still completing by their planned end-date. If this is necessary, it must first be discussed and agreed with the apprenticeship course tutor
• they could take a formal break in learning of 4 weeks or more and re-calculate the planned end-date upon their return to learning. The university must be informed of any planned break in learning. You can do this by emailing Apprenticeships@brighton.ac.uk

Employers should follow the government’s guidance for employers and businesses on coronavirus (COVID-19).

Employers who do not pay the apprenticeship levy are able to reserve apprenticeship funding through the apprenticeship service in line with the published guidance.

Reservations will expire if they are not turned into a commitment within 3 months of the apprenticeship start date, detailed in the reservation. Where a commitment is needed, and a previous reservation has expired, a new reservation must first be made.

Apprentices who are deemed ready for assessment, and cannot be assessed due to assessor illness, or COVID-19 related measures, may need to be placed on a Break in Learning if it is likely to be more than 4 weeks before the EPA can be rescheduled. Please notify the university by emailing Apprenticeships@brighton.ac.uk

If the EPA timeframe needs to be extended beyond what is allowed in the assessment plan (where specified), End Point Assessment Organisations (EPAO) are responsible for agreeing extensions to EPA timeframes during the current disruption. For apprentices whose gateway is being delayed, the university will report this as a break in learning in the ILR.

Where an end point assessment method states clearly in the assessment plan that it requires face to face engagement, the ESFA has introduced new flexibilities to allow these to be conducted remotely but under very strict conditions:

• arrangements are cleared in advance by the External Quality Assurance Provider (EQAP)
• the apprentice’s identity is verified
• remote tests are supervised by an appropriately trained invigilator or assessor:
  • who has the necessary qualifications, training or experience
  • who has not been involved in the training, preparation or line management of the apprentice
• appropriate technology and systems are in place
• the impact that remote assessment may have on apprentices is to be taken into consideration, to ensure a fair and reliable assessment of occupational competence
• where alternatives are not appropriate, a pause and rescheduling might be the only action. An extension of 12 weeks is allowable for those Endpoint Assessment Plans (EPA) where a time limit is specified from gateway to EPA. It is to be logged on and shared with EQAPs on a timely basis.

No – The Education Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) do not consider this to be appropriate at the current time.

End-point assessment organisations are encouraged to advise the ESFA if they are cancelling or postponing EPAs in order for them to monitor the impact and keep this under review.

These elements of the EPA will need to be rescheduled if they cannot be undertaken remotely. If the EPA timeframe needs to be extended beyond what is allowed in the assessment plan, the end point assessment organisation should seek agreement from the relevant quality assurance body.

Where a specified assessment method for a specific standard might be adjusted, without threatening safety, and in a manner in which it meets the original intent, End Point Assessment Organisations (EPAO) should discuss this option with their quality body, who may refer it to the Institute for Apprenticeships for authority. The substitution of assessment methods is not considered appropriate at this time.

With the prior authority of their External Quality Assurance body, assessments may be conducted in an appropriate simulated environment, such as a training facility.

You can contact the university's Apprenticeships Team by emailing apprenticeships@brighton.ac.uk.

You can also get support from the National Apprenticeship Service helpline. They can be contacted by telephone on 0800 150 600 or email helpdesk@manage-apprenticeships.service.gov.uk.