Apprentices are employees, with the same rights and protections as other staff members – and in some cases apprentices have extra rights. Michael Shroot discusses the key issues.
Even though apprentices are trainees, they can expect a regular wage, holidays, fair working hours, rest breaks, notice periods, benefits, grievance and dismissal procedures, sick pay and maternity or paternity pay.
Apprentice pay and the national minimum wage
Apprentices are entitled to the national minimum wage – currently £3.50 an hour for apprentices under 19 and apprentices aged 19 or over who are in their first year of training.
You must then be paid at least the minimum wage rate for your age if you are an apprentice aged 19 or over and have completed your first year. These rates apply to time spent working, as well as time on training that forms part of your apprenticeship programme.
It’s also worth noting that employers can – and often do – pay above the minimum wage. But whatever wage you agree on, you should make sure you have it in writing from your employer and ensure they don’t try to make any illegal deductions.
Additional rights come with apprenticeship contracts
If you are employed under an apprenticeship agreement you must be treated like any other member of staff and subject to the normal rules on unfair dismissal.
If you have an apprenticeship contract, this gives you extra rights. For example, if you commit misconduct or break the apprenticeship contract, the employer cannot necessarily end the training. Any misconduct must be so severe that the apprentice can no longer be taught the trade. This means you can only be dismissed fairly for misconduct if you are effectively untrainable.
In practice this means the apprentice would have to repeatedly ignore instructions, as opposed to committing one-off offences.
The significance of the ACAS code of practice in disciplinary matters
If you are dismissed, your employer should follow the ACAS code of practice. This means your employer must have a potentially fair reason for dismissal, carry out a thorough investigation to ascertain the facts, tell you about the issues in writing, conduct a hearing with you to discuss these issues, inform you of any decision in writing, and give you a right of appeal.
It’s also worth keeping in mind that an apprenticeship contract cannot be terminated because of redundancy – unless the business ceases trading or undergoes a fundamental change in the nature of its activities. Unlike ordinary employees, apprentices cannot be made redundant because the business has less need for them.
Why some apprentices are awarded higher compensation for unfair dismissal
If you are unfairly dismissed and have an apprenticeship contract, you will likely receive a greater compensation award than other unfairly dismissed employees. This extra compensation relates to the loss of earnings under the apprenticeship contract – as well as the loss of potential future earnings.
So if difficulties do occur, it’s important to know how to tackle disciplinary proceedings where an apprenticeship contract or an apprenticeship agreement is in place.
For example, WHN’s employment team recently acted for a dismissed apprentice in a successful claim for unfair dismissal, damages for breach of contract and unlawful deduction from wages. WHN’s experts obtained an award of more than £20,000 after the client had been summarily dismissed from his apprenticeship during a discussion in a car park, with no disciplinary procedure in place.
This underlines the need for apprentices to know their workplace rights and for employers to seek specialist employment law advice if there is a question of unfair dismissal.
For advice on apprenticeship rights, call Michael Shroot on 0161 761 8087 or email him at michael.shroot@whnsolicitors.co.uk
