Apply for a Kickstart Scheme grant

How the scheme works

The Kickstart Scheme provides funding to create new jobs for 16 to 24 year olds on Universal Credit who are at risk of long term unemployment. Employers of all sizes can apply for funding which covers:

Employers can spread the job start dates up until 31 December 2021. You’ll get funding until 30 June 2022 if a young person starts their job on 31 December 2021.

Further funding is available to provide support so that young people on the scheme can get a job in the future.

How to apply

You can apply for a Kickstart Scheme grant by either:

• applying online yourself
• applying through a Kickstart gateway who is already working with the Kickstart Scheme

What is a Kickstart gateway?

A Kickstart gateway can be any type of organisation, such as a local authority, charity or trade body.

They will act as an intermediary and apply for funding on your behalf.

They may also provide employability support to the young people in the job on your behalf.

Kickstart gateways will:

• gather information about the jobs you’d like to offer
• share this information with DWP on your behalf
• pay the funding to you (for example the young person’s salary)

Find a Kickstart gateway.

What is a Gateway Plus?

A Gateway Plus is a specific type of Kickstart gateway. They can help smaller organisations, such as sole traders and partnerships, apply for a Kickstart Scheme grant.

Alongside the essential responsibilities of a Kickstart gateway, they will also:

• add the young person to their organisation’s payroll
• pay the young person’s wages on your behalf using the funding from DWP
• provide the employability support on your behalf

Organisations that are approved to act as a Gateway Plus are:

• Adecco Working Ventures in Partnership with the Federation of Small Businesses
• REED
• Manpower Group
• The Wirral Chamber of Commerce

Speak to your local or national Kickstart Scheme contact about whether applying through a Gateway Plus is the right choice and the options available to you.

What you’ll get

£1,500 per job

You’ll get £1,500 funding per job. This should be spent on setup costs and supporting the young person to develop their employability skills.

For example:

• training and employability support (provided by you, a Kickstart gateway or another provider)
• IT equipment and software
• uniform or Personal Protective Equipment

DWP may ask you for your records to show that you’ve spent the funding on setup costs and supporting the young person’s employability.

Kickstart Scheme wages and related costs

The funding covers:

Employers can pay a higher wage and for more hours but the funding will not cover this.

What the Kickstart gateway will get

Kickstart gateways will get £360 for each job to cover admin costs. They may have to pay VAT on this amount depending on their individual circumstances.

If they do not pay VAT, £60 from this payment will be paid to you by the Kickstart gateway (in addition to the £1,500 funding for setup costs) to further support the young person.

Job criteria

The jobs created with Kickstart Scheme funding must be new jobs. They must not:

• replace existing or planned vacancies
• cause existing employees, apprentices or contractors to lose work or reduce their working hours

The jobs must:

For each job you must help the young person become more employable. This could include:

• looking for long-term work, including career advice and setting goals
• support with curriculum vitae (CV) and interview preparations
• developing their skills in the workplace

If you are not eligible for Kickstart Scheme funding, find out about other employment schemes.

The young person may be able to move to another employment scheme when they’ve finished their 6-month Kickstart Scheme job.

What you need to provide

You will need:

• your Companies House reference number, Charity Commission number or Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator number, if you have one
• your organisation address and contact details
• details of the jobs and their location

DWP performs due diligence checks on all employers and Kickstart gateways using the Cabinet Office Spotlight tool.

Tell us or your Kickstart gateway how your jobs are new and created just for the scheme.

The jobs must not:

• replace existing or planned vacancies
• cause existing employees, apprentices or contractors to lose work or reduce their working hours

Tell us or your Kickstart gateway:

• how many employees you have
• about changes to your workforce in the last 6 months and why (for example redundancies and changes to hours worked by existing staff)
• the number of people affected by changes to your workforce in the last 6 months
• about the kinds of roles, functions and average salary of those who were made redundant or who had their hours reduced in the last 6 months
• if you would be able to create these jobs without Kickstart Scheme funding and what funding source you would use
• what recruitment you have completed, started or paused in the last 6 months, including how similar these vacancies are or were to the roles you are creating for the Kickstart Scheme
• if the jobs will be similar to existing or planned roles or the roles previously done by those made redundant or with fewer working hours, why you are using Kickstart Scheme funding to create similar roles
• if you’ve engaged with any relevant trade unions and any advice the unions have given

How you will support young people to become more employable

Tell us or your Kickstart gateway:

• what support will be offered (for example helping them with writing their CV and preparing for an interview)
• when you will provide this support (for example halfway through their job or towards the end)
• how many hours it will take
• who will provide the support (for example you may already have a pre-existing relationship with training providers)
• how you will monitor this support
• how the young person can provide feedback during their job and afterwards, and how this will be acted on

You get £1,500 funding per job for setup costs and support. If you someone else helps you do some of this, you’ll have to agree how you will share this money.

How you will get the funding

If you apply online, DWP will send the funding directly to you.

If you apply through a Kickstart gateway, DWP will send the funding to them. The Kickstart gateway will be responsible for sending the funding to you.

How the funding is calculated for each young person

The calculation is:

• 25 hours each week at National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage (depending on their age at the end of the job*) multiplied by 26 weeks
• National Insurance and workplace pension contributions are added to this amount
• the £1,500 funding for setup costs is then added to this amount

*For example, if a young person starts the job aged 17 and turns 18 before the end of the 26 weeks, the funding will cover National Minimum Wage for 18 year olds from the first day of their job.

£1,500 per job

If you apply directly, the £1,500 funding for setup costs will be paid when you tell us that the young person has started the job. You’ll be told how to do this in the email you receive when a work coach refers a young person to your job vacancy.

If you apply through a Kickstart gateway, you need to tell them when the young person starts their job. They can then send you the £1,500 funding once they’ve received it from DWP.

If a Kickstart gateway or another provider does some of the job setup or employability support for you, you can use the £1,500 funding to cover this.

Kickstart Scheme wages and related costs

Every 30 days we use information from HMRC to check that the young person is being paid through Pay As You Earn (PAYE).

We’ll then send the funding for the wages and related costs to cover the previous 30 days of employment.

You can pay a higher wage and for more hours but the funding will not cover this.

Funding schedule

The schedule shows when the funding will be sent to either:

• you if you applied directly
• your gateway (they will then need to pass the funding on to you within 5 working days)

Getting the young people into the jobs

Kickstart Scheme jobs are only available for Universal Credit claimants aged 16 to 24 who are referred to you by DWP.

If your application is successful:

1. You or your Kickstart gateway will give DWP job descriptions that work coaches at Jobcentre Plus will use to match candidates to the jobs.

2. You or your Kickstart gateway will receive a notification email each time a young person is referred to the job (‘referrals’).

3. Referred candidates may choose to apply for the job.

4. You’ll then be able to interview the candidates who have applied.

5. You or your Kickstart gateway will tell DWP when the young person has started so we can process the funding. You’ll be told how to do this in the ‘referral’ email.

Funding will only be given if a young person is hired using the Kickstart Scheme process.

After a job ends you can get another Kickstart Scheme young person to start another job.

If a young person leaves the job early

You must email DWP as soon as possible if a young person either:

• leaves their job before the end of the 6-month period
• needs to temporarily leave their job (for example for special leave or COVID-19-related restrictions)

The email address is the same one you use to tell DWP about the young person’s start date. You’ll be told how to do this in the ‘referral’ email you get when a work coach refers a young person to your job vacancy.

If a young person leaves their job early, the next scheduled wage payment from DWP will be the last you receive for them.

DWP may be able to extend the funding period if the young person has to temporarily stop working.

How to apply

You can apply for a Kickstart Scheme grant by either:

• applying online yourself
• applying through a Kickstart gateway who is already working with the Kickstart Scheme

Apply online

You will need to provide information about the jobs during the application.

Public sector organisations and exempt charities should enter ‘0’ when asked for a Companies House or Charity Commission number.

Apply online

Watch a video that takes you through the online application.

Apply through a Kickstart gateway

Find a Kickstart gateway that is already working with the Kickstart Scheme.

Whoever represents you will add your jobs to their existing grant agreement with DWP. You’ll need to give them information about the jobs.

After you have applied

We’ll aim to email you or your Kickstart gateway with a decision on the application within one month.

The jobs do not exist until the application has been approved and you have signed the grant agreement with DWP or your Kickstart gateway.

Add more jobs to your grant agreement

You can add more jobs to your grant agreement after it has been approved. You do not need to apply again.

The additional jobs will be assessed to make sure they meet the Kickstart Scheme criteria.

If you applied directly, get in touch with your local or national Kickstart Scheme contact for information about how to add more jobs to your grant agreement.

If you applied through a Kickstart gateway, tell them you’d like to add more jobs to the grant agreement. They will contact DWP to arrange this.

Other employment schemes

Kickstart Scheme is part of the government’s Plan for Jobs. Other employment schemes in this include:

Apprenticeships

You may be able to get funding for any apprentices you employ in England. Find out more about apprenticeships.

Sector-based Work Academy Programme (SWAP)

Jobcentre Plus can support you to create a skilled workforce for your business by offering unemployed people sector-based work academies in England and Scotland.

Traineeships

Employers in England can also help young people by setting up a traineeship. Funding is available for this scheme.

Further support and help

Contact your local or national Kickstart Scheme contact if you need help with the application process.

You can also read top tips for making a Kickstart Scheme application and guidance for employers on choosing a Kickstart gateway.

Disability Confident

The Disability Confident scheme provides employers with the knowledge, skills and confidence they need to make the most of the talents disabled people can bring to the workplace.

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