Apprentices
(asked on 16th July 2014) - View Source
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what proportion of apprentices are not (a) contractually entitled to be paid and (b) receiving the apprentice national minimum wage.
All apprentices are legally entitled to be paid for their apprenticeship at (or above) the appropriate National Minimum Wage rate.
As shown in Table 1, in 2011 it was found that 20 per cent of UK apprentices were not receiving at least the National Minimum Wage for apprentices.
There is no UK estimate from the latest edition of the survey, conducted in 2012, because Scotland did not participate. However, as the vast majority of UK apprentices are based in England, 29 per cent is a reasonable estimate.
There were some methodological problems with the 2012 survey. The contract to undertake the 2014 Apprenticeship Pay Survey was awarded in May 2014 and has directly addressed these problems. Fieldwork for the survey began in July 2014 and is taking place in England, Scotland and Wales, but not Northern Ireland. Results are due for publication in November 2014.
Table 1. Proportion of apprentices who were not receiving the National Minimum Wage for apprentices according to the 2011 and 2012 Apprenticeship Pay Surveys
| On or above apprentice NMW | Below apprentice NWM | |
% | % | ||
| |||
2012 | UK | NA | NA |
England | 71 | 29 | |
Scotland | NA | NA | |
Wales | 82 | 18 | |
NI | 59 | 41 | |
| |||
2011 | UK | 80 | 20 |
England | 79 | 20 | |
Scotland | 77 | 22 | |
Wales | 84 | 15 | |
NI | 80 | 18 | |
1. Figures may not sum due to rounding
2. Scotland did not participate in the 2012 Apprenticeship Pay Survey
Note
It should be noted that concerns have been raised with the accuracy of the 2012 figures. The survey took place in October 2012, very shortly after an increase in the apprentice National Minimum Wage rates. It has been suggested that the reported levels of apprentices receiving less than the minimum wage may be due to an unintentional delay in employers increasing their apprentices’ wages, or apprentices not realising their pay had increased and therefore reporting outdated figures. These potential sources of error have been addressed for the 2014 Apprenticeship Pay Survey which is due for publication in November 2014.
Sources
2012 Apprenticeship Pay Survey:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apprenticeship-pay-survey-2012
2011 Apprenticeship Pay Survey:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apprenticeship-pay-survey-2011