Eligibility

CITB-ConstructionSkills Grants Scheme 2011/2012

Status of employer

For a grant to be paid to an employer under the 2011/2012 Grants Scheme, the employer must be in-scope to, and be registered with, CITB-ConstructionSkills when the appropriate Grants Scheme conditions are met.

Firms which are ‘in-scope excluded’ are not eligible for grant. Firms are in-scope excluded when they do not have any direct employees, labour-only sub-contractors or agency staff, and may therefore include some sole traders and partnerships. Limited companies are employers due to the fact they employ at least one director and company secretary.

Additional eligibility conditions

The CITB-ConstructionSkills Grants Scheme is underpinned by the industry Levy. Any money collected as Levy goes straight back to the industry in training grants and other direct support.

For existing employers claiming grant after 1st August 2011, grant can be claimed but payment will be blocked until a 2011 Levy Return has been correctly completed and received. If a 2011 Levy Return is not received by 31st December 2011 the employer will forfeit eligibility to all grant payments within the 2011/2012 Grants Scheme.

In addition to this rule any employer who has any outstanding Levy from any year, which is not the subject of a Direct Debit arrangement, will not receive grant payments automatically. Any grant claims submitted will not be paid until the outstanding Levy liability has been settled in full or is being cleared through a Direct Debit agreement. Any grant payments which accumulate during a period where Levy is outstanding will be offset against the outstanding balance first, with any necessary payment arrangement calculated on the outstanding balance of Levy if appropriate. Once any overdue Levy is paid in full, or is being cleared through a Direct Debit agreement, any grant payments held in the system will be released and future grant claims will be paid as normal.

These conditions have been introduced to ensure that we have sufficient funds to provide grants for employers who have met their Levy commitment. Employers who fall below the small firms exclusion level (see explanation below) will continue to receive grant payments as normal when the claims are made providing that a 2011 Levy Return has been submitted within the deadlines detailed above.

Newly registered employers

If you have recently registered* onto the CITB-ConstructionSkills Levy register, you will not be eligible to receive any grants until 1st August 2012. However if you have registered with CITB-ConstructionSkills as you have recently taken on an apprentice or a new entrant trainee you can claim 2011/2012 apprenticeship and new entrant grants if you sign up for the Early Grant Option (EGO) and complete the Levy return form that we will send you.

By signing the EGO, you will be liable for levy assessment earlier than if you elected not to be eligible for 2011/2012 grant support and you will not be entitled to claim any grants, other than those available to support apprentices and new entrant trainees, until your second year of registration. For further advice and details of how to sign up for the EGO, please contact your local ConstructionSkills office.

* If you are already registered, do not employ anybody currently (PAYE staff or labour-only sub-contractors) but you intend to employ an apprentice or new entrant trainee and claim grant for training them, you will also need to sign an EGO. You can do this by contacting your local ConstructionSkills office.

Firms excluded from Levy because of size

Firms which are not required to pay Levy because they are below the small firms’ exclusion level will be eligible to claim grants.

Grant aid for the training of labour-only sub-contractors

Except where grant terms indicate that eligibility is restricted to employers of employed trainees, grant is available under the 2011/2012 Grants Scheme for the training of labour-only sub-contractors and temporary agency staff, under contract to a leviable employer if:

• Their payments are included on the employer’s Levy Return (either as an individual or through an agency).
• The employer certifies the need for training, organises the training and accepts the costs.
• The conditions of grant are satisfied. The grant will be paid to the leviable employer and not the labour-only sub-contractor.

Grant can only be claimed for LOSC where the employer can produce evidence that shows that a realistic level of payments have been made to the LOSC for work carried out in a construction activity in a construction environment in relation to the amount of grant claimed.

New Entrant apprentices and Craft Non Apprenticeship trainees

The 2011/2012 Grants Scheme will benefit employers who train New Entrant Apprentices and Craft Non Apprenticeship trainees, by enabling them to plan grant aid over their training period. The packages of these attendance and achievement grants are fixed within the Grants Scheme year in which your apprentice or trainee starts training, even if rates go up or down in the future.

Transfer of New Entrant apprentices and Craft Non Apprenticeship trainees

If a New Entrant Apprentice or a trainee transfers from one employer to another during the training year, attendance grants will be paid pro rata and achievement grants will be paid to the individual’s employer at the time of achievement.

Date of training eligible for grants

Grants published in this scheme will be payable only in connection with training taking place, or for an achievement between 1 August 2011 and 31 July 2012 unless otherwise stated. None of the provisions of the Grants Scheme are to be treated as indicating that CITB-ConstructionSkills will pay grants in respect of the training taking place or for an achievement after 31 July 2012. Where training spans two different grant years (other than Training and Development Plans, apprentices and Craft Non Apprenticeship training), attendance grants are paid in proportion to the training which takes place in each year and at the rate of grant applicable at the actual time of the training or successful achievement. Grants for Training and Development Plans, apprentices and Craft Non Apprenticeship training are paid at the rate in force when the plan or training started.

Payment of proportionate grant

The grant values shown in the Grants Scheme are likely to be those that CITB-ConstructionSkills will pay, based on the continued approval of the Levy Order by Parliament. If necessary, however, CITB-ConstructionSkills will reduce grants proportionally, or withdraw them completely in exceptional circumstances, to match the funds available. This is to avoid CITB-ConstructionSkills’ liability to pay grants becoming unlimited. CITB-ConstructionSkills would expect to operate a proportional grants system only in abnormal circumstances, such as a decrease in statutory Levy. CITB-ConstructionSkills fully appreciates the need to inform employers as soon as possible if the grants it expects to be able to pay are less than those published.

Approval to be in writing

No approval expressed by CITB-ConstructionSkills in connection with any course or condition in the Grants Scheme will be valid or recognised by CITB-ConstructionSkills unless it is in writing and signed by an authorised officer of CITB-ConstructionSkills.

Alteration of conditions; status of the Grants Scheme

CITB-ConstructionSkills reserves the right to increase, reduce or withdraw grants and to attach conditions and procedures other than those mentioned in the Grants Scheme to the approval of claims or the payment of grant. The Grants Scheme is not intended to be an offer by CITB-ConstructionSkills or to lead to, or be part of, any formal legal agreement.

Interpretation of the Grants Scheme

CITB-ConstructionSkills’ decision is final on all matters concerning the interpretation of the Grants Scheme.

Grant claims made by third parties

Where a CITB-ConstructionSkills registered employer uses the services of a third party to make a grant claim, it is the responsibility of the employer to ensure that claims are made in accordance with Grants Scheme rules and to repay any grant paid as a result of an error by the third party or the employer.

Appeals

If a grant is refused, an employer in-scope to CITB-ConstructionSkills has the right to appeal against the staff interpretation of the Grants Scheme through the Grants Scheme Working Party (GSWP). An employer who wishes to appeal should do so in writing, with any supporting evidence, to the Grants Scheme Team at our Bircham Newton address.

The right of appeal rests only with employers eligible to claim, not with out-of-scope employers, training providers, other external organisations, or with CITB-ConstructionSkills staff.

If the appellant is dissatisfied with the appeal decision, they have a further right of appeal to the Training Committee. If they wish to exercise this right, they have to provide an explanation of why they believe the initial decision was wrong or bring forward new evidence to support the claim.

Type of training eligible for grants

All training for which grant is claimed must relate to a trainee’s present or future work in the construction industry. Grants are paid for training activities only (not for external examinations or assessments) unless stated otherwise. Distance learning programmes may only be grant-aided under the Training and Development Plan, subject to meeting the conditions for payment.

Planned programmes of training

Employers claiming grant must be able to satisfy CITB-ConstructionSkills that a suitably planned programme of training and development is being followed for each category of employee for whom grant is being claimed, or that arrangements are being made to draw up and implement such a programme. Details of training and development programmes must be open to inspection by CITB-ConstructionSkills representatives and its auditors. CITB-ConstructionSkills reserves the right to monitor any course as it takes place and the attendance of apprentices/trainees on that course.

Health & Safety

Health and Safety must be an integral part of all training. Legislative requirements place a duty on employers to train their workforce in all aspects of health, safety and welfare.

Records

Employers are required to keep records to substantiate the training or achievement for which they claim CITB-ConstructionSkills grant for a minimum of three years. These records must be available for inspection on request by ConstructionSkills or its auditors. In the event that training for which grant is claimed is found not to comply, CITB-ConstructionSkills will refuse the claim or take action to recover the grant. CITB-ConstructionSkills staff are able to advise employers on how to keep training records.

Complying with CITB-ConstructionSkills’ requirements

If the employer does not take steps to comply with CITB-ConstructionSkills’ requirements, or if CITB-ConstructionSkills is not satisfied that adequate training is being given, grants may be reduced or withheld.

Ability to off-set grant

ConstructionSkills shall be entitled to off-set any monies owed by you (including any amount due in respect of Levy) against any and all monies owed to you by ConstructionSkills under the Grants Scheme.

Support from other sources

CITB-ConstructionSkills may require an employer claiming grant to prove that the training for which grant is claimed has been paid for by the employer; and does not qualify for financial support from another source (with the exception of apprentices). If it does qualify for other support grant may not apply and action may be taken to recover the grant paid.

Training approved for grant

Vocational courses specifically supported by grant are detailed in the Grants Scheme with a grant prefix ‘A’. If you are unsure as to whether a course is eligible for grant, advice can be obtained from your local ConstructionSkills office.

Courses not approved for grant

Certain courses are not grant-supported and others will be approved only in exceptional circumstances. If you are unsure as to the eligibility of a course for grant support, please contact your local ConstructionSkills office.