Are Apprenticies entitled to any benefits?

barbie299

ailuro2 wrote: »

Welcome to the adult world, OP

Make the most of having money to spend on yourself each week, it may not last forever.

If you're doing a decent apprenticeship then you should be taking home hundreds more pounds a week within a few years, then continuing to for many years, get into good budgeting habits now and you'll be laughing when your wages go up.

£95 is probably only for the first year.

I doubt my wages will go up i'm on a decent apprenticeship but it only lasts 16 months so its unlikely that ill get more money .
But i will get get 5 full qualifications at the end of it all so i'm quite happy.

Debt_Free_Dreamer

Why are a load of people attacking the OP. They only asked if they were entitled to anything as their income will be low.

They have not stated how much they need to pay to their parents.
They have not stated how much they need to pay for travel
They have not stated any other commitments of spend they may have.

So how do you know they have £95 per week to 'waste'? You don't.

Any way. OP over to you...

The Prince's Trust do grants

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=2382531&pp=40

They give development awards to individuals and may be able to assist if you need help with equipment and other assistance for your training. There web site states you have to 'not be in employement', but if you contact them and state your financial situation may impact on your ability to continue/start the course, they may be able to help.

I know of one person who was given the money to buy a moped to get them to work.

You might find other grant giving bodies. (training is one of the big areas) Your local library should have a book detailing all the grant giving bodies there are.

Oldernotwiser

Debt_Free_Dreamer wrote: »

Why are a load of people attacking the OP. They only asked if they were entitled to anything as their income will be low.

They have not stated how much they need to pay to their parents.
They have not stated how much they need to pay for travel
They have not stated any other commitments of spend they may have.

So how do you know they have £95 per week to 'waste'? You don't.

Any way. OP over to you...

The Prince's Trust do grants

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=2382531&pp=40

They give development awards to individuals and may be able to assist if you need help with equipment and other assistance for your training. There web site states you have to 'not be in employement', but if you contact them and state your financial situation may impact on your ability to continue/start the course, they may be able to help.

I know of one person who was given the money to buy a moped to get them to work.

You might find other grant giving bodies. (training is one of the big areas) Your local library should have a book detailing all the grant giving bodies there are.

Who has been attacking the OP?

kingfisherblue

I'm not sure why Debt Free Dreamer has posted a link about clothing from Tesco...

Jowo_2

Debt_Free_Dreamer wrote: »

Why are a load of people attacking the OP. They only asked if they were entitled to anything as their income will be low.

They have not stated how much they need to pay to their parents.
They have not stated how much they need to pay for travel
They have not stated any other commitments of spend they may have.

So how do you know they have £95 per week to 'waste'? You don't.

.

Typically in most cases, benefit entitlement is means tested and is about the actual income received, not a person's personal expenses, such as board, travel, any commitments such as servicing debts/HP.

This, I expect, is why there is an absence of questions around what the OP pays their parents, their travel costs, their personal financial commitments - it is bound not to factor in most criteria to receive benefits.

I'm not sure there is an assumption that the OP simply skips off with £95 in their pocket with absolutely no expenses incurred on their part, just an acceptance that even if it was spent wholly on travel and board for their parents, it wouldn't put them in a better position to claim extra benefits.

Low income is obviously an entry criteria for numerous benefits but high personal expenses are usually irrelevant.

leveller2911

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

You are comparing NMW for an adult to that received by an 18 year old which is misleading; in fact, NMW has only been in existence for 11 years and before this wages would have been lower still.

Throughout this period apprenticeships have been highly sought after and very few young people would have "laughed them off"!

My point was the OP will be earning £2-97 per hour , I speak from personal experience, I was an apprentice(we didn't spend 32 hrs a week sitting round drinking coffee and reading a book,it can be hard graft, all of my friends couldn't understand why I was working for 1/3 rd of their wages.I will agree that dependant on career the OP is entering she may well be able to earn 3x the earnings that her friends earn so its worth putting up with crap money for a while.

It is relavent to compare NMW with an apprentices wage, at the end of the day the bottom line is how much take home pay they have.£95-00 a week IS peanuts considering they need to pay keep, pay for travel to and from work, prsicriptions etc etc etc.

Jeezus wept,I know plenty of people who haven't worked since they left school and have sponged entirely off the tax payers for over 20 yrs so give the OP a break......at least she is trying to better herself......

Oldernotwiser

leveller2911 wrote: »

My point was the OP will be earning £2-97 per hour , I speak from personal experience, I was an apprentice, all of my friends couldn't understand why I was working for 1/3 rd of their wages.I will agree that dependant on career the OP is entering she may well be able to earn 3x the earnings that her friends earn so its worth putting up with crap money for a while.

It is relavent to compare NMW with an apprentices wage, at the end of the day the bottom line is how much take home pay they have.£95-00 a week IS peanuts considering they need to pay keep, pay for travel to and from work, prsicriptions etc etc etc.

Jeezus wept,I know plenty of people who haven't worked since they left school and have sponged entirely off the tax payers for over 20 yrs so give the OP a break......at least she is trying to better herself......

Nobody has been anti the OP as far as I can see. People are simply saying that 95 per week for a year at the start of your training isn't unreasonable; that's why first year apprentices are exempt from NMW.

leveller2911

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

Then there would be even fewer apprenticeships than there are now!

A teenager starting training isn't going to bring much to an organisation; quite the opposite in fact when you allow for the skilled people having to leave their work to train the youngster.

Just to educate you a little companies often get grants to employ apprentices.As for "not bringing much to an organisation" sorry but that rubbish, I can talk from experience in the construction industry.

Say for instance the apprentice cleans out extractors,sweeps the floors,carries out the easier jobs that the craftsmen don't , who would do these tasks if the apprentice wan't there? answer either the craftsmen or labourers but either or those two would be paid 3x what the apprentice is getting, add that to the companies grants they receive for employing the apprentice then the company IS getting more than value for money ..

You will always get some young people who will learn quicker than others but the majority are not idiots..

leveller2911

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

Nobody has been anti the OP as far as I can see. People are simply saying that 95 per week for a year at the start of your training isn't unreasonable; that's why first year apprentices are exempt from NMW.

Ok so why are they paid £2-97 per hour when an 18-22 yr old on NMW development rate is £4-83 per hour so whats the difference??

Guess we'll just have to agree to disagree on this one....I believe ,if youngsters are trying to do the right thing then they should at least get paid travel, its a bit perverse IMO to give a 17yr who has a sprog benefits and yet youngsters who are trying to do the right thing get nothing, sign of modern Britain .....

Jowo_2

leveller2911 wrote: »

My point was the OP will be earning £2-97 per hour , ..
It is relavent to compare NMW with an apprentices wage, at the end of the day the bottom line is how much take home pay they have.£95-00 a week IS peanuts...give the OP a break......at least she is trying to better herself......

I think the consensus of this thread is that the posters are impressed with the OP and their maturity and vision in putting up with a low income because they understand the investment they get in terms of experience, qualifications, training, etc. It doesn't mean that we have to be sympathetic that there is a lack of extra benefits to cover quite basic living expenses that virtually every working person has to pay.

But it is completely irrelevant to compare the low apprentice wage with higher National Minimum wage because the apprentice pay is a legitimate sum and is out of scope for NMW. It's apples and pears time.

If all the OP could do is focus on the shortfall compared to NMW and ignore their future potential earnings, then this would be a glass half empty outlook and they would start their career feeling ripped off, instead of having a wider perspective where they feel privileged to earn while they learn. We'd much rather the OP focusses on the long-term advantages that comes with the short-term low wages, appreciate that they are getting twice the sum of JSA, than becomes obsessed that they are being exploited. That is just such a short-term negative outlook and is why the NMW comparison is wrong on so many counts.

I wish the OP luck and hope they are at the start of a successful career ladder.