Small employer indicator (SEM1)

Published 17 August 2022 10:22

Last updated 12 March 2026 08:00

Training Providers must ensure apprentices employed by a small employer are recorded with the small employer indicator (SEM).

This is only for apprenticeship starts that occurred on or before 31 March 2024.

What is classed as a small employer

Employers with fewer than 50 people working for them can train, at no cost, apprentices aged 16-18 or aged 19-24 who have previously been, or are, in care or who have an Education, Health and Care plan (EHCP).

This is only for apprenticeship starts that occurred on or before 31 March 2024

When does SEM need to be recorded

Training Providers must ensure apprentices employed by a small employer are recorded with the small employer indicator (SEM1) for the duration of learning that takes place with that small employer.

The small employer indicator must be recorded in each academic year that the learner is in learning with the small employer.

You only need to record this field for starts up to and including 31 March 2024. You must not record this field for new starts from 1 April 2024 (or where there is a change of employer and the apprenticeship originally started prior to 1 April 2024).

What if it is not recorded

If the small employer indicator has not been recorded and co-investment contributions are outstanding, we will not pay the completion element of the apprenticeship programme.

Retrospective recording of the small employer indicator will not remove the generation for co-investment contributions from an employer in a previous academic year.

In this scenario:

A provider must not collect that co-investment from the SEM eligible employer – it is provider error, and the employer must not pay.
You can contact the Department for Education customer service team for further assistance with this scenario and with the release of the completion payment via the Customer Help Portal.