Charmaine Keeley

EPA costs on a sliding scale?

Created

Hi all, 

One of our employers has asked to use a specific EPAO that we haven't engaged with previously. We work with another two EPAOs who have a set fee for EPA per standard. 

We have asked this third EPAO to confirm their costs and provide a copy of their standard contract and they have come saying they don't usually enter into contracts and that their costs work on a sliding scale, depending on the number attending each assessment stage. Ignore their comment about the contract part - we are insisting on one, it's the cost part that is bothering me. You can see the cost is higher if we put forward one apprentice and decreases if we have 2, 3 and 4 apprentices.

How on earth are we meant to work with this? We have potentially 7 apprentices to put with this EPAO, but I can't predict how many will make it to EPA, or at what time, so I've no way of knowing how many will go in together. What cost am I meant to use on the funding agreement and TNP2?

Has anyone else encountered similar before? This isn't a small EPAO so other providers must be working with this somehow but I know from our last audit that we had to provide copies of our contract with the EPAO confirming costs, then EPA invoices and proof of payment, and that all had to match up with the ILR data. I just don't see how we can do that in this scenario? 

Any help much appreciated!

Charmaine

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Ruth Canham-James

We had one like that. Whilst we're not supposed to estimate the Assessment Price, I argued that entering the highest 1:1 price was a reasonable assumption. If any apprentices then ended up getting a multi-person discount (which is generally identified pretty last minute), we then just reduced the assessment TNP2, and the employer gets that discount. We don't increase the TNP1 to keep the total the same, as how can you justify you training price just suddenly going up because we happen to get a discount? If we could afford to deliver for band max minus the 1:1 price, then nothing has changed for the provider. That does then means a late DLOCK on price 🙄 It can also cause some on programme payment clawback if you change it post PED.

Steve Hewitt

Yes, this seems like the least worst option...

Charmaine Keeley

Thank you both, well do as you did Ruth. That option makes the most sense.