Contract for services...HELP

Hi Carla,

We incorporate the Apprenticeship Agreement into our Training Plan, there are two separate signatures for the two different auditable documents, but we combine them into the same document to send for electronic signing. TP is signed by all three parties, provider, apprentice and employer, whereas the app agreement is just signed by apprentice and employer.

The contract for services is the agreement between the provider and the employer (not apprentice), it should lay out your pricing including any additional costs, contact details, liabilities and terms for co-investment payment ((when will you invoice, how do you expect payment etc.) as well as things like ensuring apprentices get time for OTJ, paid minimum wage, minimum H&S requirements are met, employer keeps up appropriate insurances etc. 

If you are a member of AELP I believe you should be able to get a copy of their template contract agreement (approx 50 pages), we had this but as we work predominantly with large public sector bodies, we found it impossible to get them to sign, so we took out all of the legal jargon (i.e. termination, breach of contract, IP etc.) and kept it specific to the apprenticeship requirements of the two parties, ours is now 9 pages including a contacts page and a signatories page. We split ours into:

Employer Commitments

• General responsibilities (H&S, RIDDOR, access to premises, receipt of auditable evidence provided timely, notice of any changes etc.)
• Apprentice responsibilities (Min duration, OTJ, min wage, min holidays, prevent/SG responsibilities etc.)
• Funding and Financial responsibilities (DAS updates required inc. timeframes, not stopping without notice, prompt approval etc., 50% working time in England, agreement to pay co-investment (inc. Levy when funds run out), employer pays if we lose out on funding due to them not keeping us informed and a few other areas

Provider Commitment

• General responsibilities (high quality training, appropriate resources, H&S, RIDDOR, suitably qualified delivery staff, absence reporting etc.)
• Funding and Financial responsibilities (Manage funding received appropriately, ensuring co-investment is collected, ensure eligible payments such as incentives are claimed and paid timely, ensuring apprentices are eligible inc. thorough IA, only use DAS funds for eligible apprentices, contract with and make payments to EPAO as well as a list of things we won't do, such as claim duplicate funding, commence an apprentice if no prospect of them completing, ensure they meet the 50% England rule etc.)

Employer and Provider Mutual Agreeements

• Agree a written TP, ensure apprentice has obtainsed sufficient KSB's to sit EPA, ensure EPA costs are incorporated in agreeing TNP, co-operation if apprentice moves employer, ensure funds not used for ineligible costs, neither party disclose any confidential information to the other without an explicit requirement to do so etc.

Provider Training Delivery

• outline of our standard delivery including durations, methods etc.

Provider Standard Costings

• EPA costs, resit costs (how many included in original EPA cost), additional membership/exam fees, breakdown of programme funding by eligible cost line as per funding rules)

Dispute Resolution

• How we will resolve disputes internally and then further info on raising a complaint with ESFA where required

I hope this helps, you do require all three as far as I am aware, its just trying to make sure the right terms go into the right documents, we have some that duplicate for the apprentices information such as requirements for OTJ, min wage, 50% in England etc. but go into more detail in the employer contract for service.

Thanks

Louise