Your Rights as an Apprentice
As an apprentice, you are an employee. This means you have the same basic workplace rights as anyone else doing a job, regardless of your age or experience level.
Some employers may not realise this, or may assume apprentices can be treated differently when it comes to things like time off or working hours. They cannot. The law applies to you in the same way it applies to your colleagues.
Knowing where you stand helps you spot problems early and speak up if something does not seem right. Your contract should set out the details, so read it carefully and keep a copy.
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You are entitled to paid holiday just like any other worker. The legal minimum in the UK is 5.6 weeks per year for someone working five days a week. This works out at 28 days, and your employer can include bank holidays within that total if they choose.
If you work part time, your entitlement will be calculated on a pro rata basis. Your contract should make clear how many days you can take and whether bank holidays count towards your allowance.
Some employers offer more than the minimum, and your entitlement may increase the longer you stay with them. Check what applies to you and keep track of the days you use throughout the year. It is easy to reach the end of your leave year with unused holiday, and not all employers allow you to carry days over.
If you are unsure how your entitlement is worked out, GOV.UK has a holiday entitlement calculator that can help.
Your situation may be slightly different. ask a question below ↓ and our editorial team will reply with our advice.
Working Hours
The Working Time Regulations set limits on how many hours you can be expected to work. For most workers, this means an average of 48 hours per week, calculated over a 17 week period.
You also have the right to:
- A minimum of 11 consecutive hours off between working days
- At least one full day off each week, or two days off per fortnight
- A 20 minute break if your working day is longer than six hours
If you are under 18, different rules apply. You cannot usually work more than eight hours a day or 40 hours a week, and you are entitled to longer rest breaks.
Some workers sign an opt out agreement, which allows them to work more than 48 hours a week. You cannot be forced to sign one, and you can cancel it at any time with notice. If you feel pressured to opt out, this may be worth raising with Acas or a union if you belong to one.
What To Do If Something Is Wrong
If you think your employer is not giving you the holiday or rest breaks you are entitled to, start by checking your contract and any written policies. A calm conversation with your manager or HR team will often clear things up.
If that does not help, you can contact Acas for free advice. They offer guidance on workplace rights and can help if things become more formal. Citizens Advice is another option for general support.
You should not feel awkward about asking questions or raising concerns. These are basic legal rights, not special favours, and most employers will want to get things right once the issue is pointed out.
My Salon has no clients and i was told im not needed tomorrow should i still get paid as this is not my fault?
She has been travelling in and working all through COVID as an essential worker. She has to give 2 weeks notice for any holiday requests. We have made three requests (all well within the time scale) for her to have time off over the summer, these have all been refused by the stable. Instead she has been allocated holiday and has had one week in August that did not tally with the rest of her family. She has also been allocated two further days a Monday and Tuesday in September. We have today requested that she is allowed to have the Sunday preceding this two days so she can bolt on a weekend to booster the holiday. This again has been refused. This 4th refusal is due to senior staff being away and the rule that no more than one staff member being off at one time no matter what their rank/ experience is.
I am convinced that if an apprentice is being paid minimum money there shouldn't be an expectation for them to cover senior staff and there should be some empathy and duty of care that understands a 17 year old should be able to have a time off with family. My daughter was warned off today with manager and owner (2 to 1) stating if they get any more emails from me they will be very very angry. So there we have it - no family holiday and all us a slave to an apprentices employers whims.
I think it is exploitative and shows no concern for the wellbeing of young staff, any advice here?
I am a supported lodging carer and the girl who lives with me is an apprentice at a hairdressers
She tells me that they work for 9 hours daily and sometimes doesn't even get a lunch break.
She has one day off and one day college.
Is she working to many hours when she does Mondays /Tuesday/Friday /Saturday from 9-18.00?
Can somebody help me to help her, please
Thank you
Sonja
Many thanks
a day at university which is classed as a workking day. Is he working within the legal requirements?
I need an advice please. I volunteered for 3 months for an employer in accounting field (to see if I can manage and how we were getting on) and after 3 months (In September) both of us agreed that I should start an apprenticeship in accounting. I passed already 2 exams but the employer has not shown me anything new since then because of lack of personnel - it is 4 months later. What should I do ? I don't gain experience and I can not practice what I am studying. The training provider and my employer are in the same building knowing each other. Can I change the employer but keep the provider ? The apprenticeship is funded by the Goverment.
Thank you very much.
What can I do if I want to work more than 48 hours as an apprentice and the normal staff is allowed to do it? Can I opt out from the 48 hours working week?
Thanks
She is paid a set wage each month so during school holidays she gets the same pay each month. Does anyone know if she is still entitled to a family holiday in term time, or can they refuse because they dont work during term times?
She says she is her boss states that she is entitled to 20 days annual leave ?
Is she not entitled to 28 days annual leave? Since she is off every Sunday and Monday she misses out on any bank holidays .
She works 42 hours per week so is not a part time worker .
Many thanks
i would like to know:
1) How much should i be paid?
2) How many hours a week should i be doing?
when she finishes at 10.30 at night she sometimes has to be in again the following morning for 7.30 are these hours legal for someone so young?as they seem long days and has to work alone on the late shift.
My 20 year old daughter is doing a hairdressing apprenticeship and her employer has included Boxing Day and the 2nd January as part of her holidays and so is not getting them as part of her public holiday entitlement.
Can she do this?
Thanks
Thanks
Is this correct, can I be told to do this?
Thanks
I am 20, nearly turned 21. I have completed one year of my two year apprenticeship. For all of that year I was granted a 1 hour lunch break. (I work from 8AM to 17:30PM five days a week ((that's nine and a half hours-including my lunch. That's 47.5 hours a week, 45 hours if you take away my lunches))) My employer at the time when i first got my job said that I had a set lunch 12-1. After a year of taking that, I get a phone call from a director saying that I should be taking half an hour breaks, not an hour. I was slightly confused by this so I called HR and they said my break should consist of 30mins.
Is half an hour break acceptable for working those hours? I was just confused on it all.
Many thanks,
I am 22 and i been in a apprenticeship before from a different apprenticeship provider... i finished my level 2, however i moved to another workplace with different apprenticeship provider.. however they are paying me apprenticeship minimum wage which is 3.50, is this right ?
and also they have said to me that the employer has paid for the apprenticeship so i have to do my year in apprenticeship after that is finished i got to do another year of service with the employer if i don't i would have to pay for the apprenticeship.
The next day they said he could not do it, with no valid reason. Where do we Stand? thanks
My 18 yr old son is on a sales apprenticeship with a Ford dealership. He has recently been instructed to cover for a dismissed full time employee salesman and his rest days are : Monday, (week one) Monday, (week two) and then Saturday, Sunday, Monday (week three) recurring.
This is apparently the normal shift pattern for the other sales emplees who are on commission. My son is on £3.50 per hour and to me, it appears that he would be losing a rest day for nothing.
Please could someone advise if this new shift pattern is legal please and give their opinion.
Many thanks.
Kind regards
I had my induction yesterday and they told me, if I go off sick, or take holidays, I will not be paid. This crosses over the UK law right?
Get holiday for that day only the other four days even though he gets paid to go to collage can anybody give me advise please
Thank you
Thanks
My sons concern is that he's not being taught anything? He's told he will have something in place for sep 2017, We don't understand why he's basically wasted almost a year? Why has he not had this included as his first year? It seems to me some companies simply take advantage of the kids by using them to do the dirty work .... I'd like to know where I can complain ??
My daughter has just started an apprenticeship at a pharmacy. I can see that she cannot work more than 40 hours per week, however is this inclusive of breaks? At present my daughter is working 10.00 to 19.00 which is 9 hours or a 45 hour week with a 1 hour break per shift.
Many thanks
When I take a week off,
I am paid 40 hours.
My son is currently doing a 3 year apprenticeship. He is in his 2nd year, and attends block release every 6-8 weeks. At first it was great, he was treated well and really enjoyed it.
However, he has a new manager. The manager cancelled my son's holiday, saying that they needed everyone at work (it's a big firm with lots of workers (Motor industry)) My son then tried to book another holiday and was told he couldn't have that either. He was then told the only time he could have holiday and this was months away. Is the employer allowed to tell him when he can/cannot have holidays when it seemed like everyone else was able to have the time he had originally requested off?
Also, he is doing a level 2 course. they have just taken on a level 3 (in his first year) and are leaving my son to teach this new apprentice. My son is feeling like he is not being taught anything new and left doing continuous servicing and teaching the new lad, who by the way is earning more than him because he is doing level 3!.
I have told him to talk to his boss, but he feels that it is the boss who causing these issues, and he has also described numerous underlying 'bullying' incidents (silly things like the boss will buy coffees for everyone except my son, a group of them had arranged to go to an event, but the boss told him he couldn't then go because they needed people at work, however then arranged to go himself AND make snide comments like "I bet you wish you could go: it's going to be so much fun".
This is really making my son want to quit, but feels he cannot talk to anyone as it is the management who are the problem, and also he believes he will need to pay back the course funds and wages he has been paid so far. He feels trapped.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Many thanks
I found a nursery nurse apprenticeship at a government nursey and before I go for it because they've accepted me and want me to start but I haven't signed anything yet and I can reject them anytime. My problem was that they told me that I'm gonna work 36hours per week Monday to Friday 8:30am to 4:30pm and during that I will get a 30 minute break where I can have my lunch. I was confused about the hours and then wen I asked about the hours they told me that they wouldn't let me work more than 35 hours. I'm really confused because someone else told me that I'm supposed to get a 1 hour break if I work more than 6 hours. And also if I work more than 35 hours then I'm supposed to finish at 4 pm and my sister is a nursery nurse and she gets a 1 hour break without being interrupted. Idk should I go for it because I feel they are using and taking advantage of me because If I finish work at 4:30 I'm working overtone without being paid.
I was just wondering whether it is specified in government documents on apprenticeships or employment law the reason why apprentices have to work 30 hours and no fewer than 16. However I haven't been able to come across the reason, Is there any specific reason for the hour limit.
Thank you
I have employed a 16yr old apprentice how many hours is she allowed to work a week. i have been told by the college she can only do 10hrs a week? thanks in advance.
The company has supported the individual and allowed them to attend college whilst on full pay and with no loss of holiday entitlement.
Part of the college course module will mean being away for the weekend.
The employee believes they should receive extra holidays on top of their standard entitlement as a result of this.
What is the legal obligation of the company for this?
my parents are not happy about this at all, they are talking about having words with my boss about this.
Thank you
Should I be dropped off close to my home or Wigan, my parents are going mad about this, they believe the company is using me and not being fair.
Many thanks
Sarah
Can you please let me know who is correct?
She has said she will leave at the end of this week, in order to protect against any further bullying - but this dashes all her expectations. Does she have any other rights?
My daughter has been in an apprenticeship for just over 6 months when her employer 'let her go' without any warning but with a load of unjustifiable reasons; they have recently taken on new staff and I don't think they can afford to keep her as well. The director is a bully and despite her dedication to the firm she has endured months of unkind treatment; there are 2 apprentices remaining in the company so is not sure why she was picked out, the other 2 are male and have made more significant mistakes than she has. One of the reasons for dismissal was that they cannot afford to keep someone who makes mistakes (well she is an apprentice!). I think that there has been unfair treatment, discrimination and harassment during my daughter's time at the company and she now has to try to find another employer to continue her apprenticeship. There seems to be a grey area about her legal rights - there have been successful tribunals which are deemed to have set precedents but does anyone know for sure?
I want to take on an extra person and an apprentice seems the best way, but with the hours of work limit, I just cant see it as a practical option.
Any help or advice will be very much appreciated.
Regards
Andrew
I have employed a young Apprentice (17) on a Level 3 Health & Social Care Apprenticeship. She has been told by her Assessor that she can complete her Apprenticeship in a year and a day? What worries me as an employer is that although she may complete the academic work in that time, she still needs longer than that to gain the necessary workplace experience. What is the absolute minimum time she should be with me gaining workplace experience if the training agency has told her she can finish in a year and a day? I cannot believe that this is long enough to gain a level 3 qualification equivalent to 2 A Levels? Also surely the training agency is finishing her too early? Can someone please let me know the minimum time she should be with me? This uncertainty puts me off taking on another Apprentice. Many thanks.
Her sister knows this apprentice (unknown to her employer) and her told his new apprentice my daughter never turned up for work or her assessments which is untrue.
Where does she stand legally, can she take him to a tribunal?
Thanks in advance
Advice would be much appreciated.
Thing is girls and their horses seem to settle for all sorts of `not quite right` situations rather than be at school. The yard should register with a local Training Provider then they will register her as a Work based student or on a Study Programme and do the assessing. Speak to the BHS as they do a Showjumping Foundation Course if your daughter has some potential in this sphere.
Either way it may be that you need to check her status as due to her age she needs to be on a legitimate course or still at school till she is 18yrs.
6 weeks later, she applied for a summer job with the same employer but a different site and was taken on, she is now 22 years old and now studying for her NVQ3 , the company has refused to pay her the NMW, quoting she is a first year apprentice, the company refuses to pay for her 1 day release at college.
Is the company breaking the law by refusing to pay the NMW and her time at college, plus they refuse to give her a contract of employment.
48-hour average weekly limit that applies to them. Under-18s cannot, please see TUC link
At 17 year old, is he allowed to opt out and work longer hours if he chooses to?
Also he is at college on block release periodically, for which he is paid the JIB rate. Do his college hours count as working hours when calculating the average over the 17 week period?
Should they be left alone in the salon at any time? She has only been in the job 5 months. Should they be doing the till at the end of the day.? Other staff are bullying her not sure who to contact or talk too.
Thanks
where does he stand with his rights on this .
I started an apprenticeship a few months ago, but have had no structured training, and many a time have just been left to sit and wait for something to do (I do seek out work, to the point of pestering, and take the initiative to find bits that I can do without previous training). I brought this up with my employer and was told that if I wanted to do well in the industry I should 'teach myself'.
This is the company's first apprenticeship, and I don't think they really know what they're doing, I was given a mentor with no training experience and who is out of the office a lot.
Due to all of this, I have become very unhappy in this job, but my contract states that I must pay back any course fees and paid training days if I leave within 2 years of finishing any course. I am not in a position to pay 4000+, but I feel that I am losing my sanity in the mundanity of it all.
Please help!
They also give her so much work she isn't allowed out for lunch breaks, don't repay back the milk money for when she buys milk for the office.
She doesn't feel she can say anything to them.
Please get back to me!:)
The more we point out they're in the wrong (after reading advice on here), the more shirty and stroppy they get and keep bleating "we're a small company, not a huge business". She also worked 42 hours a week (1 day a week she was there 9-7.30pm, is this not wrong for her age??), and at times she was asked to work instead of going to college.
Please tell me I'm not losing my mind and that the employment law stands whether you employ 2 people, or 2 million people??
Yours,
Frustrated Mother...
I have a bit of a weird one here but I'm hoping someone can help me.
I have an apprenticeship within Business Administration for my local council. I am entitled to 23 days holiday a year plus bank holidays. I told my employer that I planned on taking 1 day's annual leave around the christmas and then just being off on the bank holidays and then working the rest. My employer said they would check that this is ok because they are not sure who from my team is in around that time as everyone tends to take christmas off. They said they will do everything they can to try and make sure I can be off at around christmas however it might not be possible.
I wanted to check if I have to take leave around this time if they say I do? It's not in my contract that I have to be off when they say so... therefore as far as I am aware I shouldn't have to be forced to take leave at this time. I want to be sure about my rights before I say anything though so if someone could get in touch with me it would be a great help.
Thank you and kind regards
Demi
This morning she had an assessment and was told that things were going very well, it was even written on the form completed by her training adviser & her manager.
Then at 4 pm the same day she was called in to the office and told she was not progressing well enough and her apprenticeship was ended.
This seems grossly unfair as she had only been in the post for 2 months.
She has now left can she still claim days if she's entitled ?
Our job may only be 8 hrs onsite per day but it could be away from home or travelling up to 2hrs either way, it could also mean early starts onsite
Can you advise if there's a way forward or do we have to go down alternative routes?
Is this the expectation from an employer taking on an apprentice at £2.70 per hour .
Not in the school?
I am getting no where fast...
Thank you.
You are also entitled to at least one 20 minute break for every six hours that you work and at least 11 hours off between shifts. I hope this helps.
Can anyone help me to find out how it works if the minimum wages are going up every year,does employer should put my wages up if im getting more than a minimum wage?
Thanks.
Thank you
She is 20.it is her first year.
She is left alone in salon for hours.is this legal
Thank you..
Thanks
My employer has said they will pay all of my course fees, even if the contribution is higher than the usual 750 pounds, due to my circumstances - the degree.
My employer has contacted the college with this information. I have also told the college that I am happy to pay the fees and would get a loan to do so if needed.
The other college, Bournemouth and Poole, that I have applied to for a plumbing apprenticeship course has emailed me back stating that I can not be considered for the course as I have a degree and therefore there is no funding available for this.
What can I do about this, any suggestions are appreciated.
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