Employer Support Fund: guidance for providers and employers

1. How the fund will be allocated
2. Which providers are eligible
3. Which employers are eligible
4. What the fund is intended to be used for
5. Examples of eligible costs 
6. How to claim from the fund
7. Online claims tool
8. Assurance responsibilities 
9. Evidence requirements
10. Change in circumstances
11. Evaluation
12. Contact

Funding from the employer support fund (ESF) is available to support the essential costs incurred by eligible employers and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) for placements starting on or between 01 April 2026 and 31 March 2027.

How the fund will be allocated

Up to £4.92 million is available to support the ESF for the 2026 to 2027 financial year. This will support:

• employers of all sizes offering industry placements for the Health T Level, funded on an allocated basis of £800 per student
• SMEs offering industry placements for all other T Levels, excluding the Construction route for which separate funding arrangements are in place

To qualify as an SME, an enterprise must have both:

• fewer than 250 staff
• less than or equal to £44 million in annual turnover or a balance sheet total of less than or equal to £38 million

Funding for the Health T Level and for SMEs delivering all other T Levels is strictly limited to these criteria and must not be used for T Levels in the Construction route.

Which providers are eligible

Funding will be allocated to providers that:

• have an agreement to provide 16 to 19 education
• are delivering T Levels to students in the 2025 to 2026 or 2026 to 2027 academic year

Eligible T Level providers must decide whether to opt in to the fund. They will then be provided with a funding allocation. 

Providers that opt in are responsible for:

• deciding how to use this allocation to support the employers they work with in delivering placements
• ensuring spend is in line with both this guidance and the terms and conditions set out in their grant offer letter

Providers will receive allocations based on an estimate of the number of students and the assumed proportion of employers needing support. Health T Level funding will be determined by the number of students undertaking the qualification, with a fixed funding allocation at £800 per student.

The Department for Education (DfE) will pay providers every 2 months in arrears throughout the grant period, once a claim has been made through the online claims tool.

Which employers are eligible

The fund is designed to support the essential costs for:

• employers of all sizes delivering industry placements for the Health T Level
• SMEs delivering industry placements for all other T Levels, excluding the Construction route

Arm’s-length bodies (ALBs) that offer health placements – for example, NHS England (including NHS trusts and foundation trusts that fall under the oversight of NHS England) and NHS Blood and Transplant – are eligible for support from the fund. All other government departments, agencies and public bodies are ineligible for funding support.

What the fund is intended to be used for

The expectation is that the fund will support:

• employers in delivering high-quality placements that align with the principles set out in the T Level industry placements delivery guidance
• the scaling-up and expansion of placements
• the sustained use of equipment purchased through the fund for placements in subsequent years

The fund should support as many students as possible. Providers will want to determine a reasonable spend per student. For the Health T Level, funding is allocated at a fixed rate of £800 per student. 

We understand that placement costs will vary. Not all employers will need funding and not all students on placements will need support, so providers should make decisions based on individual circumstances.

It is intended to contribute towards essential costs, and it may not be sufficient to meet all requests made by employers. Providers will need to take strategic value-for-money decisions to maximise the impact of the fund, balancing the needs of various employers. They should consider this when deciding how to allocate their funding. 

Examples of eligible costs

The fund should be used for:

• administrative costs, such as setting up:
  • Processes and procedures
  • Organisational systems
  • A physical workspace to support delivery (e.g. renting or hiring additional space for placement students)

  • Staff time for placement set-up and supervision.

     

• tangible and essential costs, such as:
  • Mandatory equipment or PPE (e.g. uniforms, scrubs, safety boots, lanyards)
  • Insurance
  • ID passes or security checks (e.g. DBS, occupational health clearance) 
  • Software and licenses for IT systems 
  • Employer transport costs to deliver a simulated placement activity at a provider venue
  • Materials and supplies directly related to the industry placement
  • Training, such as specialised courses or certifications for students, or any necessary training required by the employer to support the placement (e.g. safeguarding courses for staff, manual handling, infection control, site inductions)
  • Mandatory vaccinations 
  • Workstation set up (e.g. desk, chair, laptop)
  • Digital access and licenses (e.g. student setup on IT systems, Microsoft packages, email accounts, Google Workspace licenses, Adobe)
  • Specialist tools or kit required for student involvement (e.g. scientific glassware, clinical training room access).

Clarification on specific costs

Student transport

Funding is already available to support student travel costs through:

• £550 per student industry placement funding
• 16 to 19 bursary funding

Student transport costs can only be supported via the ESF if:

• they exceed what can be covered by these existing funding routes; and
• the student is not able to self-fund

Staff hours and pay

These claims can cover the cost of staff time involved in setting up, supervising and evaluating student performance during their placements. This is particularly relevant if staff are supporting large cohorts of students. However, we expect employers to absorb these costs where possible. Employer staff time receipt form guidance contains information on claiming ESF for staff time.

The staff time receipt or invoices can be used as evidence for staff time claims and meet the requirement for a ‘receipt’. This applies to costs for placement setup, supervision, mentoring, and evaluation. 

An invoice should include the:

• number of students supported
• total hours claimed
• hourly rate (maximum £35 an hour)
• total amount claimed (including VAT)
• reason for time claimed (for example, setup, supervision, mentoring)

Provider payment

For SME placements, providers may make payments and claim from an ESF allocation on behalf of an employer if they submit a signed declaration form from the employer confirming that the expense is essential. The proof of purchase for any claim must be uploaded to the online claims tool.

Funding can be used for employer costs associated with any delivery approaches set out in the T Level industry placement delivery guidance.

Providers already receive funding to support the delivery of T Levels and the set up and management of industry placements. The ESF should therefore not be used to cover a provider’s own costs. Using the fund for this would represent double funding.

For the Health T Level, funding will be allocated to providers based on a fixed sum per student basis, irrespective of the number of employers involved in the delivery of their placement. Providers may make payment and claim from an ESF allocation on behalf of an employer if they submit a signed declaration form confirming which students have begun their industry placement.  Employers will not have to submit receipts to evidence spend for Health placements. However, providers are responsible for ensuring that funding is used to support eligible industry placements in line with the published guidance.

How to claim from the fund

To claim from the fund, employers must:  

• sign the employer declaration form (typed names will not be accepted in place of a signature)

• for SME placements, include details of costs and retain and submit receipts  

• for Health T Level placements, confirm which students have started the placement, including their unique learner number (ULN) 

• send the completed declaration form and any required receipts (in a non-editable format) to the provider  

Providers must:  

• ensure all claims are legitimate  

• upload the signed employer declaration form to the online claims tool  

• upload supporting receipts for SME placements  

Both providers and employers must retain relevant records. Receipts are not required for Health T Level placements as payments are made on a fixed cost per placement start.

Online claims tool 

The online claims tool must be accessed via DfE Sign-in. 

Following the submission of claims, providers will receive payments in line with the schedule set out below.

Deadlines for making claims and their corresponding payment dates

We encourage providers to upload claims as soon as possible to ensure timely processing. After each claim window closes, DfE will process claims and make payment.

We will not process any claims received after 31 March 2027.

All providers will receive payments from DfE directly, with the exception of maintained school sixth forms, whose payments will be made to their local authority. Those providers may want to engage with their local authorities to ensure they receive their payments.

Once providers receive a payment, they can distribute the funds to employers based on validated claims, typically via BACS. Providers will need to obtain employers’ bank details for this purpose.

There is no limit on the number of students an employer can host or the number of claims an employer can make. However, all claims must clearly state how many students are supported by each claim.

There is no maximum funding limit on the total value of claims an individual employer can make for SME placements, but providers will need to take strategic value-for-money decisions in agreeing to costs, to maximise the impact of the fund, balancing the needs of various employers.

Assurance responsibilities

We have a responsibility to make sure that public funds are managed in line with the grant funding agreements (GFAs) you hold. 

We will conduct spot checks on all claims to verify that the information submitted to the DfE is accurate. If required, we may contact the provider, employer, or both as part of that quality assurance.

At the end of the financial year, we will ask providers to confirm all the claims that they have sent to DfE via an annex Gii statement of grant usage or declaration on the online claims tool. 

Evidence requirements 

Both the provider and the employer must retain accurate records to support all funding claims submitted. 

For T Levels where the industry placement is delivered by an SME, this must include:

• The signed employer declaration form 
• All receipts and invoices for items purchased using the funding claimed 
• Evidence that the items or services purchased are in line with the funding eligibility criteria 
• Any supporting documentation requested as part of assurance or audit activity 

For the Health T Level, this must include: 

• The signed employer declaration form, confirming which students have started their industry placement
• The unique learner number (ULN)
• Any supporting documentation requested as part of assurance or audit activity

All records must be retained in line with the requirements set out in your Grant Funding Agreement (GFA) and must be provided to DfE upon request. DfE may cross-check submitted information against existing data records. Claims for SME placements and funding allocated for the Health T Level may be adjusted, offset, or recovered where information cannot be verified or where funding has not been used in line with this guidance.

Change in circumstances

If an industry placement ends unexpectedly, employers are not required to automatically repay any funding agreed. Providers and employers should discuss the situation and agree on the appropriate action. In some cases, when an employer stops offering a placement but has already claimed funding, the provider may choose to approach the employer for a refund.

Evaluation

DfE will monitor and review ESF claims data. This will help us understand the impact of the fund in supporting T Level industry placements. We may ask providers and employers to provide extra information when the fund closes in March 2027 to inform our evaluation.

Contact

For any queries about the ESF, email employer.supportfund@education.gov.uk.