PAYE56120 - Employer returns: apprenticeship levy: payment lock

The FPS charge is created on the 5^th of each month but the employer has up until the 19^th to submit their Apprenticeship Levy EPS. This creates a two-part charge process because the employer is only expected to submit a single payment to cover both aspects (the FPS and Apprenticeship Levy).

If the employer pays the combined amount before the 19th but the Apprenticeship Levy EPS has yet to be received, the money paid to cover the levy could, in accordance with ETMP payment allocation rules, move back to clear older debts such as disputed charges.

To prevent this from happening, a new A Lock (Apprenticeship Lock) has been introduced. The process works as follows –

                - FPS charge is created on the 5^th of each month (visible in ETMP from 7^th onwards)

- The Apprenticeship Levy EPS (EPS AL) is due on the 19^th of each month

- The A lock will be set automatically on any payment received between 5^th and 22^nd of the month, where the PAYE scheme is identified as an Apprenticeship Levy case

- The payment will unlock automatically either when it receives the EPS AL or on the 22^nd of the month (in which case normal payment allocation rules will be applied)

- Staff should not set or unset the A lock: this is an automatic process only.