UK businesses can claim £3,000 per young hire from today
Key Points
- Youth Jobs Grant opens 30 June 2026
- Pays employers £3,000 per eligible hire aged 18 to 24
- Worker must have been out of work six months
- Paid in two instalments: £1,800 then £1,200
- Targets 60,000 young people over three years
UK businesses can claim £3,000 for every young person they hire from tomorrow under a new government grant.
The Youth Jobs Grant opens on Tuesday 30 June 2026 and pays employers £3,000 for each eligible worker aged 18 to 24 who has been out of work for six months.
The Department for Work and Pensions expects the scheme to help up to 60,000 young people take their first steps into work over the next three years.
Attractions operator Merlin Entertainments is among the first major backers, committing to create 300 jobs for young people over the same period.
Employers apply through an online form and receive the money in two instalments once the DWP verifies employment and earnings.
The first payment of £1,800 lands after six weeks, followed by £1,200 after 18 weeks, provided grant conditions are met. A jobcentre identifies the eligible young person, and verification takes place within 10 working days of a hire.
The grant forms part of a wider £2.5 billion drive built around two measures: the Youth Jobs Grant and the Jobs Guarantee.
The Jobs Guarantee launched in April 2026 across six areas and offers a fully funded six-month job to young people aged 18 to 24 who have claimed Universal Credit and looked for work for 18 months.
Under that scheme the government covers 100% of employment costs for up to 25 hours a week at the relevant minimum wage, alongside employability support.
The six pilot areas are Birmingham and Solihull, the East Midlands, Greater Manchester, Hertfordshire and Essex, Central and East Scotland, and Southwest and Southeast Wales.
Merlin operates more than 20 UK destinations, including LEGOLAND Windsor, Chessington World of Adventures, Alton Towers and London’s SEA LIFE Aquarium.
Many of its 300 roles will run through the Jobs Guarantee, starting at the company’s four resort theme parks, and span hospitality, guest experience, technology and marketing. The company will also use the Growth & Skills Levy to open apprenticeship routes through its Engineering Academy.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden host a roundtable in Downing Street today with hospitality businesses supporting the scheme.
Starmer said the measures put in place “the building blocks of real reform to expand opportunity for young people”. McFadden said the government is backing employers “with a £3,000 grant to take a chance on young people who are ready to work and need that first step on the ladder”.
Fiona Eastwood, Merlin’s chief executive, said the company would harness its scale to open 300 opportunities over three years and described the grant as a practical step that lets businesses invest in young people with confidence.
Expanded job centres
Separately, jobcentres across Great Britain begin delivering expanded support for young people from today, Monday 29 June 2026. The support reaches every jobcentre after an initial launch in April across 81 sites.
Over the next three years, nearly one million young people who are not earning or learning by week 13 of their Universal Credit claim will receive an in-depth meeting with a dedicated work coach.
Eligibility for the expanded jobcentre support covers young people aged 16 to 24 making a new Universal Credit claim who are placed in the Intensive Work Search, Work Focused Interview, or Work Preparation regimes.
Participation is mandatory for those in Intensive Work Search and voluntary for the other two groups. The package includes a reframed Employment and Skills Review at week two, weekly appointments, and a Youth Guarantee Gateway meeting at week 13 followed by four weeks of intensive help, during which young people are offered up to six options spanning work, work experience, apprenticeships, training or learning.
The Jobs Guarantee pilot will support more than 1,000 young people across the six areas.
Young people with health conditions and disabilities can join the scheme, and all participants receive pre-employment training covering both the specific role and soft skills such as confident speaking and time management.
