19-05-2017

Football clubs raided and managing directors arrested in a HMRC investigation – and still it goes on. Now football academies are being investigated for the wages being paid to apprentices.

The Telegraph reports that HMRC is scrutinising the basic salaries paid to academy scholars to decide whether they meet minimum wage regulations. Academy scholars’ wages at Premier League and Football League clubs are set at £145 per week with an increase to £155 in the second year.

HMRC is understood to be investigating whether the number of hours a week that scholars spend training and playing games equates pro rata to the government minimum wage, set at £3.50 an hour for an apprentice. Scholars’ training programmes vary from club to club but HMRC has been speaking to Premier League and Football League clubs about time scholars spend travelling to play away games or staying overnight in hotels which counts as hours at work.

The Premier League and Football League base the weekly scholar salary on a 40-hour week at the £3.50 rate. It has been a prerogative of both leagues that all scholars should be paid the same rate although once a player turns 17, he is able to sign a professional contract. The very best 17-year-olds in English football now command professional deals in the millions – despite many never having been part of their club’s first-team squad.

The competition is fierce between the top category one academies to sign the best schoolboy talent, with boys and their families agreeing “scholar plus professional” deals in which they automatically move to the latter on their 17th birthday.

As a response to HMRC inquiries, the Premier League will propose to raise the weekly wage to £165 for a first-year scholar and £175 for a second-year scholar to give the clubs a margin of error if boys are spending long periods travelling or away at tournaments. The League is eager that there is no question that boys are paid less than the minimum wage.


"I have used The Learn Centre on a number of occasions and have found it provides a great platform to gain the knowledge required to carry out my job. I started off with the Payroll Technician course and this in-depth learning gave me a great foundation of payroll knowledge to build upon and give me the confidence to progress up the career ladder, well worth it and would certainly recommend, no matter what level you are at there will be a course/qualification that can help you."

Ayman Zagloul
HR Analyst at Queen's University Belfast

View on Linkedin

Have a question?

Leave us your details or call us on 01798 861111

Ensure you're up to date and compliant

Are you happy for us to email you from time to time with payroll related information, legislation and updates?

Yes please, keep me up to date