What section 20 does
Routes disputes arising from the apprenticeship contract to the Apprenticeship Adviser.
Connected instrument: Adviser process
Finin2min practical reading
- Identify the apprentice category, trade, establishment jurisdiction and applicable portal before applying the provision.
- Separate statutory apprenticeship from internships, probation, traineeships and ordinary employment.
- Do not treat scheme reimbursement as a substitute for the employer’s underlying statutory obligations.
- Preserve the contract, approvals, portal trail and training evidence as one auditable file.
Employer control and evidence pack
- Executed/registered contract and portal acknowledgement
- Training plan, attendance/work diary and supervisor records
- Stipend bank/DBT evidence where relevant
- Adviser approval, correspondence or order where the section requires it
Statutory text extract
Extracted from the bundled official/consolidated source. For sections amended in 2026, the current overlay above controls over older consolidated wording.
20. Settlement of disputes.—(1) Any disagreement or dispute between an employer and an
apprentice arising out of the contract of apprenticeship shall be referred to the Apprenticeship Adviser for
decision.
(2) Any person aggrieved by the decision of the Apprenticeship Adviser under sub-section (1) may,
within thirty days from the date of communication to him of such decision, prefer an appeal against the
decision to the Apprenticeship Council and such appeal shall be heard and determined by a Committee of
that Council appointed for the purpose.
(3) The decision of the Committee under sub-section (2) and subject only to such decision, the
decision of the Apprenticeship Adviser under sub-section (1) shall be final.Compliance consequence
Failure should be tested against sections 30, 31 and 31A as in force from 22 June 2026, alongside contract termination/compensation consequences and any portal or scheme action.