Complete a claim for an early years financial incentive payment

Use this service to complete a claim for a £1,000 recruitment bonus.

What you’ll need to complete a claim

Once your employer has started a claim on your behalf, you’ll receive an email inviting you to complete it. The email will contain a claim reference number, which you’ll be asked to enter in the next step.

You’ll also need:

• a form of photo ID, such as a passport or driving licence - this is so that we can verify your identity via GOV.UK One Login
• your address, email address and National Insurance number
• your bank details – this is so that we can pay your recruitment bonus to you directly

The online application should take no longer than 15 minutes to complete. To protect your information, each page will time out after 30 minutes.

What happens after you complete your claim

Your claim will be approved once we confirm with your employer that you’ve:

• been in your role for 6 months
• met all the eligibility criteria

The recruitment bonus will be paid up to 6 weeks after your claim is approved.

We’ll email you and your employer:

• to let you know we're still processing your claim
• when we approve or reject your claim
• once your recruitment bonus has been paid, if your claim is approved

Get help with your claim

You can get help with your claim by contacting EY.Financial-Incentives@education.gov.uk.

Read more about the early years incentive payment for new and returning educators.