Employment Matters April 2010

The right to request time off for training –

all you need to know

From 6 April 2010, all businesses with over 250 employees - and from April 2011 all business regardless of size - must offer employees the right to request time off work to undertake study or training. 

The Institute of Directors (IOD) has claimed that the Time to Train initiative could cost businesses as much as £555 million.  At a time when businesses are doing all they can to reduce costs, this new legislation has predictably come under a lot of criticism from employers. 

The Legals

Who is entitled?

Employees with more than 26 weeks’ service are entitled to make a request for time off.  The purpose of the training must be to improve the employee’s effectiveness at work and to improve the performance of their employer’s business. The training does not necessarily have to lead to a formal qualification. The right does not apply to agency workers, school-aged children, or 16 to 18-years-olds who qualify for a separate right to time off for training.   

The procedure

• The application must include the following information: 
• A statement that it is made under section 63D of the Employment Rights Act 1996;
• The subject matter of the training;
• Where and when it would take place;
• Who would provide or supervise it;
• What qualification (if any) it would lead to;
• How the employee thinks the study or training would improve both the employer’s effectiveness in the business, and the performance of the employer’s business.