Training rights hit the buffers – for now

Employment Law & HR update - 8/7/2011

The right for employees to request “time off to train” from their employers will not be extended to SMEs until 2015 at the earliest, the Government has confirmed. In its response to a recent consultation on the issue, the Government has concluded that opinion on the subject is “extremely polarised” – but while there is no strong appetite for the scheme to be extended, there is no clear consensus that the current scheme should be dropped altogether either.

The right to request time off to train was introduced in 2010 and applies to all employers with 250 or more staff. Employers do not have to pay for the training requested, but they do have a duty to consider requests, and to comply with a legal procedure when they do so. The right was originally intended to be extended to apply to all businesses from April this year, but was put on hold by the incoming coalition government.

The right will continue to apply, as now, to employers with 250 or more employees, but will not be extended to SMEs until at least 2015.