The Government is seeking views on whether legislation covering the ‘right to request time to train’ should be repealed, retained for large organisations, or extended to small and medium-sized organisations, as planned.
The legal right to allow workers in businesses with more than 250 employees to request time off for relevant training only came into effect on 6 April this year under the Employee Study and Training (Eligibility, Complaints and Remedies) Regulations. However, in a bid to reduce burdens on business, the Government has announced a review of all regulations.
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is interested in hearing views on the regulation from employees, businesses and other interested parties.
Education minister, John Hayes, said: “Before we make any decisions about the future of the right to request time to train, it is important that we gauge views of the regulation and whether it is improving training opportunities for employees.
“We believe it is important that all regulations are properly scrutinised and we are therefore interested in hearing views on the future of this right and its role in promoting training in the workplace, which I see as vital to our economic success.”
The TUC warned that any move to retract support for training could harm the UK’s economic standing. The trade-union body’s general secretary Brendan Barber said: “Since its introduction earlier this year, the right to request time to train has opened new doors for workers to get the skills they need to further their careers.
“But having already consulted extensively, we are concerned that this latest consultation will simply weaken the right as a favour to business organisations who consider support to train staff as nothing more than burdensome red tape.
“Ten million workers received no training last year. Reducing existing support for staff will send out a powerful message that the UK Government and its business representatives do not consider skills a priority – a short-term attitude that will damage our future economic competitiveness.”
The consultation closes on 15 September – well ahead of the default 12 weeks, as the Department previously consulted on the implementation of the right to request time to train in 2008. It will to allow all representations to be made before the 17 September deadline for submissions to the next meeting of the Reducing Regulation Committee.
The consultation document is available to download at: www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/further-education-skills/docs/t/10-1107-time-to-train-consultation.pdf Responses should be e-mailed to: [email protected]
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