Soon workers will have right to request time for training
From April this year 11m workers in the UK will have the right to request time to train from their employers and this right will be extended to cover employees in all businesses from April next year.
Employees will be able to request training on accredited programmes leading to a qualification, or for unaccredited training to help them develop specific skills relevant to their job.
The government says that employee requests may involve agreeing time away from their duties and its focus is on creating a framework for employers to agree relevant training with their staff.
Skills minister Kevin Brennan said: “Now, more than ever, we need learning and training opportunities in place that empower people to gain the skills and training they need to get on.
“Many businesses and organisations are really good at training their staff and already recognise the benefits of having a highly skilled and motivated workforce. While two-thirds of businesses do train their staff, we need to encourage employers and employees who do not to speak about training opportunities.”
Guidance made available today on BusinessLink, the free government business advice and support service, informs employers of their obligations in April.
It says they are required to consider any requests and respond to them within a set timeframe.
Requests can be turned down if there is what the government calls “a good business reason to do so”. This includes where it is not believed the training will help improve business performance.
The right to request time for training is reserved for employees with at least 26 weeks continual employment with an organisation on the date they make their request. The DirectGov government website sets out in more detail how workers should go about making a request under the new right.
All employees in businesses with 250 employees or more will be able to make requests from 6th April 2010. This will be extended to cover employees in all businesses from 6th April 2011. The government hopes this phased approach will give smaller organisations more time to prepare.
There is no limit on the amount of time, or the amount of study or training, that an employee can request meaning that staff can ask to undertake more than one piece of training in a single request, for example where they would like to improve their literacy and numeracy skills in addition to another piece of training.
The initiative was included in Labour’s Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act, which was passed in November 2009.
By Martin Kornacki (14-01-2010)
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