Rights for Employees - Time off for Training

Rights for Employees to time off for training 

Recessions are a natural part of the business cycle according to the economists. What causes recessions seems to vary for each recession. In the nineteen seventies and eighties, it was about decaying inefficient industry practices. In the nineteen nineties a jump in oil prices coupled with a lack of consumer confidence and problems with the exchange rate mechanism caused the decline. 

Whatever the varied causes of economic downturn the consensus appears to be that businesses should resist the urge to reduce budgets for key areas of development such as training and marketing. The future success of firms emerging from the problems caused by the current crisis in liquidity will be governed to a large extent by their ability to take advantage of the opportunities presented by the post recession economy. Government proposed changes to legislation to encourage training seems to endorse this view. 

On 18 June 2008 the Government launched a consultation on granting employees the right to request time away from their mainstream duties to undertake relevant training once they have worked for their employer for 26 weeks. It is proposed that the procedure for making and responding to such requests will follow that currently used for flexible working.

Training can take the form of accredited programmes leading to a qualification or unaccredited training to develop specific job-related skills. The only requirement will be that the training should improve business performance and productivity. Employers will be entitled to refuse requests for good business reasons, including that they do not consider the training would improve business performance. The consultation closed on 10 September 2008. The Government expects to implement the right in 2010. 

Given the depth of the current economic downturn the Government might well consider bringing forward the time scale for implementing the initiative.
Wheelers LLP subscribes to the view that it is important to encourage the entrepreneurs and business people of the future. Jane Gray and Adam Workman, commercial solicitors from Wheelers LLP’s volunteer in North Hampshire to help with the national Young Enterprise programme which follows the educational approach of “learning by doing”. Schools across the country compete in a competition where students form and run companies over the academic year aided by local business people. Wheelers LLP will be sponsoring the “Blue Sky Thinking” award given to the Young Enterprise company within North Hampshire responsible for achieving the highest level of originality in the running of its business. 

If you are interested in discussing the Young Enterprise programme or Wheelers LLP’s interest in supporting the business community please contact Adam Workman by e mail at aw@wheelerslaw.co.uk