Following the introduction in April of the legal right for workers in large organisations to request time off for training, the government has now announced a review of the regulation in order to “reduce burdens on business”.
This consultation will feed into a wider review of all regulations that the previous government had planned.
The Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009 introduced the right to request time to train for employees in organisations with more than 250 employees in England, Scotland and Wales with effect from April 2010. The legislation extended the right to employees in small and medium sized organisations from April 2011.
This consultation is specifically seeking views on whether:
- The right should be repealed
- The right should be retained only for large organisations
- The right should be extended to small and medium sized organisations from April 2011 as planned
- The right, if retained for large organisations or extended, could be amended in order to reduce the burden on employers who already train in a way that does not increase complexity or reduce legal certainty.
The consultation will be shorter than the normal 12 weeks because the government says that the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills previously consulted on the implementation of the right to request time to train in 2008.
It will, therefore, close on 15 September to allow all representations to be made before the 17 September deadline for submissions to the next meeting of the Reducing Regulation Committee. The government response will be published in December 2010.
To access the document, go to: http://www.bis.gov.uk/time-to-train