From April 2010, employees who have worked in a large business for a period to be specified in regulations (likely to be 26 weeks) will have a legal right to request unpaid time away from their core duties (whether on or off site) for training purposes . A large business in this context is one which employs at least 250 staff. The current intention is for the right to be extended to cover employees in businesses of all sizes in April 2011.
From a legal point of view the proposals will work in much the same way as the provisions under which employees already have the right to request flexible working arrangements. Thus employers will be legally obliged to consider any such requests seriously and only to reject them if there are sound business reasons for doing so. Employers will also be able to turn down requests if the training suggested will not help "the employee’s effectiveness in the employer’s business and the performance of the employer’s business".
The basic detail is set out in new sections introduced into the Employment Rights Act 1996 by the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009 which received Royal Assent on 12th November 2009. The Act extends to Scotland.
Further detail is to be in regulations which have not yet been issued (and therefore information in this note must be read as being subject to possible change depending on the detail of the regulations). The Government produced a guidance leaflet in November 2009 which includes some of the detail to be included in the regulations.
Emplaw