Time to Train. Government has announced a review of all regulations

16 Feb 2011 Time to Train regulations will not be extended this April to employees of small and medium-sized businesses. The right for employees to request time for training to improve their skills has been available to employees of large organisations with 250 or more employees since April 2010. Following a recent consultation covering a wide range of businesses and employee groups, Ministers are taking further time to examine the potential impact of the regulation on smaller firms. Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning Minister, John Hayes said: “It is vital to the economy and individuals that everyone has access to the training they need. That is why we are investing in apprenticeships, protecting adult and community learning, and freeing colleges to respond to local needs. “But it is vital that the right balance is struck between support for training and the need to minimise the burden of regulation for smaller companies. “We have delayed implementation to allow further, thorough discussion, scrutiny and evaluation.” Background The legal right for workers in businesses with more than 250 employees to request time to take up relevant training came into effect from April 6 this year. "The Government has announced a review of all regulations in a bid to reduce burdens on business. This consultation aims to gather opinions on the right to request time to train and will feed in to the review. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is interested in hearing views on the regulation from employees, businesses and other interested parties. 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". Consultation closes on September 15. The NATECLA response can be seen here http://www.natecla.org.uk/uploads/documents/doc_3185.pdf Background: An employee in an organisation with 250 or more employees has the statutory (legal) right to request time for study or training. This right is known as 'time to train'. From 6 April 2011 the right will apply to all employees working in organisations of all sizes, regardless of how many employees there are. TUC comment http://www.tuc.org.uk/skills/tuc-18329-f0.cfm To go to the BIS consultation click 'more'

External Link: http://www.bis.gov.uk/time-to-train