End of the scheme?
The Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) have recently opened up a consultation to review the present right of employees to request time off from work for training which could see the scheme scrapped altogether.
We have taken this opportunity to speak with mhl support’s Employment Law Compliance Officer, Brendan Wincott, who has offered us his thoughts on what this latest consultation will mean for employers.
Brendan explained that “the right to request time off from work for the purposes of training was introduced for larger employers (those employing 250 or more staff) in April 2010 and under the plans of the previous Labour Government, this was set to be rolled out to all employers from April 2011. However, in keeping with their pledge to review all legislation in the pipeline made under the previous Government, the Coalition is proposing through the BIS consultation to either scrap the scheme altogether, keep it as it presently is in that it applies only for employers with 250 staff or more, or to continue with the proposals to extend it to all employers from April 2011.”
Brendan went on to explain that “this is only a consultation at this stage, so we will have to wait until December later this year for the results of the consultations to be published before we know for sure what will happen.”
When asked if many employees have taken up this new right, Brendan explained that “I am not aware that as an organisation, we have had a single enquiry yet from a client who has a staff member requesting time off for training, and either employers are clear on exactly what needs to happen and are not seeking advice, or more likely, staff members are just not requesting time off for training under the new provisions. Some are perhaps just requesting training aside from the statutory framework which would have always been the case before the new provisions were implemented.”
Employers and employees are invited to contribute to the consultation, and those wishing to do so should refer to the BIS website. The closing date for input into the consultation is 15th September 2010.
If you want to learn more about the latest proposal and are an existing client, please call one of the team today on 08453 100 999 quoting your PCN number. If you are not already a client, but are interested in learning more about the services mhl provide, please call Katy Vaughan today on 08453 100 600 for your free no obligation quote.
This News Release is intended to provide a general overview and discussion of the subject matter. It is not however, intended to give advice or to act as a substitute to taking legal advice from our Support Line in any specific situation. mhl accepts no liability or responsibility for the information contained within this news release. If you would like specific advice about this subject matter, please contact one of the Employment Law Team today on 08453 100 999.
