Right to request Time Off for Training

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has just issued a Press Release announcing that the right to request time off for training is not going to be extended to all employees from April 2011.

The right to request time off for training was introduced for employees of large employers (250+ employees) in April 2010, with a view to it being extended to all employers from April 2011. The maximum penalty for an employer which failed to consider such a request is eight weeks' pay. In November 2010, the government announced that employers with fewer than 50 employees would be exempt. The announcement today means that the right will not be extended as previously anticipated.