20th
You have the right to request time off to train…
Did you know that if you are employed in the UK then you have the right to request time off to train?
This right is currently applicable if the company employs more than 250 people, but from April 6th, 2011, the right will apply regardless of how many employees there are.
It may be that your company already has a system in place, however, if not, you can use this training request so long as you are a) an employee; and b) have been working for at least 26 weeks with the employer
Under the time off to train right, you can request training leading to a qualification and training to help you develop relevant work based skills and there is no time limit for the length of time that the study or training may take.
Your training request can be delivered in a number of ways. So, eLearning from your place of work (or home) is ok. Delivered at work is ok. Supervised or unsupervised is ok. In or out of the UK is ok.
Your employer doesn’t have to pay for the training, but, it may well be that if they recognise the benefit of the training to their business they may be happy to pay… We suggest you point out the benefits to them and ask them to at least contribute to the costs! And if there are more than 3 of you from your company, please contact us as we may be able to offer your employer a ‘corporate’ deal.
Although you have the right to request the time to train, your employer doesn’t have to pay you during the training time… They may suggest you make up the time with flexible working hours. Be aware that there are different rules where training time is treated as working time for National Minimum Wage and Working Time Regulations purposes.
You can read more about the current legislation on the DirectGov website
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