- the payment of fees for a training course or course of study;
- the employer to provide training during working hours;
- the employer to devise and implement a personal development plan;
- a change in the employee's duties;
- a change to part-time work to enable the employee to complete a course of study; or
- an entitlement to work from home on the day of study or training.
To be valid, the request must be for a measure that will enable the employee to undertake the study or training.
Where an employer grants a request for time off for study or training, the employee has no right under these provisions to be paid for the time taken, although it is open to employers to do so if they wish.
The right to make an application in relation to study or training applies to employees (including part-time and fixed-term employees) with at least 26 weeks' continuous service.
The right does not apply to:
- agency workers;
- individuals of compulsory school age;
- employees aged 16 and 17 who are obliged to participate in education or training under the terms of the Education and Skills Act 2008 (or who have reached 18 and are still pursuing a course for these purposes); and
- employees aged 16 and 17 who qualify for the right to time off for study or training under s.63A of the Employment Rights Act 1996.
Employers are required to consider only one application from an employee in any 12-month period, unless the employee has been unable to start the study or training that was the subject of an earlier application because of circumstances outside his or her control.
As with flexible working requests, employers must seriously consider requests in relation to study or training and follow a set procedure when dealing with requests and giving their response. However, it is up to employers whether they grant a request in full, in part or not at all. A request can be refused only on one or more specified business grounds. The grounds are:
- the fact that the proposed study or training will not improve the employee's effectiveness in the employer's business and the performance of the business;
- the cost burden of the proposed study or training;
- a detrimental effect on the ability to meet customer demand;
- an inability to reorganise work among existing staff;
- an inability to recruit additional staff;
- a detrimental impact on quality;
- a detrimental impact on performance;
- the insufficiency of work during the periods that the employee proposes to work; and planned structual changes.
One area to be mindful of is the need to apply such decisions consistently. However, you could set different criteria depending on:
- Whether the request relates to a formal qualification that will have a direct benefit to the organisation (such as an Accountancy qualification);
- The number of previous requests already granted, i.e. you would not allow more than a certain number of people from the same team to have time off in the same period. In such circumstances you may decide to provisionally authorise the request – but to start at a later date.
Where you believe you will get a number of requests for individuals to undertake such training it would be sensible to set out the process for applying, together with any criteria you would apply, within a formal policy.
If you would like assistance in drafting a policy that is right for your organisation, please
email us, or ring Barry Rees on 07860 222237.
|
