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Bosses should take account of new time off regulations warns lawyer
Published July 2008
A senior employment lawyer has warned bosses to take account of a new employment right planned for 2010 that will encourage workers to request time off for training away from the work place.
Sally Morris, a partner and head of employment law at law firm MFG Solicitors, said that consultation paper had been released by the Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills on a proposed new employment right to request time off for training.
Skills Secretary John Denham had outlined details of how up to 22 million workers in England would be able to use a new legal right to request time off to train.
He indicated that this new right could be in force by 2010.
Sally Morris said: “The plan is that employees who have been with a company for more than 26 weeks could request time away from work to undertake relevant training.”
The rationale behind the right to time off was that the training should help to improve business performance and productivity.
“Employers would be obliged to consider seriously these requests, but could refuse where they found there was a good business reason for refusing.
“They could argue for example that the training envisaged did nothing to assist in the improvement of business performance.
“It would operate in a similar way to requests for flexible working.”
