Time off for study or training 





Employees in organisations with 250 employees or more have a statutory right to request time off for study or training if they have six months’ continuous service and are over 18. (Those aged 16 to 18 have separate rights to time off for study or training). An employee whose application is rejected must wait 12 months before making a fresh statutory request.





The procedure for making and handling a request for time off is governed by the Employee Study and Training (Procedural Requirements) Regulations 2010. The employee must write to the employer stating that the application is being made under section 63D of the ERA 96 to take time off to study or train; and explain:



• what the study or training is; 





• where and when it will take place; 





• who will provide or supervise it; and





• what qualification it will lead to and how it will improve the employee’s effectiveness at work and the performance of the employer’s business.





Within 28 days of receiving the request, the employer must hold a meeting. The employee can bring a workplace companion, who is entitled to paid time off to attend. The employer must discuss the request with the individual and seriously consider it. The employer can turn it down, but only for one of the following reasons: 





• the training would not improve the employee’s effectiveness in, or the performance of, the employer’s business; 





• costs to the employer; 





• detrimental impact on quality, performance or ability to meet customer demand; 





• inability to reorganise work among existing staff or to recruit extra staff; 





• reduced workload in the periods when the employee is still available; and





• a planned reorganisation.





An employee dissatisfied with the employer’s decision (which must be received within 14 days of the hearing) can appeal. The employer has 14 days from the appeal meeting to give its decision.





A successful tribunal claim for breach of these regulations can produce an award of up to eight weeks’ pay, capped at £525 a week (2019-20). Only employees have this right.





Acas EC applies. For information on Acas EC, see Chapter 14.