Time off to Train Exemption not confirmed

Business Minister Mark Prisk has admitted that his recent announcement that the right to request time off to train would not apply to small companies was ‘premature’ and that the policy is still under consideration.

In a statement made to the House of Commons, Mr Prisk announced that companies with fewer than 50 employees would be exempt from the time off to train provisions.  However Mr Prisk has since retracted this and has said that no decision has been made and that the policy is still under review.

All employers should therefore work on the basis that the procedure will apply to them from 6 April 2011. The provisions have already come into force in relation to employers with 250 or more employees