Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2013, published 103rd ILC session (2014)

Paid Educational Leave Convention, 1974 (No. 140) - United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (Ratification: 1975)

Formulation and application of a policy for the promotion of paid educational leave. The Committee notes the Government’s report received in August 2013 containing detailed information in connection with its previous comments and highlights the substantial contribution from the Trades Union Congress (TUC). With respect to the “Right to Request Time to Train” scheme, introduced across Great Britain in April 2010 for those working in organizations with 250 or more employees, the Committee notes that the coalition Government decided to retain the scheme, but not to proceed with an extension envisaged by the previous Government. The Government explains that its decision recognized the need to maintain a focus on the importance of workplace training while protecting smaller businesses from potential burdens. The Committee takes note of the Government’s intention to undertake a formal evaluation of the scheme by April 2015 and that a specific appeals procedure applies in case the employer refuses to accommodate the request. The Committee notes that TUC considers that the Government’s report is misleading in that it describes a “right to request time off to train” when in fact it is the “right to request time to train”. According to TUC, this is a significant indication that the scheme was designed to trigger training for the individual, but not necessarily supported by paid educational leave. In TUC’s view, the right to request time to train does not as a statutory measure consistently fulfil the definition of paid educational leave of the Convention. With respect to the Government’s decision not to extend the right to employees working for employers of 250 individuals or less, TUC states that evidence collected in two surveys conducted by union learning representatives found that the right has been establishing itself as a way of advancing training opportunities in workplaces without creating onerous burdens on employers. The Committee invites the Government to include information in its next report on the evaluation made on the “Right to Request Time to Train” scheme. The Government is also invited to describe how it promotes the right to paid educational leave for small and medium-sized enterprises. Please continue to provide information on how the granting of paid educational leave contributes to the promotion of appropriate continuing education and training (Articles 2 and 3 of the Convention).

Leave for the purposes of trade union education. The Government indicates that it continues to fund and support Unionlearn, TUC’s learning and skills organization, and the Union Learning Fund. The Government highlights the role that Unionlearn plays in promoting apprenticeships and quality work experience for young people preparing to enter the labour market. The Committee notes that even though the Union Learning Fund does not directly fund learning courses, it provides learner support and facilities, and observes that approximately 230,000 individuals access courses each year through Unionlearn activities. The Committee also takes note that 600 union learning centres have been established; and that learning centres are increasingly being opened up to disadvantaged people in local communities. In its contribution, TUC thanks the Government for recognizing the role that it plays in engaging employers through Unionlearn, Wales TUC Learning Services, STUC and the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, but highlights that the UK Employer Survey shows that the overall picture is getting worse with 41 per cent of UK employers now reporting they did not train any of their staff in 2011. The Committee invites the Government to continue to include information in its next report on the practical implementation of section 43 of the Employment Act, 2002, and corresponding legislation in the Devolved Administrations.

Train to Gain. The Committee notes that following widespread criticism, the programme Train to Gain was abolished in 2010. The Government has subsequently reshaped and expanded the Apprenticeships programme to form the core of work-based learning and replaced the Train to Gain programme with an offer more focused on the needs of small and medium-sized enterprises. This offer comprises financial incentives to recruit apprentices, more high-level apprentices, co-funding arrangements, coaching and management training. TUC indicates that, since the abolition of the programme, the Government has removed most subsidies for adult education, including entitlements to public funding support to attain level 2 qualifications. TUC argues that this has created a large gap in public policy with regard to supporting working adults who do not hold these qualifications (now regarded as essential for employability). The Committee invites the Government to provide further information on the impact that the financial arrangements implemented after the abolishment of the Train to Gain programme have had on the propensity to grant paid educational leave.