Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2019, published 109th ILC session (2021)

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

The Committee notes the observations of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), communicated with the Government’s report on 3 October 2018, as well as the Government’s response thereto.

Articles 2–5 of the Convention. Formulation and application of a policy for the promotion of paid educational leave. The Government indicates that arrangements for paid educational leave have traditionally been made under voluntary agreements between employees and employers. The Government nevertheless refers to a series of training and learning measures that aim to promote increased access to paid educational leave. The Committee recalls that, following the 2011 consultations on the “Right to Request Time to Train” scheme, the coalition Government decided to retain the scheme, but not to extend it to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The Committee takes note of the report of the Institute for Employment Studies, published in October 2017, which noted that there was considerable variation across economic sectors in terms of awareness and use of the scheme, concluding that, although SMEs would have to accommodate higher set-up costs to administer and implement the scheme, the data gathered from the implementation of the current arrangements in larger organizations suggested that this could be accommodated if the scheme were extended to SMEs. The Government also reports on a series of new steps taken introducing stronger incentives to encourage employers to invest in training for staff, including the establishment of a National Retraining Scheme, which aims to provide individuals – particularly those hardest to reach – with the skills they need to respond to employers’ needs in a changing economy. In its observations, the TUC welcomes this initiative and the Government’s commitment to a social partnership approach in its development and implementation. In response to the Committee’s previous comments, the Government indicates that there has been no analysis of the direct impact of the abolishment of the Train to Gain programme on the propensity to grant paid educational leave. It adds that, following the abolition of the programme, better-targeted entitlements to learning were introduced. These are funded through the Adult Education Budget and focus particularly on young adults, persons with low skills, and unemployed people who are actively seeking work. It also indicates that a series of skills policies, including apprenticeships, promote paid educational leave provision and constitute the policy response to the vocational objectives described in (a) and (d) of Article 3 of the Convention. In this context, the Committee notes the establishment of the Institute for Apprenticeships in April 2017, to ensure the quality of apprenticeship standards and the introduction of the Apprenticeships Regulations in 2017, giving all apprentices the right to off-the-job training for 20 per cent of their working time. It also notes the introduction of the apprenticeship levy in 2017 to be charged on employers’ pay bills to raise apprenticeship quality and create long-term, sustainable investment in training. The Committee notes that, for employers that do not pay the apprenticeships levy, the Government pays 90 per cent of the cost of training and assessment for apprentices. The TUC welcomes the measures designed to boost employers’ investment in apprenticeships, but observes that low-quality apprenticeships are incentivized by the low National Minimum Wage (NMW) rates applicable to apprentices. It observes that enforcement of NMW rates is very weak, pointing to the latest government survey, which shows that nearly one fifth of apprentices are paid below the NMW rate for apprentices. Moreover, the TUC points out that fewer than five employers who failed to pay the NMW for apprentices were prosecuted between January 2016 and June 2017. The TUC calls for the apprenticeship NMW (ANMW) rate to be aligned to the youth NMW rate and to be restricted to young apprentices and other young workers who are under 21 years of age. The Committee notes the Government’s reply, according to which the ANMW is set at a rate that acknowledges the costs for employers and benefits for young people involved in the provision of apprenticeships and which does not adversely affect apprenticeship opportunities in the labour market. The Government indicates that, when the rate was introduced in 2010, it was in line with existing minimum pay levels for apprentices in England and that the Department for Education has asked the Low Pay Commission to consider the ANMW in the context of the ambitions for a world-class apprenticeship programme. Regarding the enforcement of the NMW, the Government indicates that it is carrying out targeted enforcement where a high risk of non-payment of the NMW is identified and is committed to cracking down on employers who break the NMW law. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on any developments relating to an extension of the “Right to Request Time to Train” scheme to small and medium-sized enterprises. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the measures taken or envisaged in consultation with the representative employers’ and workers’ organizations, including through the establishment of a National Retraining Scheme, to promote the granting of paid educational leave.

Article 2(c). Paid educational leave for the purpose of trade union education. In response to the Committee’s previous comments concerning the practical implementation of section 43 of the Employment Act 2002, the Government refers to the duty of the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) to provide practical guidance on the time off that an employer should grant to a trade union official or to a trade union member under the ACAS Code of Practice on time off for trade union duties and activities. The Government indicates that it continues to support Unionlearn, an organization of the TUC which aims to help embed a culture of learning throughout working lives, and which is funded by the Union Learning Fund (ULF). The Committee notes that every year, more than 42,000 union representatives, including union health and safety representatives and Unionlearn representatives, are trained through the TUC Education Service. The Committee requests the Government to include updated detailed information in its next report on the practical implementation of section 43 of the Employment Act, 2002, and corresponding legislation.

Article 8. Equal access of workers to paid educational leave. The Committee notes that the Government provides additional financial support to ensure that high quality apprenticeships are accessible to persons from all backgrounds, under-represented groups and those facing traditional and more recent barriers, including: young people and care leavers, people with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, women, and people from ethnic minority backgrounds. The TUC welcomes the initiatives taken, which seek to boost access to high-quality apprenticeships for specific groups. It indicates that Unionlearn is currently producing a series of apprenticeship equality and diversity guides for union representatives to encourage employers to recruit from among these groups. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the nature and impact of measures adopted or envisaged with a view to ensuring that all workers have equal access to paid educational leave.