REC lobbying win on time off for training

The Government has announced that its new proposals to give employees a right to request 'time off to train' would not be extended to agency workers. At one stage, it was thought that temps who are employees of their agency could be caught which would have created substantial administrative problems for the industry.

This is an important lobbying win and comes after several months of dialogue between the Recruitment and Employment Confederation and the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills.

Commenting on the change of heart, Judith Armatage, the RECís Director of Professional Development said: The REC fully supports wide access to training for temps. Indeed a focus for our work this year will be highlighting to our members how they can access funding for training temps. However we are pleased that the Government took on board our argument and that it was not practical or even logical to extend the right to request 'time off to train' to the temporary workforce.

ìPeople choose to temp precisely because it is flexible and allows students and those completing professional qualifications the time needed to complete their studies. Enshrining this as a right would not make sense as temporary workers are already able to adapt their schedule to fit their specific needs.î

The REC will now be working with the Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills to ensure that temps can maximise their training opportunities.