The Time to Train regulations will not be extended this April to employees of small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs).

The right for employees to request time for training to improve their skills has been available to employees of large organisations with 250 or more employees since April 2010. Following a recent consultation covering a wide range of businesses and employee groups, Ministers are taking further time to examine the potential impact of the regulation on smaller firms.

John Hayes, the Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning Minister, has acknowledged that it is vital to the economy and individuals that everyone has access to the training they need. However, for the SME market it is vital that the right balance is struck between support for training and the need to minimise the burden of regulation for smaller companies.

The delayed implementation will allow further thorough discussion, scrutiny and evaluation, and it is hoped that it won’t be another piece of rushed policy, along with implementation of The Bribery Act and others, so watch this space.