Everyone has some rights to be educated and trained. Education is compulsory to the age of 16 (with a move to 18 promised) but there are also rights that apply at all ages and to all workers. This page lists your rights as either 'employees' or 'workers' and provides links and resources so you will be able to find out more.
If you are a trade union rep then there are additional rights available to enable to you attend trade union organised education & training - please see the menu item to the left of this page and thesection below.
The Right to Request Time off for Training
One of the last acts of the last labour government was, in April 2010, to introduce a brand new right to request time of to train.The 'right' is limited to employees working in organisations with over 250 people until April 2011 when the right extends to all employees. The 'right' does not include self-employed or freelance workers (agency workers must apply to the employing agency).To find out more about how to use this right go to the government information website or download the unionlearn guide pictured here.
Training rights for apprentices
Apprenticeships have become a vital part of the vocational training infrastructure in the UK - after falling out of favour for 25 years (despite the best efforts of trade unions). There continues to be much abuse and it is well worth checking out the code of practice endorsed by the Arts Council, CCSkills and Skillset.Apprentices have new rights to a minimum wage (£95 in 2010) which adds up to half the average wage for apprentices. Critically, all apprentices must be part of an apprentice framework which lays down rights to 'on-the-job' and 'off-the-job' training. 30% of an annual entitlement 280 guided learning hours are the minimum - more details from the TUC apprenticeship 'toolkit'.
All apprenticeships must end with a recognised qualification and include 'functional skills' such as literacy, numeracy and ITC. Download the TUC guide pictured here.
Rights to train for union representatives and shop stewards
Members of trade unions who have been appointed or elected representatives - and who work for employers who recognise the union for collective bargaining - are entitled to a range of rights to train and to secure paid release to do so. Even where BECTU is not recognised, employers often recognise the benefit of having a trained local rep - so always ask.Any training that is relevant to the responsibilties of the union rep will qualify - only limited by reasonableness of the request and relevance of the course. All BECTU courses and most TUC courses qualify. For more information download the ACAS code pictured here.
Please contact your National Official or the Training Officer if you have any concerns about securing this right,
Rights for freelances
There are no legal rights to train as such for freelance members but there are other related rights that can help them access training. This advice refers to members who are registered as self-employed.
Money spent on training courses can be counted as legitimate 'business expenditure' as long as the course is 'wholly and exclusively' for the business and certain other conditions are met, including not being capital expenditure and not being from a class of non-allowable expenditures. All the details are on the HMRC website. You will need to be careful that the expenditure is an expense (to enable your business to succeed) and not an investment (to take on new areas and opportunities), as the latter may be counted as capital and therefore excluded. Take advice from your accountant first, but you should be able to deduct the costs of training from your business income before calculating tax.
Freelances members should also check the Sector Skils Councils to see if they have any support for freelances. For example Skillset has specific freelance training funds (film, TV and radio) which offer support to people have been working in the sector for at least 2 years.
