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Red tape on training needs to be reduced

Aug 26 2008

Small businesses could face additional regulation by the government if they are forced to undertake formal meetings with employees who request time off to train, warns the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB).

Responding to a consultation on the government’s push for employees to have the right to request time off to train, the FSB has urged the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills to create an exemption for businesses with zero to twenty employees to be able to hold informal meetings without the need for union representation.

According to the FSB’s biennial survey of 20,000 small business owners, 76 per cent of businesses undertake some form of training. A significant percentage of that training is not recognised by government.

Colin Willman, education and skills chairman at the FSB, says that ‘the best way to engage small businesses with the policy is to keep it informal between employer and employee, making it easier to identify the necessary training’.

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