Study or training requests: case study

Kathryn Weaver of Lewis Silkin continues a series of articles on the right to make a request in relation to study or training with a case study that looks at a situation in which an employee makes a request for time off for training and payment of course fees under the new study or training request provisions. 

Kate works as an office junior in the conveyancing department of a law firm, HIP LLP. She has worked for the firm part time, in the afternoons, for two years and has ambitions to become a legal secretary. The department has eight legal secretaries and another office junior who works part time in the mornings. The firm has 350 employees. Kate sends her line manager, Sheila, a dated email that says: "Hi Sheila, I have found this great legal secretarial course that I would like to attend, run by Citysecs Ltd, the training institute just down the road from here. It costs £800 and would mean me leaving the office two hours early on Tuesdays and Thursdays for six months but I think it would be great for the firm and for me.  Do you think it would be ok for me to take this time off and for the firm to pay for the course? Thanks, Kate."

Is Kate entitled to make this request and is her request valid?

Kate is eligible to make a request in relation to study or training as she is an employee of HIP LLP and has worked for the firm for two years, well in excess of the continuous service qualifying period of 26 weeks. As HIP LLP has 350 employees, it comes within the scope of the legislation on study or training requests. From 6 April 2010, the right to make a request applies to employees who work for employers with 250 or more employees. The right will be extended to employees of all employers, from 6 April 2011. (See Study or training requests: overview in this series for more details of the right to request and the eligibility requirements.)

However, Kate has complied with only some of the statutory requirements for making a request. She has put her request in writing, her email to Sheila is dated, and she has given the subject matter of the training, stated when and where it will take place and who will be providing it. She has not stated:

• that the request is a statutory request in relation to study or training;
• to what qualification (if any) the course would lead;
• how she thinks that the study or training would improve both her effectiveness at work and the performance of HIP LLP's business; or
• whether or not she has made a previous request, and if she has, the date of that application and how it was made.

As Kate's request does not comply with all the statutory requirements, Sheila should point out to Kate what she needs to do to make her request valid. Kate should provide Sheila with a revised request.

Kate provides Sheila with a revised request stating that: she is making a study or training request under the statutory provisions; the course will lead to a diploma; she believes that the course will help her learn new skills and advance her career; and the conveyancing department will benefit by being able to use her for more complicated tasks and sharing the legal secretarial workload.

Sheila recognises the benefits that the course could have for Kate and believes that it would be useful for the department to have an extra legal secretarial resource. However, she is concerned about the cost and difficulty of covering Kate's absence. Also, there is no money in her department budget to pay for Kate's training.

Does HIP LLP have to agree to Kate's request?

HIP LLP does not have to agree to Kate's request. However, it is obliged to consider it. If Sheila is not in a position to agree to Kate's request outright, she must hold a meeting with her to discuss the request, within 28 days of receiving it. She should arrange the meeting at a time and place that is also convenient for Kate. Prior to the meeting, Sheila should inform Kate of her right to be accompanied by a colleague of her choice.

Sheila holds the meeting with Kate and listens to Kate's suggestions about how her four hours' absence could be covered if HIP LLP recruited someone to cover the hours or if it shared her work among the legal secretaries. Sheila considers that it will be too costly to recruit someone temporarily to cover the four hours a week and too difficult to reorganise work among existing staff as the legal secretaries are working to capacity and the other office junior works only in the mornings. She does not think that the department can do without Kate during the time that she has requested to take off. For these reasons, she decides to refuse Kate's request.

Can HIP LLP rely on these reasons to refuse Kate's request?

Employers can refuse requests in relation to study or training only on one or more specified business grounds (see Study or training requests: procedure in this series for details of the permitted business grounds for refusal). Permitted grounds include an inability to reorganise work among existing staff and an inability to recruit additional staff. HIP LLP could try to rely on these reasons as its grounds for refusing Kate's request.

How should Sheila inform Kate of her decision?

Sheila should set out her decision in writing. Her notification should be dated and sent to Kate within 14 days of the meeting. She should specify which of the business grounds for refusal apply, and give a sufficient explanation as to why they apply. She should also state that Kate has the right to appeal within 14 days of the refusal and set out the appeal procedure.

Kate is upset that her request has been refused and talks to the other office junior, Mary, about this. Mary says that she recently left the part-time job that she used to do in the afternoons and is looking for some extra hours, so she would be willing to cover the four hours a week that Kate wants to take off. With this new information, Kate decides to appeal against Sheila's decision and writes to her within 14 days of that decision, dating her letter and setting out her grounds of appeal. She says that her four hours' absence could be covered by Mary with no extra cost or disruption to the business.

What should Sheila do next?

If Sheila is happy to uphold Kate's appeal, she should notify her of this in writing within 14 days of receiving her letter. However, if she wants to discuss Kate's appeal further, she should hold an appeal meeting with her within 14 days of receiving her letter, or, ideally, arrange for another manager to conduct the appeal meeting. The meeting should be arranged for a time and place that is mutually convenient and Kate should be informed of her right to be accompanied by a colleague of her choice.

Sheila holds an appeal meeting with Kate. During the meeting, Sheila is convinced that it would work well to have Mary cover Kate's hours. However, she is still concerned about the cost of the course. She asks the HR director, Martin, whether or not the firm has to pay Kate during her time off and/or pay for the cost of her course?

How should Martin advise Sheila?

Martin should advise Sheila that Kate has no statutory right to be paid for the time she takes off to attend the course and that HIP LLP is not required to pay her course fees.

Sheila decides to grant Kate's request for time off, but on the basis that she will not be paid for the time away from work. Martin advises Sheila that there is some money in the training budget to help Kate cover the cost of her fees. HIP LLP agrees that it will pay half Kate's course fees. Sheila writes a letter to Kate setting out the firm's decision.

What information must Sheila's letter include?

Sheila must write to Kate within 14 days of the appeal meeting, date the letter, and confirm:

• the subject matter of the training course;
• where and when the training course will take place;
• who will provide or supervise the training course;
• to what qualification the training course will lead;
• that HIP LLP will not be paying Kate for the time that she spends on the course;
• the changes that will be made Kate's working hours to allow her to undertake the course (namely that her hours will be reduced by two on Tuesday and Thursday for six months and her pay will be adjusted accordingly); and
• how the training costs will be met (namely that HIP LLP will pay half the cost of the course and Kate will need to meet the remaining half herself).

Next week's article will be FAQs on the right to make requests in relation to study and training and will be published on 28 June.

Kathryn Weaver (Kathryn.Weaver@lewissilkin.com) is an associate in the Employment and Incentives Department at Lewis Silkin.

Further information on Lewis Silkin LLP can be accessed at www.lewissilkin.com.