Commenting, Martin Temple, EEF Chairman, said:
"Business will find it difficult to understand why government is adopting such a bullish approach to Better Regulation, whilst at the same time introducing yet more regulatory requirements which will inevitably create practical problems.
"Our evidence (1) suggests whilst many companies had seen the benefits of flexible working, a majority had experienced problems in adapting to the new legislation. Giving yet more employees the right to request time off will impact especially hard on the smallest companies who are already struggling to adapt to flexible working and will increasingly require employers to adopt the judgement of Solomon in deciding who has time off for training or who is allowed flexible working."
EEF recently published a survey showing that. As a result, EEF has urged the government to delay plans to extend the right to request flexible working to more employees until companies have adjusted, or risk denying employees with legitimate reasons for asking to work flexibly the opportunity to do so.
Proposals to extend the amount of time off for training will not on its own results in improved skills and any moves to raise individuals’ involvement in their skills development cannot be introduced in isolation. Importantly, this should not divert focus from supporting companies taking a structured approach to quality training.
"It is so important to ensure that training is of high quality and done in a structured way to make sure that the employee and the company derive full benefit from the time and money invested" added Mr Temple.
ENDS
Notes to Editors
EEF’s survey of 446 companies on flexible working was published in April 2008. It showed that two-thirds of employers reported that flexible working had created practical problems. The most common were extra pressure on other employees, difficulties arising from sections being left short-staffed and difficulty in managing flexible working practices.