Red tape too heavy-handed for small businesses, warns FSB

The Federation of Small Businesses is urging the government to reduce regulation on training, believing small businesses will suffer as a consequence of the extra red tape.

The reaction was spurred by a recent push by the government to allow employees to request time off for training. The issue lies in regulation that says each request should be witnessed by a union representative.

The FSB warns that small businesses do not have the time or resources to hold formal meetings for every request. Collin Willman, Education and Skills Chairman for the FSB has said:

“The ‘time to train’ process is too expensive and too bureaucratic for small firms as it stands and the FSB is concerned that the employee’s right to request a meeting to discuss time off to train will not only lead to an extra layer of bureaucracy, but will also lead to panic amongst small businesses that a refusal could be interpreted as constructive dismissal.”

The FSB is urging the government to create an exception for businesses with less than 20 employees, requesting that they be allowed to hold ‘one on one’ informal meetings, with no requirement for a union representative.

“We believe the best way to engage small businesses with the policy are to keep it informal between employer and employee, making it easier to identify the necessary training” commented Willman.p>