Safety Reps Rights: No. 4: Time off for training

The Safety Representatives and Safety Committees Regulations came into force nearly 30 years ago, in October 1978. Workplace Report is running a regular column highlighting the important rights won.

Regulation 4(2) says that all safety reps have the right to paid time off to carry out their safety functions and undergo training. Many safety reps have experienced difficulties in exercising these rights, but the right to “reasonable” time off has been upheld in numerous court cases. For example, Denny Rama, a safety rep with the RMT rail union, appealed to the High Court, which ruled that a tribunal had incorrectly interpreted the code of practice to the regulation, and placed the wrong emphasis on what the employer felt to be “necessary” training. Instead the employer should have considered what was reasonable (Rama v South West Trains [1997] EWHC Admin 976).