Right to Request Time Off for Training
From 6 April if you have more than 250 employees, employees with more than 26 weeks continuous service have a legal right to request time of for training or study and you must seriously consider any such request.
If you get a request you must hold a meeting within 28 days and you can only refuse the request if there are good business reasons.
There is no legal obligation for you to:
a) pay for the training, or to
b) pay the employee during the time they are absent to do the training.
However before you deicde not pay, do consider the benefits of the training to yourself, your business as well as the individual and company morale.