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Anyone looking for a graduate job at the moment should take note of new legislation which has just come into effect across England, Wales and Scotland. The changes will, however, affect employees in both graduate jobs and non-graduate positions.

In the new tax year (April 6 2010 to April 5 2011) anyone who works for a company that employs over 250 people will have the legal right to request time out for study or training. It should be noted, though, that employers are not legally bound to grant every such request; there is a clause which allows businesses to refuse study or training if they can provide a good business reason for the refusal.

The new laws – which are called Time To Train - are especially pertinent to people working in graduate jobs this year since most of the big graduate employers will have employee levels above the 250 worker threshold. However, from the next tax year (starting April 6 2011) the right to ask for study or training release will be extended to all employees regardless of the size of the company. The new laws are being staggered in this way to give smaller operations more time to get ready for the change in employment law.

Skills Minister Kevin Brennan said: “We need to empower people to speak about training opportunities and the benefits they can bring to a business’ success. Many companies and organisations are very good at training their staff, but we need to make sure that all businesses are advising employees on what is on offer. This is where a regulation like Time to Train will be able to help people. It will give them the confidence to ask about training and skills, allowing them to take control of their own careers.”

Further details of how Time To Train may affect you in your graduate job can be found on the DirectGov website.

And if you are currently looking for graduate vacancies – with or without the opportunity to study or train – then search through our graduate job pages for the latest vacancies.