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Paid Educational Leave Convention, 1974 (No. 140) - Jersey

Articles 2–5 of the Convention. Policy to promote the granting of paid educational leave. The Government indicates that, in order to keep pace with the changing demands of the labour market and to secure a stronger connection between schools, colleges, training organisations and businesses, a new operational service was created. In December 2015, the Skills Executive and Skills Board were dissolved and, by October 2017, the existing services of Careers Jersey, Trident, Trackers and Student Finance were brought together to create Skills Jersey. The Government further indicates that one of the key aims of this service is to facilitate the delivery of the Island’s Skills Strategy, offering a wide range of services, including: confidential and impartial careers guidance for people of all ages, links between schools, colleges, universities, industry and other education training providers, careers and skills curriculum development, mentoring and skills coaching, apprenticeships, work placements and work shadowing schemes. The Government also reports that, following a request from the Education Department, a Skills Strategy for 2017-2022 was published in October 2017. The Committee notes that the Strategy and its 2018 Action Plan were developed with input from employers, industry and training providers and identifies key priority areas for Jersey under five strategic themes: developing world-class skills, transitions to employment, attracting and retaining talent, raising business and individual investment in skills, and a responsive skills and employment system. The Committee requests the Government to provide information, including statistical data disaggregated by sex and age, on the application and impact of the new Strategy and its 2018 Action Plan, as well as on the implementation of structures and policies relating to paid educational leave in both the public and private sectors.

Article 7 of the Convention. Financial arrangements. The Government indicates that, in accordance with the Trackers Apprentice Programme, training fees are funded by the Education Department under Skills Jersey, and that further negotiations are currently being undertaken to approve funds for the Higher Apprenticeship program. The Government adds that a new “Business Licensing Skills Fund” has been developed in partnership with Social Security, Skills Jersey and Jersey Business for industrial sectors to address skills and training gaps in the local labour market. The funds are raised through a fee introduced in 2017 for businesses that employ “registered’’ employees and are used for skills development for businesses in areas where there are skills shortages. The Committee notes, that following the introduction of the funds, over 300 persons have attended courses in leadership and management, customer service, IT and project management. The Committee further notes that the Business Licensing Fee Fund is being used to sponsor an additional staff training pilot programme in 2018 to invest in upskilling of individuals and enhance the productivity of small businesses through provision of training opportunities for staff. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the impact that new financial arrangements have had on the propensity to grant paid educational leave and to keep the office informed of the progress made with regard to the staff training pilot programme and its impact on the promotion of paid educational leave.

Article 8 of the Convention. Discrimination. The Committee notes with interest the adoption of the Discrimination (Jersey) Act on 2013, which provides protection against discrimination on various grounds (explicitly including race, colour, nationality, national and ethnic origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity). In particular, the Committee notes that Parts 3, 4 and 5, of the Act (Revised Edition 15.260) prohibit acts of discrimination between co-workers with regard to employment, education and vocational training. The Committee recalls that the objective of the equality policy required under Article 8 of the Convention is to ensure that workers have equal access to paid educational leave regardless of race, colour, sex, religion, political opinion, national extraction or social origin. In this regard, the Committee draws the Government’s attention to the fact that the Discrimination (Jersey) Law does not include religion or political opinion among the prohibited grounds of discrimination. The Committee invites the Government to indicate in its next report the measures envisaged within the national policy to ensure that all workers, regardless of their religion and political opinion have equal access to paid educational leave.

Part V of the report form. Application of the Convention in practice. The Government reports that under the new Skills Jersey, Trackers the Apprentice Programme has now enrolled over 300 apprentices, working within 24 industry areas. The delivery of training is flexible depending on the industry. The Trackers mentors work closely with employers and their apprentices ensuring support for training accessibility and compliance with the Employment (Jersey) Act 2003. The Committee notes that union recognition in Jersey is primarily in the public sector and utility providers where long-standing arrangements usually exist and that the JACS (model agreement) continues to be used as the basis to formalise the relationship between unions and employers. The Committee invites the Government to continue to provide information on the manner in which the Convention is applied in practice, including any extracts from reports, studies or inquiries, and available statistics.