Under new proposals outlined last week, from 2010, employees would have been able to request time off work for training after six months in a job.

However, skills minister David Lammy has now stated that employers would not be obliged to pay an employee's salary while they were undertaking training, neither would they be obliged to organise or pay for the training.

Unite has demanded that paid time off for training be made a legal right. It cites a study that claims 7m UK adults lack basic literacy and numeracy skills, and 6m employees don't have the immediate skills vital for advancing their careers.

Graham Goddard, deputy general secretary of Unite, said: "Once again the government has given in to employer pressure. A right to request time off for training is meaningless. The biggest barrier to workers accessing learning or training opportunities is lack of time."

John McGurk, skills adviser at the Chartered Institute of Personnel, is among a spate of employee groups that have defended Lammy's decision.

He said: "Training must contribute to meeting the business needs of the employer. If this test is not met, the employer must be able to decline requests for training."