If you worked full time and had Tuesdays off, but was pregnant and your midwife appointments are always on a wed, and your boss wanted to swap your day off to wed because of this, would you ?

[Getmystuffsorted]

Or is that illegal to even ask

thats the only day the midwife is at that drs surgery so all routine check ups would be on wed

OP might have built her whole life and other commitments around being off on a Tuesday.

A Union won’t help you with an issue that existed prior to joining the union.

They work for existing members. Not people who decide they need legal advice and aid for the cost of a tenner a month subscription fees.

Pregnant women are NOT an inconvenience.

Do NOT swap your day. You legally have a right to attend appointments during working hours. End off.

I wouldn’t even pander to their requests but what if your midwife suddenly changed her day to a Thursday, would they be then asking you to move your day again. Just no.

I say this as an employer.

Pregnancy is a protected characteristic under the Equality Act. It’s something that has been hard fought for and won - like maternity leave and maternity pay. What is the point of having these protections if employers can intimidate employees into giving them up and make life difficult if they don’t ? What exactly is ‘entitled’ about not agreeing to give away your rights ? Where does it end ?

Similar happened to me in pregnancy. Lots of digs about my high-risk pregnancy being an inconvenience and told not to expect any special treatment! I spoke to HR who then spoke to my manager. My manager avoided me for the rest of my pregnancy after that, which was fine by me tbh!

This.

Once you have a kid a flexible employer is a god send.

It’s clear they will not be flexible or understanding. And they will feel more entitled to now as they will use the excuse of you not being flexible for them. Even though they clearly would have been inflexible anyway.

Personally I would to make life easier for them and you because then you can just get on with things and not have to remind them this is your appointment week etc. if you think it’s a big deal just say no. They’ll have to go with what you say but it doesn’t have to be a big deal

Because pregnant women are legally entitled to time off work to attend medical appointments.
No I would say I couldn't change my non working day. , there are all sorts of reasons why it would be difficult for you to change the day you don't have to say why that is.
Your boss shouldn't have asked you to change it.

I think this is the key question.
If you are contracted to working 4 days and Tuesday is your agreed day off then you are entitled to medical appointments on your other working days.
However if you are contracted full time and you have an agreement to have a day off by making up your hours then I do think it's fair they ask and you should try to accommodate as they have accommodated you in the first place.

If your workplace is unionised and you're not in the union, please join it and then get the union rep to support you in this.

This isn't true a union helps all members at least not in the Unions I have been in.. I was in a union all my working life and new members were helped immediately if they had a problem . I was part of a class action against an employee once and half the people in that action only joined the union after the issue arose.

Can you just say you are busy on Tuesdays so you can’t work that day.

are your midwife appointments frequent? I only had about 6 I think. And how long do they take you out of work for? Not that it matters really, I’m just trying to figure out why your boss sees it as such a bit deal. Is it a case of starting at 11 instead of 9? Missing two hours but the rest of the day uninterrupted? Or is it wfh, then hospital for 4 hours, then get back for the 4pm meeting if possible?

I would have made my apps on my day off. The same way I make dentist apps before or after work. That said, it is illegal for him to ask you to do this.

The attitude of some women here is difficult to comprehend. Time off for appointments is a legal right and protected by the Equality Act. It was hard fought for and won. Advocating that women should just cave to pressure from their employers and give these rights away to essentially keep the peace is truly shocking.

it’s a reasonable ask and you can say no
but like anything else this is a 2 way street working to rule can back fire because you’ll probably need flexibility and help off them which they aren’t entitled to they can work to rule as well .
in other words if you need a favour off them full expect them to say no

I would as much as possible. I understand that when I’m off that others have to cover my work. I’d rather not load that onto them.

It’s your right for paid time off for antenatal appointments and your employer knows this . I wouldn’t be flexible even if you intend on returning it’s your right . I’d ask my midwife if it’s possible swap days but depending on how your pregnancy is going you should be reducing stress

Join a union.
Make a note of everything your employers say about your pregnant, every small dig, every time they put emotional pressure on you every time they complain about your appointments.
If things get go bad you feel you have to leave ask your union to support you in a constructive dismissal case.
Your employers attitude is disgraceful and something that I hoped would have died in the 1990s.
They are not allowed to bully you.

I’d go off sick knowing what I know now. I had high bp towards the end of my first pregnancy. I had a high stress job and a boss who was an idiot putting pressure on me all the way work wise making no adjustments and I kept working hard. In the end developed pre eclampsia had my baby early & although he was fine he needed some extra care in hospital. My child is older now with some additional needs & I wish I stood up for myself more and told my boss to F off. Good luck op

This, exactly.

Why? If the OP worked 9-5 mon - Fri 40 hours and the appointment is on a Wednesdays she misses say two hours. If the OP worked 7-5 Mon-Thurs and the appointment on the Wednesday she’s missed two hours. In both cases the OP is full time and has worked the same number of hours. I think the OP said she works Saturdays instead anyway.

This comes up again and again on MN. You can’t join a union just because you encounter a problem. In the UK, trade unions generally won’t represent you for issues that began before you joined. Membership works like insurance - you can’t wait for a problem to arise and join to get immediate, full backing, and many unions ask for a minimum qualifying period after joining before they will provide full representation. Some unions may offer an initial advice session to discuss your options, but they won’t provide full formal representation, although a few, such as Unite Legal Services give local reps some discretion as to what they provide as part of that initial session.

They won’t. You can’t expect hep from a union for something that arose before you joined. It’s akin to trying to get insurance after your house has burned down.

I think op said she works saturdays instead of tuesdays, so not compressed hours.

Also i don’t agree tbh. A flexible working request and antenatal appointments are 2 different things and should be kept separate.

I probably would agree to it, but only because high blood pressure in pregancy leads to a lot of appointments and scans later on IME.