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

Entitled to it by law

I would swap days as then could have a lie in, get to appointment without stressing over getting caught up in something at work and running late etc. Then take myself for nice lunch or coffee etc after without feeling pressured to hurry back.

What about women who work full time during monday to friday so would have to take their time off work regardless? Op shouldn’t be penalised because she works a saturday

Nonsense. OP works full time.

If a woman has a 9-6 Mon - Fri office job, she isn’t able to have her appointments on the weekend, she needs to (and has the legal right to) have them during office hours and take time out of the business.

OP has exactly the same rights and should be allowed by her employer to take time during her FT working hours.

Actually the Equality Act 2010, and associated legislation, provides the definition of ‘reasonable’ in relation to time off for ante natal purposes. It states that reasonable time off means the amount of time necessary to attend any medically advised appointment, including the appointment itself and necessary travel and waiting time. There is no set legal limit on the number or duration of appointments, so employers don’t have any basis on which to consider requests unreasonable. After the first appointment an employer can ask for an appointment card or official letter confirming the pregnancy, and paid time off covers examinations, scans and any medically recommended ante natal appointments and classes.

Employers are not permitted to ask you to change your working hours, make up the hours, or to take appointments in your own time. Some posters have advised that they have no cover for these times and are expected to complete their workload as normal on their return. If extra hours are needed to do this aren’t paid, or flexitime, that’s a work around for the employer, and it’s illegal.

Would you be willing to come into work on a Saturday if you had an appointment on a Wednesday?
There could be many reasons why she doesn't want to change her non working day. She might have other commitments on that day.
She has a legal right to paid time off to attend antenatal appointments. And those rights apply equally to part time workers.

Pregnancy happens. The world would end if it didn’t.

What other work related practices do you think make women look bad I wonder. Equal pay? Not being asked at interview how they will arrange child care? Legislation against sex based harassment? Pension inequality? NI credits for women who have a break from work to care for children?

Maybe we should go back to the days when women were expected to resign from their jobs when they married.

You’re missing the point. The employer shouldn’t even be asking for this, never mind discriminating against OP because she said no.

This. The number of women here who seem quite happy to give away hard fought for rights, and view women who don’t want to comply as ‘not team players’ is shocking. And most are completely overlooking the fact that OP’s employer is making life difficult because she won’t comply. That’s discrimination and clearly some posters support it.

This is a new low. Making pregnant women ‘look bad’ because they expect their legal rights to be respected and not be manipulated into complying ? What else do you think makes pregnant women ‘look bad’ I wonder ?

The law prohibits them from asking. I appreciate that it happens but it shouldn’t, because if the employee says no, there are invariably consequences, as OP is now finding out The only way to stop this happening is to apply the law equally and fairly. And why would OP need to have any conversation with her manager about any appointment unless the outcome affected anything at the workplace ?

Wonder if you work for Sainsbury's. When I worked there one of my colleagues had issues with our manager about getting to her appointments, and another woman had issues with another manager trying to get her to clean up when after someone had been sick on the floor. It's like they know absolutely nothing about the rules regarding pregnancy.

Exactly. We have hard won employment laws which protect all workers from dangerous machinery, from exploitation, from unfair dismissal, and laws which allow rest periods, protection against chemicals which can kill us or incapacitate us etc etc etc.

These apply to all workers, and no one is moaning about them, but what seems to be upsetting some people is that they see legislation around maternity rights as UNFAIRLY favouring women, because apparently it has come to their attention that only women get pregnant.

in response to @Iocanepowder

What is reasonable would depend on the individual circumstances eg in a high risk pregnancy it is reasonable to expect more time off for appointments. And it might be reasonable for an employer to refuse a request given at short notice if the appointment is non urgent.
But generally reasonable is defined as
any pregnancy related appointment that a doctor , health visitor or midwife has recommended, including time off for travel and waiting times
The law is clear that employers must not
-put unreasonable pressure on a woman in relation to the length or frequency of appointments
-Restrict when a woman can take time off for antenatal appointments;

• require them to make antenatal appointments in their own time, or make the time up later; or
• seek to change their working pattern on the basis of antenatal appointment

I would. I have chemotherapy every three weeks and arrange my days off on the the days I’m having chemo, it’s a 24 hour infusion and I spend my two days off in hospital.

Ha ha ha, NO. No No NO!

@Getmystuffsorted you should not be having to swap your days to go to to pre-natal appointments. As has been said you are entitled to go in works time. It would be more convenient for your employer of course, if you switched days, but why should you? If you worked 5 days (Mon-Fri) you'd be going in your working hours -so what's their problem?

Reminds me of a long time ago when I was working in this certain job in the early 2000s, and I worked 3 days a week (DC were primary school age,) and my employer wanted me to go on a 2-year long course (part time - 1 day a week.) (To improve my knowledge of the job and get a qualification in it, even though I was only doing the bloody job for the money!🙄) They had pushed a few people onto it actually! They were paying for the training, and were actually offended and annoyed if people said no because it was freeeee. All very well doing higher education/training courses if it's something you are interested in. What I was doing (at the time) was boring. Like hell did I want to waste my free time studying it further.

Anyway, they wanted me to go onto this 2-year, 1 day a week course, (HNC I think it was,) and they expected me to go on a Monday, when I worked Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday! I said 'no, I'm not going on my day off. Julie and Carol go in works time, so why shouldn't I? If you want me to go, I will change my work days to Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, go to the course on Monday and come in Tuesday and Wednesday.' They said 'don't be silly, Julie and Carol can't go in their own time because they're full time - 9-5 Monday to Friday, they have no choice but to go in works time. YOU can go on one of your days off.'

No matter how I tried to resist and explain, they wouldn't have it. I said 'why should I go in MY time, on a day where I am not paid when everyone else goes in works time, and gets paid to go? If the course day was a Saturday, and Julie and Carol work Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, do you think they would be happy to go then? All day Saturday? In their own time? A day that they're not paid for.'

They just did not get it. Just insisted I went on one of my 2 days off. I dug my heels in and refused to do it. They bitched and moaned and said I was 'ungrateful' but I said 'no. It's either on one of my 3 work days or not at all.'

No. You are allowed time off to attend by law.

I know you work full time compressed but I find that working part-time, managers expect you to have appointments on your (unpaid) day off, while full timers get paid time off for appointments.

100% this. Not only did my employer expect me to spend 1 day a week every week - in my own time - for TWO years doing a course I never asked for, but they always expected me to go to the GP, opticians, dentist, and hospital appointments etc on my days off. Same with my DC, when they had an appointment I was expected to take them on my days off. If it was on a work day and I couldn't change any given appointment, I would be expected to use my holiday leave for the appointment. No-one who was full time was expected to do that.

Do NOT change your day off. You are entitled to time off for maternity appointments. They can like it or lump it, but stand your ground. Ridiculous people saying she should swap just to benefit them.

🤦‍♀️

Did you take maternity pay or do you think it makes pregnant women look bad?

I know I'd be entitled to take time off for appointments but MIGHT consider changing but only IF it suited me to do so.

If it didn't and I was being harassed, then I'd be on to my union rep!

In my work situation I would because: a) I like my job; b) I like and respect my managers; c) my managers like and respect me; d) my absence would create more work for my colleagues who I also like and respect; e) regular absence would be detrimental to the children I teach (we can't afford supply, it would just be lready overstretched colleagues covering); f) it's a pain in the backside to oorganse cover work, it's easier just to be there and g) I care about saving the school time and money because I am invested in them thriving as a company.

But in your work situation I wouldn't because they sound like unsupportive, mean managers and it doesn't sound like you particularly like the job.

But then what would you do if you taught mon-fri all day and only had the option to take time off during your work time? Many women will only have this option and it shouldn’t make a difference if you have a flexible working request in place.

I worked Tuesday to Thursday and my midwife appointments were on a Tuesday. I couldn’t switch my workdays due to childcare, but I was able to work from home which reduced my time away from work. I was entitled to the time off and was under no obligation to make long term changes to make things easier for my employer.