I have CBT therapy appointments coming up soon, through the NHS. Is work legally obliged to give me time off to go?

[JacknDiane]

Or is it reasonable to ask me to make the time up?

Asking here before going to my boss ( who is lovely but very inexperienced)

The sessions are near my home and 50 minutes long, id go to work straight afterwards. I think I'll have 6-8 sessions, so it will be regular once it starts.
If i have to make up the time I will be owing them an awful lot of hours. Im sure if it was hospital appointments id be allowed to go. But im not sure with mental health.

You need to go to your employers official policy for time off. Medical appointments are generally covered in there and your manager will be following that.

theres no legal right to time off paid or otherwise for medical appts, the exception to that may be if its linked to a recognised disability.

Thanks, I will try to find that when I go into work today.

My company will give you paid time off for the odd medical appointment but I don’t think a series of therapy sessions would be covered. I would expect to take annual leave for those or to organise them in my time off. It depends how nice your company is.

No they are not required to do this by law. You should discuss it with them though as they might be kind.

I would expect them to be reasonable about you taking the time off (subject to the needs of the role vs the time of the appointments) but also you'll probably have to work it back. You need to see if you have a policy on this, or if you work for a small employer, discuss with the decision maker.

I hope it helps you and your manager is good to you.

Can you liaise with your therapist to find a time that minimises disruption to the working day? I'm a clinical psychologist and I often see people right at the start or end of the day if they're juggling therapy with work.

If they would give you the time off for a medical issue they should give it to you for CBT. Mental and physical health issues should be treated in the same way.

My company would, as the policy is to give paid time for medical appointments.

They may not give the time off fully paid but should be reasonable about you going.

I’ve had a few blocks of (NHS) therapy over the years. I actually work for the NHS too. Each time, I’ve rearranged my week so that I make up the time as I take it. We’re not allowed paid time off for medical apts, but as long as you show that you’ve done your best to get an apt which is the least disruptive to your working day, I’ve never had an issue getting the time out to go.

I wouldn’t expect them to give me paid time off for a course of sessions, presumably weekly for up to ten weeks, no. Speaking from experience.