Been invited for a job interview, how do i get time off?

[LEMtheoriginal]

What do folk do when they have a job interview and already at work?

Getting time off is likely to be a problem as it is short notice and we are already short staffed.

I may also need to take a further day for a trial if i am successful at interview.

Ive never pulled a sickie in my life and i cant lie. I don't however want people to know. What do i do?

Doctor /dentist appointment?

Tricky. I always book leave. This is why they often give dates of potential interview when you apply. Leave us the only legitimate way I'm afraid. Phoning in sick to attend a job interview would be a disciplinary offence for us ( if proven )

I’ve just pulled a sickie in those circumstances, I don’t like lying either but sometimes there has been no other way I could have gone to interviews.

Can you arrange it at the start/end of the day? I had a reasonably flexible job so starting and finishing an hour late didn't cause any problems.

I just tell them. They are fine about it. They accept it’s what people do.

Book leave. You don’t need to give any explanation as to why you want to use your annual leave and when.

Book leave
Go on your lunch break
Ask for time out for an appointment

Agreed that the first best option is booking leave. However, if you think it'll be declined try arranging it for early/late and go with the 'appointment' option. It's not a lie. You don't need to say it's medical for example.

Errr, take a day's leave?

There is need for the face, i have hours owing to me but we are short staffed so any request for leave is likely to be refused.

Then say you've got a doctor's or hospital appointment. Heavens, it's not hard, is it?

Can you ask for beginning or end of day and tell work you have an unavoidable and important appointment and you will take it out of hours owing. If not do it on the middle of the day and cite health appointment. If you are feeling especially kind you could offer to make up the couple of hours?

I'm not sure what you're expecting anyone to say. You either take leave, pull a sickie or fake an appointment. Theres no magic solution to getting out of work.

Just say you have a dentist appointment. Then if you need to go for a trial pre empt it by saying you’ll need to go for a follow up appointment for a filling or something.

Going for a PCR test? I mean it’s served on a silver platter these days

I hate this! I’ve not really found that any employers advertise specific dates/times of interviews either. The job I’m in now did TBF but most don’t.

My friend used to recruit people and didn’t give someone a job as they admitted at the interview with her that they had pulled a sickie. I asked her what she expected, like how could someone with less than a weeks notice just take a random day off. She was gobsmacked that I thought she was U.

I posted this question last week as an in a similar situation where we are so short staffed at work I can't guarantee a request for leave would be given - I was thinking of swapping my day off or mentioning a vague medical appointment- the problem with the latter though is I worry about references if it then becomes obvious you've lied to go to an interview ....after all my stressing I got an email to say the interview dates now been changed to my day off !! If you've been in your job a while I would be honest - it can actually be good at times to show you've ambitious and may make a current employer offer you more.

Arrange the interview at a time that won’t affect your work too much like at the beginning or the end of the day. So you can easily take an hour or so off work and say you’re going for an appointment.
That’s the easiest way really.
At the interview, you can ask for the date of the trial so you plan towards it

Christ OP, I think you are getting all the faces because it's a fairly basic problem solving situation!!

There are about a million reasons why someone might need to take emergency time off. Can you really not think of any?

Wait until day before. Have your phone on you at work and make sure people know you're waiting for an important call you'll have to take somewhere private. Get a family member to ring you at an arranged time. Take (fake) important call.
Announce shortly after you will need to have half day leave (or whatever) the next day for an urgent personal matter.

DH did this few years ago ( I rang him at arranged time)
No-one questioned him, they assumed some family emergency

Just let them know that you’re going for a job interview. Ask HR so it won’t be common knowledge. If anyone knows HR haven’t done their job about keeping confidential information confidential. If you take a sickie you can get sacked for gross misconduct.

I'm a TA
Can't take leave ....
Was wondering similar to pp

You know what all of the options are. If you can't take leave and you can't lie, you will have to ask to have the interview outside of work hours.

@Lulu1919 just tell your head. You will be allowed the day off for an interview.

@Lulu1919 if you’re a TA you can very easily ask for time off for an interview, schools are weirdly the easiest place to get time off for interviews IME.