To think employee should give notice of maternity appointments

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So cover can be arranged? At the moment she is telling us on the day of the appointment “have to leave 3 hours early today, have an appt” or “not in tomorrow got my 20 week scan, sorry forgot to mention earlier”. It basically means that, if it’s on a day where others are already off on holiday etc, the colleagues who are in have to stay late to cover as the work can’t be done in time, if they can’t then I have to as the team manager or stuff gets cancelled last minute which has a big effect on the income of the business. These are the standard pre-booked appointments that she’s known about weeks in advance. Is totally get it later in the pregnancy when issues can just crop up that need checked, and by then hopefully her cover should be fully trained. I’ve asked her to put appointments in her calendar that she knows of but she just says she forgets. She’s also has several private reassurance / sex scans, tests etc, on top of the NHS ones, all during working hours and last minute notice.

I think she's taking the p*ss 🤷‍♀️

I'm pregnant and work my appointments around work as much as possible. All my apps so far I've had weeks notice except for one because the hospital cocked up but I knew the day before. I go into the office and then leave early to go to the app. If it's in the morning I go and wfh after or go into the office late.

I've changed days for important meetings and also to allow my partner to do a shift swap (we both work for same company think ten thousand people probably more). I don't take the piss because my line manager is fair. I'm sure the guidance I got said reasonable time for appointments ... I try to be reasonable because I feel lucky to work for a company that's so flexible (I know they have to be but my line manager trusts me to do the right thing and never questions me so I don't abuse that relationship. I put all my appointments in her calendar along with the girl who covers me. Where the cover is unavailable and I'm needed I swap the app)

I had a high risk pregnancy but always had at least a weeks notice of any appt.

Refuse private or offer unpaid
she needs to be told no notice is not acceptable and you may have to refuse

be direct and tell her appointments are booked in advance and it unacceptable

Does she have notes? Mine were kept in a folder and all my appointments were written on there- including the ones I hadn't had - I had a few later on that weren't on there but I had letters for them. She should be able to show you proof and in advance.

I'd be tempted to start asking for proof of appointments and it wouldn't surprise me if the amount of time she was asking for ended up dramatically reducing..

Have you asked for any evidence of appointments so far?

Years ago we had someone similar. Once we asked for written evidence of appointments (they were mainly appointment card type things), the amount of appointments suddenly reduced! 🤔

You are entitled to ask for proof of appointments. You have to accommodate the appointments recommended/required for her ante natal care, but not private scans she has decided she wants.

As a manager, but also someone who is pregnant at the moment…my thoughts/way to manage it would be to have a meeting with her, and explain you have requested x number of times she gives you notice of appointments but this hasn’t happened. Therefore you are needing to insist on her providing proof of her appointment times and will no longer be able to accommodate her private scans etc. of course, make sure this is all documented (and get her to sign a copy/agree that what you have recorded is an accurate representation of the meeting). If she refuses/still doesn’t provide notice, then you have reason to deal with it as a disciplinary issue/meeting again, warning etc, but hopefully wouldn’t get to that point.

Have you asked for any evidence of appointments so far?

no, we don’t usually ask for evidence. I was advised by my manager to be careful acting in a way that we wouldn’t normally as we should treat all pregnant employees the same. I.e. we don’t usually ask for proof

This!

I would tell her that you need both reasonable advanced notice and proof of appointment for any future absences to be approved.

If she isn’t giving you advanced notice then technically I suppose you could discipline her for breach of policy… but you’d be on a sticky wicket refusing to allow the time off.

Some people do absolutely take the piss when pregnant though. I worked with one woman who was a nightmare.

This is bizarre! Do you have an HR consultant you could speak to? We've used one in the past whose been very very good with things like this. I'd probably recommend if you don't have an HR department as such.

Ask her to provide proof of all past appointments and also at least a weeks notice or more of future maternity appointments that will also need a proof of attendance. Just make it a policy for everyone’s medical appointments taken without proper notice.

She's taking the piss out of you because she knows she can probably get away with it. Tell her you need prior notice for appointments and that private scans will need to be attended outside of work time or be unpaid/annual leave. I know someone who took 6 months off work(nhs so full pay) during her pregnancy, then went back for a couple of weeks in late pregnancy so that her mat leave wouldn't kick in too early, she knew exactly what she was doing.

I always got a few weeks notice for my nhs scans at 12 and 20 weeks. I booked my next midwife appointment at the end of the previous one, so about 2-3 weeks notice if I remember rightly.
I also had additional scans for monitoring every 2 weeks from 28 weeks but got them all well in advance (I knew from 22 weeks that I needed growth scans at 28, 32 and 36 weeks with a doppler scan in between each growth scan) and provided my employer with copies of the letters for all appointments without being asked to as I didn't want to be thought to be taking the mick (they never asked for any proof).
The only time I ever left with no notice was for reduced movements.
The 2 private scans I had were on weekends.
She's absolutely taking you all for ride.

Me thinks she's taking the piss 🤷‍♀️

I'm pregnant and work my appointments around work as much as possible / give as much notice as possible and happily provide proof of appointments without being asked. I feel a need a PA to manage my appointments though 🤯 as getting additional support due to being a higher risk pregnancy so can sometimes have short notice of appt. In saying that I've usually got the following weeks appts scheduled the week before.

We've also had a couple of private scans that we booked for out of work hours wouldn't even have thought to book these during work time.

It's always a fine line this because she's entitled to time off for appointments, but unless she's high risk then she would be given plenty of notice for her appointments. A woman I used to work with used to pretend she had appointments alllll the time and it was never mentioned so she just got away with having tons of time off. There's no harm in telling her that she needs to try provide a bit more notice where possible

Yes I put all mine in the shared calendar and verbally told my manager about them. When they ran longer than expected (always the case as they sent me for dozens of extra scans) I would text to let them know. I think if I hadn’t put the first couple in the cal my Manager would have told me too though, some people might not realise?

thanks everyone. We have a shared calendar where everyone puts in their availability/ time off etc, the same calendar automatically populates approved holiday, but everyone is responsible for the rest of their availability. I’ve reminded her several times but she just says she forgets to put them in. She even said the other day “must be baby brain”. I asked when her next appointment is so we can put it in and plan but she responded that she’s not sure…..

I'd send her an email requesting that she needs to give a minimum 48 hours notice for standard maternity related appointments to make sure there is adequate work cover.

Suggest it may be helpful if she forwards you copies of her appointment letters as she receives them as you have reminded her but she has stated she keeps forgetting to put them on the calendar - word it better though

Id put everything in email or message service so you have record

Meet with her next time she's in and go through all the dates and times of the appointments she has scheduled. Do this every week as part of a wellbeing check. You could also review her risk assessment for possible adjustments so it doesn't seem too one sided.

It's normal for a newborn baby to demand what it needs without any advance notice; however, she, as an adult, is able to understand that others have needs as well and that the world doesn't revolve around her.

Emergencies aside, she's entitled to time off for appointments just the same as she (and everybody else) is entitled to annual leave - but that doesn't mean that anybody can just drop everything with a pathetic "Oh, I forgot to tell you" and be away at very short notice, leaving everybody who does understand calendars and communication to pick up the pieces.

All she's doing is poisoning the well for other pregnant women (and maybe herself with future pregnancies), who may then find themselves given no leeway (outside of emergencies) or not trusted at all to be reasonable in communicating their antenatal needs and in telling the truth about genuine appointments - as a direct result of her taking right royal advantage and then some.

And with the private 'vanity' scans, it would be bad enough if she expected paid time off to attend them WITH reasonable notice; but to do this at the last minute as well is outrageous. She needs to understand that her actual pregnancy-related needs are rightfully hers and legally-protected, but that being pregnant doesn't earn you a magic gold card as a reward that allows you to just flash it and automatically get anything that you demand at any time.

You should ask for proof, I don't think it's discrimination.

Maybe you should now ask all your pregnant employees of proof which is pretty straightforward.

I was asked for my appointment letters.