Time off work for appointments

[latimer1234]

Hi everyone just looking for some advice really,
I work nightshifts in a care home and was doing 56 hours a week, I've cut my shifts down to 4 night a week due to how rubbish I've been feeling and having that extra day off really makes a difference.
As I work nights my employer is being difficult with me having time off for appointment, I have a midwife appointment on Tuesday but I'm on shift the Monday night and Tuesday night, I've explained that my appointment is at 3pm and I need to attend but because of this I won't be able to make my shift that night as I would have broken sleep and I will be exhausted as I have now got 5 nights in a row and we are short staffed on all of these shifts. I've explained I can work the Wednesday night instead of the Tuesday and basically my manager has said that ' I'm being difficult, and the world doesn't stop because I choose to work nights' 9pm-8am.
I also know she is saying this because she has authorised 4 senior carers to go off on annual leave at the same time which only leaves me as the only senior to cover nights, but to be honest this really isn't my problem due to herself doing the rota.

I completely understand what she is saying but It's frustrating, to get home to try and sleep to get up again at 2pm after little sleep to attend my appointment to come home and to try and rest again to go back to work is draining.
Am I being unreasonable, or can employers do this? Just looking for advice really, I do understand the world doesn't stop because people work nights.

I'm also 12 weeks pregnant.

Thankyou all for reading and I apologise for the long post.

I'm struggling to see your point of view unfortunately.
I also work shifts, and am 10 weeks pregnant. All my appointments I've booked on my days off, changed to be early in the day if on nights. IMO I wouldn't book a dentist appt when I was working, so why should my employer suffer just because I am pregnant. In fact it's a lot easier with shift work as days off during the week are regular.
I sympathise, it's hard doing nights when you're tired/pregnant, but just change your appt, it's not an emergency, there may be an apppt the week after.

I agree I don't think you have a leg to stand on BUT I would be taking it as sick. You're allowed sick days in pregnancy and I remember how exhausted I was at 12 weeks and that was with 12 hours sleep! Take it off as pregnancy related sickness.
Also. Please request a risk assessment. You're working in a job that has a lot of risks and you need the workplace to do all they can to stop these risks.

'You wouldn't expect someone to have an appointment at 3am and ask them to come in at 8.'

I disagree with this. I absolutely think most employers would expect you to be in. x

OP, as you know Tuesday would be your rest day, whereby you must have 11 consecutive hours away from work before you start your nightshift again. You are not being unreasonable asking to swap a shift for your antenatal care, however if your 12 weeks im assuming its for your dating scan and you probably had more than these last few days to tell your manager? For what its worth theres not a chance whilst pregnant, ild do a night and then sleep 5 hours go to an appointment and then back on a night again!

I think you might not even be allowed to work night shift while pregnant... especially in the later stages.

Ha, if only! The NHS would be on its knees if everyone pregnant stopped working nights.

Yep, no one ever told the police about this rule either!

@Fefifoefum I completely agree. I don't think you have a leg to stand on.

I think there are several issues here that's worth talking to acas or maternity action re your contract and how your manager is treating you (aside from your appointment issue). You'll feel on surer ground and it'll help manage your expectations and relations with your work.

But if you are finding the job hard to cope with in the immediate sense due to pregnancy related health issues then you need time off to try to recover. 1st trimester is hard and pregnancy affects people very differently. Sure - there's are tons of stories about folks doing amazing stuff when in the 1st-3rd and feeling like crap etc; but we are all individual in our bodies and circumstances. I was signed off for 2 weeks and had to quit a (fixed term) job I'd recently got because I couldn't cope with the circumstances of the job whilst pregnant. It was seriously shit. And I wouldn't have done that had I been able to struggle on. Insomnia totally depleted me (as well as other stuff) and I sure as hell couldnt have been making 'life and death' decisions at that time (my first pregnancy was totally different in that respect - also had insomnia, but I functioned fine though not pleasant). I'm all for the carry on approach but sometimes you can't and your work does need to find ways to support you while your body goes through these huge changes. It'll help them too...

I think if my appointment fell between my nights, I would just change it to be honest.