Time off for appointments

[didsomeonesaywine]

First time poster and mum to be looking for some help!

I have been looking in my maternity notes at which points I am due to have a midwife appointment (just the standard Ines that everyone has). I have noticed that there is one at 31 weeks which will coincide with two days I am being sent away to work in another area of country (my midwife only works one day a week at my GP).

I'm not sure how to approach this with work as it's a trip I have already aired concerns about (it's going to be 16 hour days with 3 hours of driving) so am worried they will think I'm trying to get out of it. So I guess my question is, should I try and arrange the appointment for the following week (will be a week late does this matter?) or should I just book for the 31 weeks and have appointment as I'm entitled too?? They don't have many pregnant ladies in my job so are used to just booking things in people's diaries and not very flexible with considering pregnancy related appointments!

Thanks in advance!

Having the appointment a week early or late really won't make much of a difference. It's quite common for antenatal appointments to not be exactly on schedule.

I don't know specifically what you're rights are as I have never really had to book time off for appointments. I make my own schedule anyway and no one really notices or cares where I am as I work from home quite a bit anyway. But personally unless you don't want to go on this trip and what to get out of it (they might realise that's what you're up to though), I would just book for the next week. The exact dates really don't matter.

I'd book it for the following week too.

I was supposed to have an appointment this week but as I'm abroad, the midwife just said to book it for next week. No bother.

I don't think it's reasonable to use a standard routine antenatal appointment to get out of a work thing you aren't keen on. The appointment will be fine the week before or after.

If you are concerned about the impact this trip will have on your health and that of your baby then that is a separate issue from the routine appointments. Your work is obliged to carry out a risk assessment regarding whether any reasonable adjustments might be necessary. Ensuring that you don't have to work more than 10 hours in a day or have to drive for work for more than an hour at a time would be a reasonable adjustment to ensure your health doesn't suffer at a time when letting yourself get exhausted is a really bad idea.

I wouldn't have been able to work 16 hour days at that stage I would be raising that as an issue. If that amount of travel would cause you a problem I'd also mention that too but that might be manageable with breaks. Struggling to see how those hours of work are workable for you.

I would try again to say you can't manage those hours. Ask for the work arrangements to be risk assessed with respect to your pregnancy & if they're not listening/doing anything about it I personally would find a way of not going. Midwife appts are an easy way of avoiding a debate or being put in a position where you might have to say no or be ill.

Your appt will be ok at week before it after geb31 was, but seek advice from your MW which is the best way to go.

I would be far more bothered about a 16 hr working day - does this include the 3 hrs driving? This is needs raising. Those hours are excessive, even if someone who is not pregnant.

It's really up to you as to whether or not you want to go on the trip.

Legally you are allowed the time off, your work does not have a say so if you wanted to keep the date your were given you can and your employer cannot do a thing about it and would have to find someone else to go on the trip.

But likewise as others have said leaving it a few days/a week later won't change anything so really it is your choice and up to you

On another note, I personally could not imagine doing that trip. Seems like a very long couple of days and well done you if you go! That's pretty amazing because I'm 25 weeks and all I want to do is sit in my big pants and watch Jeremy Kyle while eating cakes that I've purposely baked because I can't even be bothered to drive to Tesco

I'd stick to the appointment as I'd be entitled to, regardless of what else I had on that day to be honest- but in fairness I'm in Ireland and if can be a bit of a bollocks to rearrange clinics etc.

As an aside, I can't see how a 16 hour day has been deemed as a reasonable expectation, even without the drive. Have you had a recent risk assessment done with HR of your line manager?

You are entilited to paid time off for antenatal appointments by law. Your health and baby's health comes first 😀

Thank you all so much for your replies.

My main concern was making sure that waiting a week want going to do any harm so will probably make appointment for the week after. We've had loads of friends with difficult pregnancies recently so probably a bit anxious to always make sure everything is ok!

In regards to trip - it's a bit of a pain, I've tried to explain that I feel at that point in pregnancy the long hours and travel for those days makes me a bit concerned. But I've been offered a pretty poor alternative of less travel but two extra long days! Raised it at risk assessment but they weren't really willing to discuss it. But I am happy to see how a feel the week before and won't do anything I'm not happy with as don't want to exhaust myself!

Jessybear - tell me about it, pj's and homemade cookies are my life right now