Maternity Appointments and time off work

[Jessesgirl13]

Hi guys,

Im new here and just wanted to get peoples thoughts on time off for maternity appointments.

Im currently pregnant with my first and im classed as high risk and being consultant led. I have three underlying conditions so have quite a few extra consultant appointments on top of the usual midwife and regular scans.

A few months in and work have started to make noises about the amount of appointments I’m having. Im not too concerned as I know they have to give me reasonable time off for these.

The one thing that does seem to be an issue with them, is that one of my consultants i see on a private basis, not nhs. This is due to wanting the best doctor there is for my condition. Work are telling me that as this is a private hospital appointment that they dont HAVE to give me the time off - they basically implied I was on a jolly!!

Anyone know where I stand on this?

No but interested.

In a similar situation- nothing has been said yet but a difficult one to manage. Do you have an HR department you can talk to?

I think that's bull and is something someone has come up with to try and reduce your time off. Maternity Action says:

There is no definition of antenatal care in law. It can include any classes, appointments or scans made on the advice of a registered doctor, midwife or health visitor.

Antenatal care can include classes such as relaxation, parentcraft or smoking cessation classes if these are recommended by your midwife of GP as part of your care. You may need a letter to show your employer from your GP or midwife, saying that these classes are part of your antenatal care.

What if you were private for the whole thing? Nowhere does it say NHS only.

If I were you I'd ask for a note from the consultant saying this is part of your antenatal care and work won't have a leg to stand on.

Ask them to point to some relevant legislation that justifies their position.

There isn't any. Also, stop telling them which appointments are private and which are NHS.

Thanks for you responses - just what I was looking for!

The company I work for is very small (less than 25 employees) so there is no real HR to speak of - just someone who 'acts' as HR even though their day to day job role is something completely different. Hence why I don't trust that they actually know what they are talking about.

I was honest about the private appointment as I didn't originally see it being an issue. Also my doctor isn't based locally so it's more travel time to get there, often being pretty much a full day out of work. I was reasonable about this though at the start and said I was happy to take unpaid leave as I needed to go to these appointments. I also give them notice of any appointments in writing weeks in advance.

What kind of got my back up more was that they questioned whether I had been 'told' to go to these appointments - therefore insinuating they're not necessary. Then they mentioned how another pregnant girl at work doesn't get this time off, which annoyed me further! That's great for her as she has had a text book pregnancy, but if she had suffered complications surely they realise she also would be entitled to time off for extra appointments to deal with this??

Feel like I've just gone on a bit of a rant there...

@Jessesgirl13 I also work for a small company (10 of us) so I know what a minefield it is without HR!

Ours is a family business and I’ve been getting the third degree from my Mum because my SIL didn’t need anywhere near as many appointments as I have 😂 she looked like she was going to faint when I told her I needed a scan every 2 weeks!

I would get a letter from your private doctor outlining the appointments you need and give it to the girl who is giving you grief. You can print off a list of routine NHS appointments online or you might have a breakdown in your notes.

Congratulations on your pregnancy :)

It is irrelevant whether you are seeing an NHS or private consultant. How many antenatal appointments have you had and how many more do you envisage? And is this your first baby?

I’m definately going to get a letter as evidence that I need these appointments.

I need to see the NHS consultant once a month and the private one once a month. This is only since the start of the second trimester. Ive also had 1 cervical length scan and know i need another in 6 weeks.

You didn’t answer but if this is your first pregnancy then it is generally considered reasonable to have up to 10 antenatal appointments. However, pregnancies are unpredictable and if you need more appointments, a letter from your midwife (please don’t waste a GP’s time) will suffice.