Time off for councillr appointments

[oldguygirl]

My employers allow time off for medical appointments but time has to be made up. I have anxiety and depression and I am waiting for a councillor appointment which will be in working time. I am really struggling at the momemnt- I dont want to go off sick but at the same time I dont want to have to make my working day longer while I make up time because of a weekly appointment. I had an occupational therapy report which recommends counselling and said 'She may need time out to attend future appointments'. Do you think because of this report and its comment I would be able to take time out without making time up. If they dont I am seriously considering goign to my doctor to ask for a fit note

sorry about bad typing and I meant Occ health not Occ therapy- and the report was concerning my anxiety.

When I had counselling, I had appointments first thing in the morning, and had an agreement with my manager that I'd come in late that day, so I didn't start till about 10:30 that day. I did have to make the time up, but it was only an hour and a half - if you can split that out over a week, it's half an hour a day. (Whether you can do this will depend on your role and employer.) And the counselling should be able to make it more manageable to have a longer day, give you ways of coping.

Whether you would be able to not make the time out will be down to your employer/manager - with us it's the sort of thing which would be down to manager's discretion, and probably one-off appointments would be fine, but on-going appointments would mean you have to make the time up.

Your employer should take notice of the Occ Health advice. Note however that this relates to you being allowed time to attend appointments, not to you being paid for this time. Given that their general policy is to require time for medical appointments to be worked back, it would seem reasonable to expect this to apply in your situation.

Work is usually good for people with anxiety and depression (depending on the cause) as it takes you out of yourself, so do think about whether going off sick is really going to aid your recovery. You don't say how your employer treats sickness absence but that may also be a consideration. Is going off sick is likely to trigger an absence management process? If so, how would this impact on your recovery?

I have contacted HR who have basically passed the buck back to my manager and its her decision about how this is managed. I have offered to use the toil I would earn for some up coming training and event that I would accrue and where I have had to put myself out by paying to put my son in childcare where I would not need to .
Going off sick would trigger an absence management process which is why I am trying all avenues rather tahn go off sick but I am finding full time working very hard.
I am a lone worker which is contributing to my anxiety and I have considered going to the doctor to ask for a fit note for a period of time to cover part time working as I work full time and I am finding it very hard to be at work for the length of time that I am- and thus being able to have appointments in the time I am not working. I am trying my best not to 'disrupt' my work but they need to work with me so I can work with them too.

I would expect work to be sympathetic but any paid leave is discretionary, which is why HR have passed it back to your line manager.

What are your sick pay arrangements. Be aware, if you go to pt working, they only have to pay you for the hours you work, even with a fit note, unless you are due full sick pay.

In your position, I would take the appointment time unpaid, if possible.

In your message the overriding tone I'm getting is 'you have to give me this or I'll....'

I think you need to consider all sides in this, an what is fair/works for all.

Options include:-
Time off and you make it up half an hour a day, shorten a lunch break, start/finish earlier.
Use toil you are owed.
Use holiday hours
Unpaid leave
Do one longer day in the week and then one shorter.

It depends how much time you are asking for. Booking an early appointment and being 45 mins late is very different to booking a midday appt and travelling one hour each way plus the appt plus some leeway on each side. Expecting that on an ongoing basis would be ridiculous

Work with your boss, rather than threatening to go off sick or demanding it as you have put yourself out for them before.

If you have a TOIL system and have some accrued that needs using up, that sounds like a good solution - what did your manager say when you suggested that?

I agree with holidays that discussing some options with your manager in a constructive way is by far the best approach to take.

I'm not threatening anyone - Im just bloody struggling.
My intention is to have appointments early or late in the day thus trying to minimise disruption.
This OH report was done in Nov- no one has bothered to explain anything to me and now I am asking to use the recommendations, however I dont understand what they are .
I have suggested to my manager via email (as unfortunatley as I have said I am a lone worker and I need her to read the report and come back to me ) that I use toil that I accrue and try and make up time. I only have half an hour lunch already so not really an option to this and I need that time.