Boss asking me to try to make appointments relating to pregnancy out of work hours

[Workpregnant]

I think ‘try to’ might be the sticking point here.

I work three days a week, and am pregnant. My next appointment is on a day I work and boss agreed to it but clearly reluctantly and asked me to ‘try’ to make appointments for days I don’t work.

I have no control over this at all though, so I don’t think it’s reasonable to ask. Or am I being over sensitive?

Are you taking the whole day off or just an hour or so for the appointment? I would understand them asking if you are taking a whole day off for an appointment but if you are only out for part of the day then I would think they are being unreasonable

was wondering, why are pregnancy related appointments protected under law but other health appointments can be refused in work time. Surely they should all be under protected characteristics?

In some work places you can’t just swap working days . I’m in the public sector and we can’t do it because it’s a strict work pattern. Also the OP might have older children at nursery, again on set days - so can’t just swap a work day at will.

You are entitled to paid time off for antenatal appointments no matter how often you work.

Some of these replies are mad.

you are legally entitled to time off for your antenatal appointments. It’s the law. that cannot be challenged.

if you choose to try to make appointments on your NWD that’s up to you entirely but you have no obligation to and, from memory, you get precious little choice.

Your manager is on dodgy ground even asking especially if they’ve put that in writing.

I work in HR, for context

you may be entitled to paid time off but if you choose to book all appointments in work time then you are definitely taking the Mickey. Community midwives are generally bookable appointments, different for scans

Ah - so protected characteristics, similar to disability ‘reasonable adjustment’. I was going on my own experience of being told I wouldn’t get paid for taking time off for a hospital appointment as my employer hadn’t specified it in my contract and wasn’t legally bound to pay me. I was miffed and checked it out, and they were right !! Long time ago though, admittedly !!

i work shifts and tried to keep appointments out with work days but some just weren’t possible- my community midwives only do a local clinic on a Thursday for example. I waited 3 months for a cardiology appointment for a pregnancy related heart issue and would have waited beyond my due date if I rearranged it. physiotherapy could only see me on a day where I was working as well. I prefer to have appointments on non work days so I don’t feel as rushed but it’s not always possible.

As you are part time, you should try to or offer to swap days. If it's midwife, you can usually choose any day for an appointment. If it's a hospital, clinics are usually on specific days.

they are allowed to ask you to make appointments outside of work hours if possible, as there are some that you can agree to dates and times for or at least im able to do that.
for stuff like scans and consultant appointments obviously this is more difficult as there isnt always the option to change dates and times.
each time i get a letter for an appointment i email a copy to my manager to let them know when it is. but with my midwife appointments the midwife books the appointment whilst i am there so i can say yes or no to the date.
I work 3-4 days a week and if i know far enough in advance i get my manager to change my shift so i am off the day that im due the appointment.. so far ive only needed to leave for an appointment once and that was as i had an emergency ultrasound booked and found out the day before the appointment so wasnt able to change my shifts.

If you are classed as disabled - defined as a physical or mental impairment having a substantial and long-term adverse effect on your ability to do normal day-to-day activities - then you also have protected characteristics and the employer must allow reasonable time off with pay for hospital appointments or treatment. The appointment or treatment has to be in relation to the disability.

You don't have to "try to" book any appointments outside of work time, but how flexible you want to be might depend a little on whether you are wanting to go back to work after mat leave and how flexible you might want your employers to be when that time comes.

I think it’s a reasonable request as you’re P/T. You might not always be able to get your appointments on NWD, but it’s not unreasonable to try or come up with a workaround.

You're entitled to the time off. If the appointments are just issued to you, he'll just have to understand that. If you do have choice, I don't see that you should necessarily be expected to make them all on your days off. You might have other commitments (childcare, another job, regular voluntary work) which might be equally disrupted. If all the no-choice appointments were on working days, I would try to make the others on non-working days to balance out, though - a proportional split seems fair. (In fact, when pregnant, I was working for two employers, and that's roughly what I did.)

I think sex discrimination might be part of it too. Because only females go through pregnancy, to not allow adjustments for that is discriminating against women.

I think that when you only work 3 days this request is reasonable. However, you should not be made to feel uncomfortable if changing day is impossible.

I suppose they thought there was no harm in asking but it's impossible to just pop in to see the midwife, they have fixed days for clinic and consultant appointments are scheduled in to be as convenient and time preserving for the consultant not the patient and they always run over.
All my consultant appointments letters stated to allow 3 hours for the appointment and even growth scan appointments rarely ran on time unless it was the earliest one of the day.
The op obviously has a fixed timetable, it can't be changed but she also has every legal right to take leave for her antenatal care.

I don’t think your boss is unreasonable for asking this - our policies do state that where possible appointments should be at start or end of day. If you only work 3 days then if you have a say over appointments then of course should be on your days off. But of course not always possible!

It’s a reasonable request but don’t stress over it.

I would prefer appointments on NWD as the thought of running late for the appointment, or late back to school afterwards would be worse than a lie in and a leisurely trek to the hospital in my comfiest trousers.

Not for pregnancy related appointments they don’t - because that would be illegal!

It's not reasonable for him to ask because you are statutorily entitled to have paid time off to attend those apps, and boss knows that, so fuck em.

I worked 4 days @ week and swapped my days to fit anti natal appointments, but I was having one appointment a week towards the end, (twins) .
Given where I lived and worked having an appointment meant I’d hardly have time to get to work and do much anyway.

At the time my bosses where fine with whatever I did but I was the first women to ever get pregnant, everyone else were males with SAHW.

So personally I’d say it’s all about give and take.

The responses to this thread make me realise why working part time so often leads to unfair/unequal treatment! Why should full time employees get paid to attend appointments but part time employees have to try to have them on their days off? Part time employees already get paid less (I think full time forget that!), so now they are at an even greater disadvantage than their full time colleagues.

OP stand your ground with your employer-they have to give you the paid time off even if it is on your working days! The chances are the next one might be on your non working days so I bet it all works out pro rata in the long run.

Another HR person -

They shouldn’t have even asked you.

The big factor here is that you are entitled to attend, and be paid, for antenatal appointments that take place in working hours.

But secondly - they are treating you differently as a part time worker, to your detriment.

It’s a no.

You’re not being denied the time off. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to ask if you can ‘try’ to make appointments outwith working hours. I work full time 8.30 - 5.30pm. When I was having my girls I would always ask for my appointments to be first thing or end of the day to ensure I wasn’t missing critical meetings/calls etc. I wasn’t asked but I knew that my work was still there for me to catch up on so it was less disruptive of my working week to not miss business critical activity. I don’t see the issue on being flexible where possible and not just demanding what “I was legally entitled to”