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Original poster

Asked to swap days off so that maternity appointment will always fall in days off

120 replies

Grapefruitbreakfast · 02/02/2023 09:13

So say I usually have Thu off

Wednesday is the day the midwife is at my drs
so all appoints on wed

work asked me to swap my day off from Thu to wed
so that I can go in my day off but I’ve been really sick and knackered and don’t want to spend half my day off dealing with that

OP posts:
Etinoxaurus · 02/02/2023 09:13

Maternity appointments are protected iirc

TidyDancer · 02/02/2023 09:25

How have they worded it? Is it more of a speculative ask or an instruction?

Binfluencer · 02/02/2023 09:28

Why wouldn't you help your employer out by doing this? Maternity appointments aren't every week and certainly don't take a half a day.

You're coming across as inflexible and hard work, life is about give and take.

Changingmynameyetagain · 02/02/2023 09:33

Binfluencer · 02/02/2023 09:28

Why wouldn't you help your employer out by doing this? Maternity appointments aren't every week and certainly don't take a half a day.

You're coming across as inflexible and hard work, life is about give and take.

Maybe because she has a legal right to attend maternity appointments including when she’s in work?

Pregnant employees' rights
Pregnant employees have 4 main legal rights:

paid time off for antenatal care
maternity leave
maternity pay or maternity allowance
protection against unfair treatment, discrimination or dismissal
‘Antenatal care’ is not just medical appointments - it can also include antenatal or parenting classes if they’ve been recommended by a doctor or midwife.

Employers cannot change a pregnant employee’s contract terms and conditions without agreement - if they do they are in breach of contract.

Employers must give pregnant employees time off for antenatal care and pay their normal rate for this time off. The father or pregnant woman’s partner has the right to unpaid time off work to go to 2 antenatal appointments.

GoodChat · 02/02/2023 09:35

They're allowed to ask and you're allowed to say no. They can't discriminate against you because you choose to say no.

MsMarch · 02/02/2023 09:36

How many appointments do you have and do they really take so long? Technically, no , they can't insist. And if you're attending one every 4 weeks or so, is it really that big a deal?

But you do sound like you make quite a meal out of these appointments so perhaps they're just tired of it?

As a rule, my view is that it's worth attempting to be accommodating and flexible where you can.

Busybutbored · 02/02/2023 09:37

Binfluencer · 02/02/2023 09:28

Why wouldn't you help your employer out by doing this? Maternity appointments aren't every week and certainly don't take a half a day.

You're coming across as inflexible and hard work, life is about give and take.

This. I always try to make personal appointments on my days off

Oblomov22 · 02/02/2023 09:39

We all know what the rules are, but in the ground level, back in the real world, If you've been really sick and knackered, not performing? are they already hacked off?

Binfluencer · 02/02/2023 09:39

Yes she has a legal right. But why inconvenience your employer and colleagues for the sake of it? Why be awkward? Employers aren't the enemy and cultivating their good will is worth doing as a working mother

FunnyWorldWeLiveIn · 02/02/2023 09:40

Illegal

Moopsi · 02/02/2023 09:40

I'm not sure this is legal. Maternity rights are protected.

Perhaps you have commitments on a Thursday that you cannot change....

Moopsi · 02/02/2023 09:41

Binfluencer · 02/02/2023 09:39

Yes she has a legal right. But why inconvenience your employer and colleagues for the sake of it? Why be awkward? Employers aren't the enemy and cultivating their good will is worth doing as a working mother

Yes women. Don't inconvenience your employer by getting pregnant. Bad girl.

HesDeadBenYouCanStopNow · 02/02/2023 09:41

Employers can ask but cannot expect this. What if women had other commitments on non work days such as another job, or has other children that aren't in childcare on that day (you aren't supposed to take them to appointments). Or other caring responsibilities.

We don't ask full time workers to make up time for maternity appointments it sounds like discrimination of part time workers if we expect it from them.

In law these appointments are protected so there is no reason the woman needs to agree to swap days, which is basically a request to make up the time.

GoodChat · 02/02/2023 09:41

Moopsi · 02/02/2023 09:40

I'm not sure this is legal. Maternity rights are protected.

Perhaps you have commitments on a Thursday that you cannot change....

They're allowed to ask. They haven't inisisted.

EspeciallyDetermined · 02/02/2023 09:46

I can see both sides. Yes it is a protected right but, my job was 45 mins commute from home when I was pregnant and you got no choice over midwife appointments as they were on a particular day and stacked so you had to take the next sequential timeslot so they could get out to their community visits after their clinic. This meant that most of my appointments were in the middle of the day and me driving to work and back twice and splitting my work day into 2 short and fairly useless chunks. So I would have jumped at this offer.

EspeciallyDetermined · 02/02/2023 09:47

Also, I suppose it depends on your work, I wasn't expected to make the hours up as such but no one else picked up my work if I wasn't there, I just had to squeeze it into my other hours those weeks.

PatientlyWaiting21 · 02/02/2023 10:09

Binfluencer · 02/02/2023 09:39

Yes she has a legal right. But why inconvenience your employer and colleagues for the sake of it? Why be awkward? Employers aren't the enemy and cultivating their good will is worth doing as a working mother

She isn’t being awkward, have you any idea how difficult it is to get and reschedule midwife appointments?

mia546 · 02/02/2023 10:10

Binfluencer · 02/02/2023 09:28

Why wouldn't you help your employer out by doing this? Maternity appointments aren't every week and certainly don't take a half a day.

You're coming across as inflexible and hard work, life is about give and take.

Because she's pregnant and she doesn't HAVE to do anything she doesn't want to do, not all of us live to follow commands we have our own lives too.

viques · 02/02/2023 10:16

My old Deputy used to try this on with pregnant teachers, she tried to persuade them to schedule antenatal appointments in their PPA time, I always had to politely remind her that both were obligations the school was required to honour.

UK maternity rights have been hard won, and we need to protect them for future generations. We all know where “being kind” has ended up kicking women in the teeth is other situations.

FeinCuroxiVooz · 02/02/2023 10:28

you have the tight to paid time off for maternity care. you have other commitments on the thursdays that they don't pay you for and it's none of theur business what you do with that time but you have no obligation to restructure it for their convenience.

you just need to hold firm and repeat as often as necessary, "I have the legally protected right to paid time off for maternity related appointments, and the right not to be discriminated against for any reason connected to my pregnancy."

they are trying to railroad you into your maternity appointment time being part of your unpaid time off rather than paid, and that is discriminatory and withholding your legal rights from you.

Scienceadvisory · 02/02/2023 10:32

PatientlyWaiting21 · 02/02/2023 10:09

She isn’t being awkward, have you any idea how difficult it is to get and reschedule midwife appointments?

Show quote history

But she's not being asked to reschedule. Her employer has asked if she could change her non-working day to the day of the appointments

Mariposa26 · 02/02/2023 10:40

Gosh can’t believe some of the comments here. This is a legal right and despite that, it is almost impossible to change these appointments particularly at the moment with staffing levels - I’ve been all over the place location wise for my midwife appointments and fitted in wherever they can put me!
“Reasonable time” in this context, as outlined in link a PP shared, relates to the amount of time spent going to the appointment - not that you should rearrange the appointment for a non-working day!

FeinCuroxiVooz · 02/02/2023 10:42

Scienceadvisory · 02/02/2023 10:32

But she's not being asked to reschedule. Her employer has asked if she could change her non-working day to the day of the appointments

Show quote history

and this is discriminatory against OP as a part time worker. the right to paid time off for maternity appointments is not something the employer can choose whether to grant at their discretion. a full time worker couldn't be forced to take annual leave for these appointments. even making the suggestion demonstrates that the employer has a discriminatory and illegal attitude.

cortisolqueen · 02/02/2023 10:43

This makes me cross.

I had to attend ante natal appointments every 1-2 weeks because of a pre-existing condition. It was fairly common that appointments would take most of the morning (see several specialists, more when having a scan/blood tests etc) not least because the clinic was so full.

The clinic I went to was on a specific day, therefore was no way I could rearrange.

Employers need to take the health of their employees seriously rather than seeing their pregnancy as a major inconvenience.

TheBeesKnee · 02/02/2023 10:45

You don't have to say yes, of course, but why is it taking you half a day? [Confused]