Time off work for medical / hospital appts.

oscar52

Good afternoon.

Am after advice for a work collegue, who has a hospital appointment coming up for a mammogram - due to family history, this person is required to have one each year.

What is the position with time off work to attend? - I am aware that some conditions / illnesses demand time off work and that if your employer takes you on knowing this, they have to allow time off for that specific reason, but am unsure on what the position would be here.

Due to locality and work place, it is not worth the person coming into work, then leave and have to come back - What "management" have suggested, is ONE hour out of office and then to make any other time needed up.

Are they able to request for time to attend without having to make this up later in day or the week?

Thanks in advance.

Oldernotwiser

The management seem to have offered a compromise solution, which seems quite reasonable.

LondonDiva

You have no legal right to time off work for medical appts (maternity appts are a seperate issue). Either take the compromise or book annual or unpaid leave.

Comyface

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

The management seem to have offered a compromise solution, which seems quite reasonable.

I agree, very reasonable indeed. I have a chronic medical condition and I take holidays/TOIL for my hospital and GP appointments. I've never been offered (or ever asked for) paid leave for these.

oscar52

LondonDiva wrote: »

You have no legal right to time off work for medical appts (maternity appts are a seperate issue). Either take the compromise or book annual or unpaid leave.

I would have to disagree with this.

I myself have a condition which involves 12month / sometime 24 month, check up scans etc at a specialist hospital. I informed my employer of this condition at the time of commencing my employment - and was told at the time they were required to give me leave to attend.

Appreciate this is not quite the same, but surely, it must be looked on the fact that this person has a much higher risk of life threatening illness, which requires monitoring - what happens if the person concerned is unable to book time off due to head count and other people having booked the same time off?

How many people would consider their employer to be more important than theeir health?

Oldernotwiser

oscar52 wrote: »

I would have to disagree with this.

I myself have a condition which involves 12month / sometime 24 month, check up scans etc at a specialist hospital. I informed my employer of this condition at the time of commencing my employment - and was told at the time they were required to give me leave to attend.

Appreciate this is not quite the same, but surely, it must be looked on the fact that this person has a much higher risk of life threatening illness, which requires monitoring - what happens if the person concerned is unable to book time off due to head count and other people having booked the same time off?

How many people would consider their employer to be more important than theeir health?

I imagine someone in this situation would take priority over someone just having a day's holiday but that still doesn't mean you should be offered additional leave for it.

Savvy_Sue

oscar52 wrote: »

and was told at the time they were required to give me leave to attend.

Question is, who 'requires' them to give you this leave?

At my last job, our contracts gave us this right for hospital appointments - anything like dentist, routine GP and optician we were expected to do in our own time (we had flexi), but appointments you don't get a lot of choice about we were able to take paid, without making the hours up.

So that might be true for your company, because the standard contract 'requires' them to give you the time off.

Doesn't mean every company is require to do this. And I'm not aware that it is a legal requirement.

Nile

oscar52 wrote: »

Due to locality and work place, it is not worth the person coming into work, then leave and have to come back - What "management" have suggested, is ONE hour out of office and then to make any other time needed up.

Are they able to request for time to attend without having to make this up later in day or the week?

Thanks in advance.

Couldn't the person contact the hospital (breast clinic) and ask for the earliest appointment of the day. This should ensure that the person is seen at the appointed time..............because it's often the case that later hospital appointments don't run to time.:rolleyes:

The person could attend the breast clinic and go to work straight after and offer to make up the lost hour(s) and it keeps their employer happy.

The last hospital appointment of the day might be an option and the person needs to ask their employer to leave work early..............and offer to make up the time.

If these options are not possible, the person will have to take a day (or half a day) from their annual leave entitlement.

dmg24

Nile wrote: »

Couldn't the person contact the hospital (breast clinic) and ask for the earliest appointment of the day. This should ensure that the person is seen at the appointed time..............because it's often the case that later hospital appointments don't run to time.:rolleyes:

The person could attend the breast clinic and go to work straight after and offer to make up the lost hour(s) and it keeps their employer happy.

The last hospital appointment of the day might be an option and the person needs to ask their employer to leave work early..............and offer to make up the time.

If these options are not possible, the person will have to take a day (or half a day) from their annual leave entitlement.

Several (if not more) hospitals offer screen appts up to 7pm, so I agree that the patient should be able to ask for a more convenient appt.

getmore4less

I had a 30-40min drive each way to work, hospital next door to home, always asked for the first(morning) or last(afternoon/evening) appoinment of the clinic. this was usualy no problem.

At the clinic I attended the last was usualy best since you were usualy seen quickly, they always had no shows and they could pack up as soon as you were done.

Oldernotwiser

If this is only an annual check up, I don't really see the problem in taking a day (or half a day) leave, if your colleague doesn't want to make the hours up. Is that really such a big deal where cancer's concerned?