Time off for Hospital appointments

Assistant

Hi

Please can someone advise?

I work full time in a school in a support role.
I have a hospital appointment (time and date out of my control)
I have requested time off to attend ,not a whole day approx 3 hours.

I have had my request denied!:mad:
Is this legal?
I have waited 8 weeks for the appointment.

Thanks in advance

dmg24

Yes, it is. However, if you are disabled it *may* be classed as a reasonable adaptation to allow you to have time off for appts. If you ring the hospital they should be able to arrange a more convenient appt.

Sambucus_Nigra

What sort of time off? Leave, TOIL, unpaid?

What sort of notice have you given for the time off? 1 month, 1 week, 1 day?

What reason did your boss give for the refusal?

Assistant

Hi
I asked for the time off 4 weeks before the appointment.
He replied to me 2 weeks before the appointment.
He wrote on my request form,all medical appointments have to be made outside my working hours.

I finish work at 4.30pm every day,so that's a bit tricky.

I have tried to arrange a different time for my appointment,but the hospital will only give me the next available time slot,I can not request a late time.

Others at my work have been to hospital appointments?:(

wantsajob

Surely it makes more sense to allow an employee 3 hours off in 2 weeks to go to an appointment than possibly have the employee off for weeks on end later because they could not go to hospital to get their problem sorted.

LittleVoice

Assistant wrote: »

Hi
I asked for the time off 4 weeks before the appointment.
He replied to me 2 weeks before the appointment.
He wrote on my request form,all medical appointments have to be made outside my working hours.

I finish work at 4.30pm every day,so that's a bit tricky.

I have tried to arrange a different time for my appointment,but the hospital will only give me the next available time slot,I can not request a late time.

Others at my work have been to hospital appointments?:(

You haven't said whether the leave request was for paid, unpaid or TOIL. Would that make a difference?

However, unless your line manager is the head teacher, why not take it higher?

GavB79

Sounds harsh to me, you generally have to take what you're given with Hospital appointments! Wonder if your line manager would practice what he preaches if he needed to have an appointment!
My school tends to allow hospital appointments paid, or at worst unpaid. Dentist/opticians are usually told to rearrange tho.

Nicki

If it is the head who has declined it, you can appeal to the chair of governors. I would suggest in your appeal you say, if it is true, that appointments are not available out of working hours and also that you will take time as unpaid leave.

Otherwise half term is not far away. Could you rearrange the appointment for that week?

Assistant

The head teacher declined my request.(Paid)

I need this appointment,I have requested for it unpaid I will see what is decided tomorrow.

I am peeved as other support staff have been for Drs and hospital appointments?

I make ALL my Drs appointments out of school hours.:mad:

bertiebots

I work part time in a school and the LA policy is that any hospital appointments etc must be made outside working hours. Obviously this isn't always possible (as in your case) so a request for unpaid leave can be made and may be granted at the managers discretion.
If you are payed 52 weeks a year because the hours you work are annualized (for eg you work 45 wks a yr plus holiday pay/training days-salary is pay divided by 52 weeks), their view is that you have already been payed for those hours in your salary . If you do not work the hours you have already been payed for then it is deducted from your salary.
Frustrating yes, but a downside of the perks of term time working, if indeed that is the case for you.
Hope you manage to get it sorted.