Time off for medical appointments

[xanderma]

My friend works part-time 4 and a half days a week. She has a hospital appointment (which as you know, can be nigh on impossible to change) which is during her normal working time, and her boss is insisting that she works on what would be her afternoon off to make up the "lost time"
Is this right? I thought everyone was entitled to time off for medical appointments. And is she being discriminated against for being part-time, as full-time staff are not asked to make up lost time in this way.
TIA

[chelle7272]

Employers are not obligated to give time off for medical appointments, unless the employee is pregnant.
However, it would seem unfair that full time workers are not expected to owe the time or take leave, as she is.

[bednobs]

The boss is right.
I have NEVER had any trouble changing a hospital appointment and i have hundreds - has she even tried?

[Twenty20]

I'm not sure that it is 'nigh on impossible to change' an appointment.

If she can't change the appointment she would need to either make up the time or lose her pay for the time she's off if that's what her employer wants. It's really up to the employer unless there's something in her contract which allows her to have time off for appointments.

[Chickadee]

It's not nigh on impossible to change a hospital appointment but it does depend on the type of appt.

I go to Barts hospital for regular appts and the clinic is only held on a Monday afternoon.

Likewise another clinic I go to at another hospital is only on a Thursday afternoon.

But appts for scans, x-rays, blood tests etc are easy to change.

[xanderma]

Thanks for all your replies - I'm surprised to hear that she is not entitled to time off - and I do feel it is very unfair that part-time workers have to make the time up, simply because there are slots available in which they can, where full-timers are given time off with full pay.
However, I'll let her know your replies.
And I only said appointments "can" be difficult to change - when you've waited ages for a date, it's not always a sensible course to turn the appointment down and request another one!

[baileybird]

it is not an entitlement in law - why should the employer be out of pocket when she could make the time up. A chance to really impress the boss rather than annoy them.

[dot.haukes]

i know you say she works 4.5 days a week, but i am taking that as 36 hours per week, which is not part-time. is that correct?

[xanderma]

no, it's about 25 hours as her job is in a school.

[pink-kittens]

She could rearrange it to be on a SDD then? there are 2 coming up this term for many schools across the UK