Time off for medical appointments: UK employer guide

No, not as a general rule. Acas says there is no legal right to time off for a medical appointment. Employers do have a duty of care for their employees' health, safety and wellbeing, though, and Acas says most will allow time off if the appointment cannot be rearranged.

Check the employee's contract and your policies first. If either promises time off for appointments, paid or unpaid, that promise is binding. Where both are silent, Acas suggests the employee and employer talk and agree a one-off arrangement.

It can be unpaid. Acas says time off for medical appointments may be unpaid, so the answer depends on the contract and your policy. Acas lists the alternatives employees can use instead: using holiday, using their breaks, making the time up later, or booking appointments outside working hours.

Statutory Sick Pay is for employees who are too ill to work, so an employee who is fit for work and simply attending an appointment is not off sick for SSP purposes. If the employee is off sick and the appointment falls in that period, it is part of the sickness absence.

A few groups do have statutory protection, and treating their appointments as purely discretionary is where most employers go wrong.

Employers must make reasonable adjustments for disabled employees. Acas says repeated disability-related absences, including planned or unexpected appointments, may mean an adjustment is needed. In practice that can mean allowing time off for treatment, adjusting hours around regular appointments, or leaving that time out when you count absences against attendance triggers.

Refusing time off for disability-related treatment, or counting it against the employee in a way you would not for others, risks a disability discrimination claim. Our guide to disability leave and adjustments covers how to have that conversation.

Time off for dependants covers emergencies, not planned appointments. GOV.UK says it does not apply where the employee knew about the situation beforehand, and gives taking a child to hospital for an appointment as an example of something not covered.

Carer's leave fills part of that gap. Employees can take up to one week of unpaid carer's leave every 12 months, from their first day, to give or arrange care for a dependant with a long-term care need. Acas gives taking a disabled child to a hospital appointment as an example. For half a day or a full day, the employee must give at least three days' notice.

You can ask, but Acas says employees do not have to provide proof. Evidence such as a hospital letter or a text confirming a GP appointment can help agree the time off.

If you suspect someone is not being honest, Acas says to raise it with the employee first, bearing in mind that appointments may be sensitive, and to follow a fair investigation process before taking any further action.

A short written policy avoids case-by-case arguments and makes sure the statutory exceptions are applied. Acas says any absence policy should clearly state the rules on time off for elective surgery, so include that too.

Record appointments as their own absence type rather than as sickness. Logging a dentist visit as sick leave inflates sickness figures and can push someone over a Bradford Factor or attendance trigger for an absence that had nothing to do with being unwell.

In Leavely you can set up a separate leave type for medical appointments with half-day booking and its own yearly allowance, so appointments are tracked without touching holiday or sickness records.