There is no general legal right in the UK to time off work for a medical appointment. Acas states it plainly: employees have no statutory entitlement to attend routine GP, dental, or hospital appointments during working hours, and where an employer does allow it, the time off can be unpaid.
That is the rule. The exceptions are what matter, because five specific categories of appointment do carry statutory or Equality Act protection — and most disputes happen because neither side realises which category they are in.
Key Takeaways
- No general statutory right to time off for medical appointments — employers have discretion over routine appointments.
- Antenatal appointments are the clearest exception: employees get reasonable paid time off from day one.
- Disability-related appointments can require a reasonable adjustment under the Equality Act 2010.
- Employers owe a duty of care, and blanket refusals are hard to defend when an appointment genuinely cannot be moved.
The Default Position: Discretion, Not Entitlement
Your employer is purchasing your time during contracted hours. A routine appointment that could be scheduled outside those hours is, legally, your problem to solve.
In practice, most UK employers do allow it. Acas advises employers to be flexible, to recognise that many appointments genuinely cannot be rearranged — hospital consultant slots, specialist clinics, procedures with fixed dates — and not to assume an employee is being evasive when they decline to share details.
What the employer decides is whether the time is:
- Paid, under a discretionary policy
- Unpaid, deducted from salary
- Taken as annual leave, in whole or half days
- Made up, by working the hours at another time
None of these is legally mandated for a routine appointment. Check your staff handbook — many UK employers offer a paid allowance of a few hours or days per year for medical appointments, and that policy is enforceable even though the underlying entitlement is not statutory.
The Five Exceptions That Carry Legal Protection
| Situation | Right | Paid? |
|---|---|---|
| Antenatal appointments (employee) | Reasonable time off, from day one | Paid |
| Accompanying pregnant partner to antenatal | Up to 6.5 hours, max 2 appointments | Usually unpaid |
| Disability-related appointments | Reasonable adjustment under Equality Act 2010 | Depends on adjustment |
| Gender reassignment-related care | Protected characteristic — cannot be treated less favourably | Per employer policy |
| Emergency involving a dependant | Reasonable unpaid time off | Unpaid |
Antenatal Appointments
The strongest right in the list. An employee who is pregnant is entitled to a reasonable amount of paid time off for antenatal appointments, and this applies from the first day of employment with no qualifying period. Antenatal care includes not just scans but also relaxation and parenting classes where recommended by a midwife or doctor.
The employer can request evidence of the appointment, but only after the first appointment — they cannot require proof before the first visit. A medical certificate confirming pregnancy is sufficient evidence for ongoing appointments.
An employer who refuses antenatal time off, or treats a pregnant employee unfavourably for taking it, faces an uncapped compensation claim under the Equality Act 2010.
Disability-Related Appointments
If an employee has a disability (as defined by the Equality Act 2010), attending regular medical appointments may be a reasonable adjustment the employer is obliged to make. This applies to ongoing conditions such as physiotherapy, psychiatric appointments, or dialysis where the schedule is fixed by the healthcare provider.
The key test is whether the employer knew or ought reasonably to have known about the disability, and whether the time off is a proportionate response to the barrier the disability creates. A blanket “no time off for appointments” policy that fails to account for disability-related needs is likely to be an unlawful failure to make reasonable adjustments.
Emergency Involving a Dependendant
Under Section 57A of the Employment Rights Act 1996, an employee is entitled to a reasonable amount of unpaid time off to deal with an emergency involving a dependant. This can include taking a child or elderly parent to a hospital appointment at short notice when no other arrangements are available.
This right is unpaid and limited to what is reasonable in the circumstances. It does not cover routine scheduled appointments.
What “Reasonable” Means in Practice
The word “reasonable” does the heavy lifting in most of these exceptions, and there is no statutory definition. Employment tribunals look at:
- Could the appointment be rescheduled? If the hospital slot is fixed for months ahead, “reasonableness” favours the employee. If the GP offered a choice of times, it favours the employer.
- How much time is needed? A 15-minute dental check is treated differently from a half-day hospital procedure.
- What notice was given? Last-minute requests are harder to justify, though genuine emergencies override this.
- What alternatives were explored? Could the employee work from home that day? Could someone cover? Could the hours be made up?
Acas recommends that employers and employees try to agree on a solution before either side digs in.
Can the Employer Require a Doctor’s Note?
For a single appointment, generally no. A GP fit note applies to periods of absence, not to individual appointments. However, the employer can ask for confirmation that the appointment was attended — a text message from the hospital, an appointment card, or a letter from the clinic.
If the employer suspects the appointment is being used as cover for absence, they can raise it through the normal attendance management process. But they cannot impose a blanket requirement for medical evidence for every appointment.
The Duty of Care Argument
Even where no statutory right exists, the employer owes a common law duty of care to its employees. Refusing time off for an appointment that a medical professional has scheduled — particularly a specialist referral or a follow-up to a serious condition — creates a risk that the employer is aware the employee has an unmet medical need.
If the employee’s condition worsens because the appointment was missed, the employer’s duty of care becomes relevant to any subsequent claim — whether for constructive dismissal, personal injury, or discrimination.
This is not a statutory right to appointment time off. It is a practical reminder that a blanket refusal carries risk beyond the immediate scheduling dispute.
How Leave Balance Helps
Leave Balance lets employees request appointment time off through a self-service portal, with managers able to approve, suggest alternatives, or flag the request against the relevant statutory category. For disability-related and antenatal appointments, the system flags the request for priority handling and ensures the statutory obligations are visible to the approving manager.
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