Providing time off for ante-natal care
All pregnant employees are entitled to paid time off for antenatal care. This information will guide you through the process.
Some of the main points concerning employers providing time off for ante-natal care:
- All pregnant employees are entitled to take time off work for antenatal care.
- The time off is to be paid as though the employee were at work.
- Paid time off is available for antenatal care where the appointment is attended on the advice of a registered doctor, midwife or health visitor.
- Antenatal care can include, for example, medical examinations, appointments with the employee’s midwife, antenatal classes, relaxation and parent craft classes.
- An employer can request evidence of the appointments, such as an appointment card. An employer may also request evidence of pregnancy. An employer cannot request evidence for the first appointment.
- An employer cannot unreasonably refuse to allow the employee time off for antenatal care.
On this page
The law
Paid time off is available for antenatal care where the appointment is attended on the advice of a registered doctor, midwife or health visitor. Antenatal care can include medical examinations, appointments with the employee’s midwife, antenatal classes, relaxation and parent craft classes.
An employer can request evidence of the appointments, such as an appointment card. An employer can also request evidence of pregnancy from the employee in the form of a certificate from a registered doctor, midwife or health visitor. An employer cannot request evidence for the first appointment.
Pay
An employer must pay the employee her normal rate of pay for time taken off work for antenatal care. This money is not reimbursed by HM Revenue and Customs.
Time Off
The employee cannot be required by her employer to make up the time she has missed at some other time. She also cannot be compelled to take annual leave to cover the time off.
An employer must not unreasonably refuse to allow a pregnant employee the time off.
There are no specific rules about how much time an employee can take off for antenatal care. The amount of time taken must be reasonable in the circumstances.
No Disadvantage
An employee must not be dismissed for a reason connected to taking time off for antenatal care.
An employer should not take into account the time that an employee has taken off for antenatal care when selecting for redundancy.
An employee must not suffer a disadvantage for a reason connected to taking time off for antenatal care.
Relevant Legislation
Please note that some of the legislation listed above has been amended since it originally came into force. You must ensure, therefore, that you refer to the most recent version.
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Further information
There are no specific legal rules about how much time an employee can take off. The amount of time taken must be reasonable in the circumstances. For example, an employee is entitled to take time off to travel to and from the appointment, wait for the appointment and attend the appointment or class. This should all be paid leave.
The employee would normally be expected to go into work before and after the appointment, if that is consistent with her working hours and the timing of the appointment.
An employer must not unreasonably refuse to allow a pregnant employee the time off.
Sometimes it is not clear how to work out an employee’s normal rate of pay. How is this calculated?
An employee should be paid at her normal hourly rate of pay during the period of time she takes off for antenatal care. The normal hourly rate is calculated by dividing the amount of a week’s pay by the number of the employee’s normal working hours in a week. The normal working hours will usually be clear from the employee’s contract of employment. If working hours vary from week to week, they should be averaged over the previous 12 complete working weeks. Overtime is counted only if it is compulsory under the terms of the employment contract.
Can an employer stipulate when an employee can take time off for antenatal care?
All pregnant employees have the right not to be unreasonably refused the time off work they need for antenatal care. An employer may ask a woman to try to arrange appointments in such a way as to minimise disruption at work if this is possible but may not refuse a woman the right to go on an appointment without good reason. Most antenatal appointments have to be made during the working day. The employer should not assume that a woman is free to go to an appointment outside working hours even if she works part-time as clinic appointments are often inflexible.
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Additional resources
Acas guidance on time off for antenatal care
Guidance also available in our EOC law section.
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