Antenatal appointments

Pregnant employees have paid time off

A pregnant employee has a day-one right to reasonable paid time off for antenatal care advised by an appropriate healthcare professional. It can include appointments, scans, relevant classes and reasonable travel time. There is no fixed number of appointments and no six-and-a-half-hour cap for the pregnant employee.

After the first appointment, an employer may ask for evidence of the appointment and advice to attend. Do not ask for wider health information that is not needed. A qualifying agency worker can gain the paid right after 12 weeks in the same role, but the rule does not extend automatically to every worker or contractor. The Acas antenatal guidance explains the distinction.

Companions have a different unpaid right

An eligible employee can take unpaid time to accompany a pregnant person to up to two antenatal appointments. This can include the baby's father, a spouse, civil partner or long-term partner, and an intended parent in a qualifying surrogacy arrangement. Each absence is capped at six and a half hours including travel.

The companion right is day one for employees. Agency workers have their own 12-week qualification rule. An employer can offer a more generous paid arrangement, but should label it as policy rather than the statutory minimum.

Ask only for the evidence the law allows

You may ask a companion for a declaration stating the appointment date and time, their relationship to the pregnant person and the purpose of attending. Do not demand the pregnant person's appointment card. Section 57ZE sets out the declaration boundary.

IVF appointments are not antenatal care until pregnancy is established. Record only the request, time agreed and pay treatment. Northern Ireland follows the same core distinction between the pregnant employee and an eligible companion.