Medical appointments!

Unfortunately if it isn't in your employment contract, then employer doesn't have to pay you for time off.

I was always allowed time off because I always helped out in times of need and was always in early and worked late without extra payment.

All contracts of employment will stipulate the minimal contract between you and your employer. I always found all of mine were exceptional toward me because I never took the mickey and gave extra time and commitment to my employer. So although officially time off was either unpaid or tobe made up, Ididn't have to officially.

I am the same way. I am a full time salaried employee, and if i have a doctors appointment or diabetic issues i have no problem with being allowed time off to tend to them, but i have to make up my time away later that day, or week (so i still have my 40 hour week) If I can't it gets logged as 'Sick Time' of which i only am allowed 5 days each year.

From what i have heard (In Canada) this is fairly normal.. Employers are fine with you leaving, by why should they pay for our problems?

Seriously_Sax1989 said:

Ahh ok thanks, I only wondered as there's nothing at all regarding medical appointments in my contract except in the "handbook" (yes, that's right) it only says "try to make appointments outside of work" but when you start at 7.30am and finish at 4.30pm it's quite difficult!

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That's what our handbook says, along with something like "if you can't get one outside of work, try to make it at the beginning or end of the day to minimse the time you miss". My advice would be to talk to HR... I did that when I moved from quarterly diabetes appointments to monthly (in preparation for starting on a pump) and they were very understanding. I don't have to use my holiday or sick days for these routine appointments. But - and this is the important bit - I give the same flexibility in return. The nature of my job is that I have immovable deadlines set by external clients, and I will always stay late (without claiming overtime) when necessary. I also get in a little early most days to beat the traffic, and the company knows this. So it all balances out.

Some of my colleagues who watch the clock and never work a minute longer than they have to do not get the same understanding as I do, which I think is only fair. If you only do the minimum for a company, they can't be expected to give you anything other than what's legally required.

I am salaried and we also have a flexi work policy so I am contracted 37.5 hours but if I work more I can leave early or have a day off etc. if an appointment is at the hospital or somewhere and they have sent a letter stating the time for the appointment I can have the time off and it isn't taken off my hours (so I am essentially paid for it, including travel time) but if it is something like a GP appointment or a review at go surgery where I phone up to make the appointment I have to take it off and work it back as they say that I could choose to make that appointment out of work hours (although I work 8.30-5 mon-fri!). I do however work in the building next door to my GP so at least I don my need to take much time for travelling!

My workplace are really supportive - we can apply for paid time for medical appointments at managers discretion - my manager and I have a great relationship, and I regularly do them favours with shift changes/extra duties etc so any time off I need medically is approved. This doesn't come out of annual leave/TOIL etc and whilst we do have company guidelines about how long appointments should be/when annual leave/TOIL should be used instead etc, I've never had a manager who made me take a holiday or work back time needed for any medical appointment, diabetic or otherwise. I do work for a very large company though so that may be why we have such 'luxuries' with it?

Way my manager puts it makes sense to me, whether I've been good/bad with my diabetes now/in the past is irrelevant to them unless it affects my ability to work, so why would they make it a challenge for me to attend appointments to help improve my control/deal with complications when ultimately attending the appointments will mean my ability to work isn't affected? =)