getting time off work

[jodse80]

Just wondered how your or your husbands employers reacted to time off for appointments etc. Already have an unhappy boss because I have a doctor appointment soon on a work day. I have applied for the morning off and she knows why but is not understanding at all. Bit concerned there will be loads more to come and I may end up using all my holiday on it if they are not compassionate.

 

[xxshellsxx]

I work for county council, so mine have been really good, i have flexi hours so can have the time but i tend to use annual leave. I have already been told i am entitled to paid leave if i go down the IVF route, my new boss has been great x DH's work have been great so far too, the only thing effecting him with time off paid or unpaid is the other guy is there to do his job if he's off. We've been really lucky in that respect. You should check your terms and conditions of your contract to see if your allowed that 'special leave' without having to justify it to a cranky boss - maybe go above your boss and agree something with HR? x

 

[weebubba]

I guess I'm in the minority here as I'm lucky enough to have a very supportive employer. Is there any way you could maybe offer to work late or go in early to cover the time you need off? I know its not always possible, though it would possibly go in your favour if you could.

Sorry she has been less than understanding towards you some people are just cold fish!

Good luck and I hope she can work on a compromise with you.

 

[Prayerful]

You could look into applying for FMLA. I didn't know you could do that for intermittent appointments, I thought it was just for extended time off, but apparently you can. I got in trouble at work for not giving 48 hours notice before my appointment. My manager said it wasn't too big a deal though because I wasn't going to make a habit of doing that, but that is when I informed her that I have been struggling with a "medical issue" for 2 years now and need to have frequent short notice appointments. That is when she actually recommended applying for the FMLA. Apparently you have to work at your current job for 1 year before you can get FMLA though... and I won't hit the one year mark at my job until October! Thankfully she is still understanding and has found a way for me to still go to all of my appointments without getting an occurrence counted against me.

Anyway, to make a long story short, look into to applying for FMLA. Even if your boss is unhappy about it, she can't doing anything it if you have FMLA!

 

[longing]

I work for Royal Mail, they have been really supportive. There has been 2 guys at work (that I know of) who have had time off during IVF and other treatments and there has been no problem. My own experience for getting appts etc off has been positive. I know not all companys are the same though, especially smaller companies I imagine. But if you have an appt I am pretty sure they have to honor it. Can you offer to work the hours back maybe? How very mean of your boss to know your situation but not be compassionate about it. I suppose its difficult for people who havenever been here to understand tho.

Good luck

 

[Molae06]

My current occupation, I am in charge of making the schedules so I am very lucky to schedule my apts whenever is convenient with me.

But, my job I was working at last year was LESS than understanding. I am not going to use innapropriate language but you can all figure out what the boss was. Anyway, when I first let the cat out of the bag that we were doing fertility treatments my boss was not enthused. I remember her saying to make sure I make my appointments during lunch breaks because she just couln't have me taking off all the time. (At that point I was going to the dr once a month). Then, when it worked and I got a BFP over the weekend I couldn't wait until Monday to rush to the dr and confirm that my dreams had come true. My boss did not want to let me go home early so I could go to the dr. I cried for about 2 hours straight. I couldn't believe she wouldn't let me go. She finally told me to "just go then". The next day she made some rude comment about how all she needed right now was a pregnant person who was going to have appointment after appointment. Well, she sure must have been happy when a couple weeks later I m/c. I should mention. My bosses daughter was pregnant at the same time and took loads of time off due to her pregnancy. Pays to be the bosses daughter I supposed...