An employee that is pregnant who has, on advice from her GP or  Midwife, made an appointment to receive ante-natal care, has a right to take time from her normal working hours to attend for that care. She has the right to be paid for that time too. The right does not depend on the employee having worked for the employer for any set period, it is applicable from the very start of their employment. This applies irrespective of the number of hours worked, or if she is on a temporary, fixed-term, or permanent contract.

Agency workers also have the right to take paid time off for antenatal care if they have worked in the same placement for at least 12 weeks.

Antenatal appointments can include appointments for scans, pregnancy health checks, parentcraft classes, relaxation classes etc, so long as they are recommended by the individual's doctor, nurse or midwife.$0$0"Reasonable time" off includes the duration of the appointment itself together with reasonable travel time to and from the appointment.

Employers cannot force the individual to take the time off outside their normal working hours, but it would of course be sensible to see if the appointment can actually be taken outside of their normal working hours.

For the second and any subsequent ante-natal appointments the employer is entitled to request that the employee produces a certificate to confirm that she is in fact pregnant, together with the confirmation of the appointment.

If an individual has a high risk pregnancy or pre-existing health conditions that mean that they are likely to need additional appointments to normal it may help if that individual can provide their employer with information to explain their need for extra antenatal appointments and the importance of those appointments.

An employee that has not been allowed by her employer to attend for ante-natal care, or has not been paid for the time she has taken to attend for the appointment may pursue a claim in the Employment Tribunal.

Since October 2014 it has been possible for a person to take time off to accompany a pregnant women at an ante-natal appointment. The right allows a person to accompany on up to 2 such appointments, each being limited to 6 1/2 hours duration. This right applies to the father of the baby, the expectant mother's spouse, civil partner, of partner (of either gender) from an enduring relationship. There is no initial qualifying period of employment required by that person before being able to exercise this right. However, the right is to unpaid time off only.

In order to deal with this fairly and consistently employers should address the issue of ante-natal care within an appropriate procedure dealing with maternity rights. (see link to PYG policy)