Time off to accompany a pregnant woman to antenatal appointments

From 1 October 2014, an expectant father or the partner (including same sex) of a pregnant woman will be entitled to take unpaid time off work to accompany the woman to up to 2 of her ante-natal appointments. Employees accompanying the expectant mother to her ante-natal appointments are entitled to unpaid leave for 1 or 2 appointments and the time off is capped at six and a half hours for each appointment. BIS has launched new guidance for employers covering this topic, which will assist colleges with drafting revisions to their policies and managing requests for time off work from employees.