Evidence of medical appointments

We were recently asked whether an employer could demand to see evidence of their employee's medical appointments. Our short answer was no. An employee is not obliged under UK employment law to share that with their employers.

However there are some best practise areas we can share to help employers in this instance.

1. There's no automatic legal right to time off for appointments

   
   

Under UK law, employees do not have an automatic statutory right to take time off work for routine medical, dental or hospital appointments. Employers should check the employment contract, any workplace policies, and apply them consistently.

2. Proof of medical appointments is not legally required

There is no statutory requirement for an employee to provide proof of a medical appointment simply because they are attending one. ACAS guidance states that while it may be helpful if an employee provides proof (e.g. a hospital letter or appointment text), there is no legal obligation for them to do so and employers can not and must not demand to see evidence.

3. Sick leave and medical evidence (fit notes) is different

UK legislation on statutory sick pay (SSP) is separate to attending medical appointments at hospitals, dentists, doctors or for physio.

For sickness absence:

• Employees can self-certify sickness for the first 7 calendar days (no medical evidence required).

• After 7 days of incapacity for work, employers can ask for a fit note (Statement of Fitness for Work) from an approved healthcare professional as evidence for SSP purposes.

• For more detail visit - Fit note: guidance for employers and line managers - GOV.UK

4. Data protection and sensitive health information

If an employee voluntarily provides proof of an appointment, remember that health information is “special category data” under the Data Protection Act 2018 / UK GDPR. Employers must store it securely and limit access to authorised staff only.

5. Reasonable adjustments and discrimination law

Under the Equality Act 2010, employers may need to consider reasonable adjustments if medical appointments relate to a disability. This is separate from the question of proof but can affect how time off and evidence are handled by an employer. See here for guidance - https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/contents

For more guidance, ACAS provides a great guide on time off for medical appointments that you can share with your employees which is available here: https://www.acas.org.uk/time-off-for-medical-appointments

From our perspective whilst you have no legal right to see or keep any appointment correspondence when your employee requests time off you need to have a robust policy around this. Staff should know what your company policy is for this area for example can they have appointment time unpaid or can they make time up or do you just give them that time.

It's important to remember as an employer that medical appointments often fall within usual business working hours and people often wait a long time to obtain appointments especially at the hospital. Having healthy employees might mean they need to attend their appointments with no questions asked which will be more beneficial for you in the long term.

Do you have a question for our HR team? Drop us a line at hrteam@hellopeoplesolutions.com