Are you allowed to go to the doctor during working hours?

Doctor’s appointments are generally considered a personal matter and should therefore be scheduled outside working hours whenever possible, regardless of whether you work in an office or from home. This applies in particular to routine examinations such as check-ups since it’s possible to plan them in advance.

If your doctor’s appointment is medically urgent, you have the right to attend it during working hours. Limited practice opening hours or a lack of available appointments may also be valid reasons.

Important: Employees must inform their employer as early as possible. If you attend a doctor’s appointment during working hours without permission, you could receive a formal warning or even face dismissal.(3)

When are you entitled to paid time off?

You have the right to go to the doctor during working hours if you:

need urgent medical help
have to undergo an examination that must take place at a specific time, such as a blood test
can only get an appointment during working hours because of limited opening hours

In most cases you are entitled not only to time off work, but also to continued pay during this time.(1,2,3)

However, this may not apply if your employment contract or a collective agreement says otherwise.(4) The time away from work must be limited to a “relatively insignificant period of time”.(1) In other words, the time away from work should be no more than reasonably necessary.

You can use the following questions to work out whether an appointment is reasonable in relation to your work duties:

Is the treatment urgent?
Do you have an acute illness or symptoms?
Is there a reason why the treatment takes this long?
Could there be an alternative on another date or at another practice?

When do I need to take annual leave or make up the hours?

If your appointment qualifies for paid time off, you generally do not need to take annual leave or make up the hours. However, there are some exceptions.

Flexitime: If you work flexitime, your working hours can be adjusted. For example, you may be able to attend a morning blood test appointment and then work your usual number of hours afterwards.(2)
Part-time work: For part-time employees, it is often more difficult to justify a doctor’s appointment during working hours. Because their hours are often more flexible, they usually have more opportunities to attend appointments outside working hours. However, there is still some flexibility in cases of acute medical need or inconvenient practice hours.(3)
Exclusion of paid time off: If paid time off for a doctor’s appointment is excluded by a collective agreement or employment contract, you must take annual leave.(4)
Routine and preventive check-ups: Routine appointments, for example a preventive check-up with your gynaecologist, should generally be attended outside working hours. If that is not possible, you may need to take annual leave.(1)

Certificate for a doctor’s appointment: when can your employer ask for one?

If you attend a doctor’s appointment during working hours, your employer may ask for a certificate confirming that the appointment was necessary.(2)

Your employer may also ask for proof that you attended the appointment. In some cases, they may provide a standard form for the practice to complete.

Good to know:

An attendance certificate is not the same as a sick note. A sick note is issued by your doctor if you are medically unfit to work.

Which rules apply to special types of doctor’s appointments?

Specialist appointments: long waiting times are often unavoidable

Appointments with specialists can be difficult to get. Waiting times of several weeks or even months are common, and alternative appointments are often even further away. Specialist appointments are also often urgent. They are therefore generally considered non-postponable and may entitle you to paid time off.(1)

Physiotherapy, rehabilitation and other regular treatments

Regular treatments such as physiotherapy often take place weekly over several weeks. In these cases, you cannot usually attend every appointment during working hours and are expected to arrange appointments outside working hours instead. This applies in particular to regular treatments that are not time-sensitive. Physiotherapy during working hours is therefore usually only accepted in exceptional cases.(1,5)

Antenatal check-ups

Pregnant people can be given time off work for antenatal examinations. This means you may attend antenatal check-ups during working hours if no appointments are available outside working hours.(6,7)

Paediatric appointments

If your child becomes ill during your working hours and needs to see a paediatrician, you may attend the appointment during working hours. If this happens, try to get a certificate confirming that your child needed to be accompanied to their appointment.(3)

The information provided is for general information only and must not be used as a substitute for a medical diagnosis or treatment by a doctor. Self-diagnosis and self-treatment are strongly discouraged.