Hello ella_just,

Welcome to our forum. What a stressful time this must be for you and I hope you manage to find a suitable arrangement with your employer so that you can be by your fiance's side for his hospital appointments.

The Work and Families Act 2006, the Employment Rights Act 1996 and the Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 give employed carers the right to request flexible working, such as changing hours or working from home. Where possible, flexible working can be arranged to maintain your normal income.

As an employee you are also entitled to time off to deal with an emergency involving a dependent. However, attending appointments wouldn’t be classed as an emergency. Your employer may still give you the time off but it wouldn’t be unreasonable for them to ask for supporting evidence to say that you need to attend with him. The legislation which protects the rights of carers at work means you are entitled to request flexible working. This may enable you to work from home or arrange new working hours for example. Flexible working arrangements can help you find a balance between work and caring responsibilities. If you’ve been in employment for the last 26 weeks, you may request flexible working. Perhaps on the days he has appointments you could ask about changing your working hours so that you can make up the time?  But of course it depends on what type of job you have and how easy that would be to arrange. Your employer can refuse a request for flexible working if it’s not in the best interests of the business or your employer may not be able to accommodate your full request, but you may be able to compromise. I would suggest you arrange to sit down with your employer and explain that you would like to put some flexible working arrangements in place and see what they come up with.

If you need more advice I would suggest contacting Carers UK. They have a free helpline and you can find out the details here. There is also a whole wealth of useful information and downloadable guides on their website and you can read more about your staturory rights in work here.

I hope this helps a little and we wish you the very best of luck in finding the best solution with your employer.

Best wishes,

Lucie, Cancer Chat Moderator