Time off for a hospital appointment

Current employment law states that you have no right to take paid time off to attend a hospital appointment. The only exception would be if you’re pregnant. So, unless you’re expecting a baby, your boss is right to say that you must take this half day as holiday (unless you take it without pay).

You may want to investigate whether or not all employees are treated in the same way. If you can find evidence that other employees have attended appointments and been paid without taking holiday, then you could have an argument to raise a grievance. This is because there may have been a breach of the implied terms of your contract (custom and practice).