Dental visits and working hours

A surprising number of workers struggle to take time off work to visit their dentist.
We have found more than half of workers are not allowed to take paid time off work to visit their dentist.  
Millions of people have taken sick time off work due to poor oral health over the past year. Around one in eight (13 per cent) took time off without pay to visit their dentist and nearly three in every ten (29 per cent) took holiday or visited the dentist in their own time.
It is discretionary for a company to choose to give an employee time off work to visit the dentist but unless the contract of employment says so, it is not a legal requirement.
It is, therefore, possible for an employer to ask its staff to take a dental appointment outside of working hours, take annual leave or make the time up in another way. Employers and employees should check the contract of employment to see what rights staff members have in taking time off for dental visits.
The situation is even worse f...