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Will i be paid if signed off work by a doctor?

7 replies

PrammyMammy · 19/05/2009 11:23

Hey,

If i call into work sick without a docs line i am not paid. So just wondering if i will be paid when signed off by a doc?
I have been diagnosed with SPD/PGP in pregnancy and the doc has signed me off. She put on my line that i would benefit from seating at work, but after speaking to my manager she has said that would not be possible.
Anyway. I have 6 weeks before i can take mat leave, and have to wear a brace, i have trouble walking to the bathroom so wouldn't cope walking and standing for 7.5 hours during the day. Does anyone know if i will be paid?

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smallchange · 19/05/2009 11:27

I think after 3 days you qualify for statutory sick pay (about £80 per week). Your company may or may not pay discretionary sick pay to top that up - will be in your employee handbook or similar.

Google "statutory sick pay" for the amount and period before it's paid - I think it's 3 days.

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nickytwotimes · 19/05/2009 11:28

Depends on your contract. If you are not paid by your employer, you will be eligible for Statutory Sick Pay which is paid through them. Sometimes the first 3 days are exempt.

You have to self-certify for the first 7 days, then the doctor's line will be required.

Hope you are getting some physio for the SPD - it is agony!

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nickytwotimes · 19/05/2009 11:29

x post small!

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flowerybeanbag · 19/05/2009 11:29

It depends what your employers policy is, you'll need to check with them.

Having said that, if it's not that you are unfit for work, just that you need some adjustments to be made, if your employer is either refusing or unable to make those adjustments, you shouldn't need to be signed off sick anyway.

If during pregnancy there are health adn safety reasons why you can't do your job as it is, but you are otherwise fit for work, your employer must make adjustments to your job to enable you to come to work. This might mean something like providing a chair, or could even be getting you to do something completely different for a few weeks.

Either way, if they are not able to make adjustments for you, or reassign you to a job you can do, they must sign you off on full pay. Not off sick.

Do you think that's the case for you? Have you had H&S risk assessments during your pregnancy? If your doctor is saying you would be fit to go into work if your employer would provide a chair, but they are unable or unwilling to do so, you shouldn't need to be off sick.

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PrammyMammy · 19/05/2009 11:39

Flowery,
I haven't even had my risk assessment done yet. My manager has been very, very unreasonable about the pregnancy. And after speaking to my midwife she said it sounds like harrassment, but i guess that is a whole different thread!
I work in a busy cafe/coffee shop in a mall. I am walking all day, serving food, carrying trays, pushing big trollys of hot food from the kitchen to the cafe. I went in to see my manager yesterday (because i forgot to sign my sick line) and she said ' of course you have access to a seat, in the staffroom on your break' But i only get 2 x 15 min breaks all day and the staff room is down under the center, so i spend most of that battling with the stairs. There is no seated jobs available, she told me that yesterday also.
I am having physio yeah, although feel i am leaving the room in more pain than i entered it.

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flowerybeanbag · 19/05/2009 12:12

This is a handy booklet on H&S for pregnant women at work.

you will see that your employer is required to carry out a risk assessment, identify any risks, then if there are risks they must either

-remove them if possible
-make adjustments
-give you alternative work without those risks, and
-(if none of those are possible), they must sign you off on full pay.

They must do a risk assessment on you, it's really crucial especially given the nature of your work, adn they should take into account the opinions provided by your GP as well.

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PrammyMammy · 19/05/2009 12:37

Thanks for that Flowery, i will have a read over it.

I read something before about the risk assessment that someone on here linked me to. Some of the points were very helpful, but when i brought that up to my manager she said she hadn't done it yet because she had no proof i was pregnant (except seeing my scans) but i went to my gp and got a certificate for her, although still nothing.
Do you know what would be the best way to go about asking for a RA?