Can I get a cert from my GP?

[Upwind]

Today has been the worst day so far for morning sickness, I was meant to have a meeting this morning with my boss but have called in sick. I am supposed to be giving a presentation tomorrow morning. Hopefully I will be well enough to do it, but if it is like today I will be mostly clinging to the toilet.

Can I get a cert from my GP though I am not really ill just sick from pregnancy? If I can will it give the reason? I've not told work yet that I am pg.

[whomovedmychocolate]

Pregnancy sickness is an illness - just as much as flu is an illness. However you can self certify for five days.

[hopefully]

I know my doc was prepared to write a very vague sick note when I was suffering with exhaustion in early weeks of pregnancy - can't hurt to ask! In my experience doc's have been v sympathetic and understand that feeling sick through pregnancy is just as real as feelig sick through food poisoning, for example.

Self cert is also an option for up to 5 days.

[flowerybeanbag]

I wouldn't bother unless you are off long enough to need one. Just self-cert as long as you can, and say something vague.

I don't know how pregnant you are but if you are going to be off or suffering a lot, you might want to consider telling just him/her in confidence so you don't get any grief and so you get some help hiding it from everyone else if you need it.

[Upwind]

Thanks all! I've told nobody yet apart from DH and it would feel wrong to tell my boss before my parents. For some reason I always felt quite sure that I would not be much afflicted with pregnancy but I am. I guess it is a good sign that the bean is healthy so I should be grateful!

[whomovedmychocolate]

I suspect they may well have guessed if you are barfing constantly. You can always self cert with 'food poisoning' - you aren't medically qualified after all to determine what is pregnancy sickness versus gastroenteritis are you?

[Upwind]

Yes, my fleeing the coffee room whenever someone actually makes fresh coffee has raised some eyebrows!

[learningallthetime]

Personally I would tell your boss ASAP that You are PG. You are protected if you are off sick with a pregnancy related illness.

If you say you have food poisioning then it will go on your sick record and may trigger dispinary procedure (if you've had time off previously) or it may contribute to a future displinary if you have time off again.

If you tell them its a preganacy related illness it cannot be counted towards your sick days, you cannot be displined for having time off for a pregannacy related illness.

Because you can self certificate for five days, you only actually have to work one day in five when you are preganant.

The only repercussion for doing this is that if you are off sick in the last four weeks of your preganacy you can be made to take your maternity leave early.

I worked in a male dominated enviroment and my boss was a complete ar*ehole to me when I was pg, so from about five months onwards I worked one day a week, he hated it and kept telling me he was going to displine me but he couldn't touch me. I made sure I worked the last four weeks so he couldn't make me take my maternity leave early.

[EachPeachPearMum]

wow- learningallthetime- did you go back?
I never considered doing this- I was lucky and loved my job, in fact was doing 55 hour weeks when 7 mo pg last time....

I am soooo shattered and feeling crappy this time though.
Sounds like a plan!

[learningallthetime]

I'm due back in August EPPM. And I'm planning another baby very soon so will be doing the same agin.

I don't feel bad, many people cheat the system in so many ways, I've always been completley honest about everything and I've always worked full time since I left education, so if this is my little perk whilst I'm pregnant, I'm gonna take it.

My boss will probably have a heartattack when he finds out that I'm pregnant again, but I'm proteceted by law, so he can't do anything.

Seriously though, tell your employer its a preganancy related illness, even if you don't plan to do what I did, you should still protece yourself.

[EachPeachPearMum]

The problem for me thoguh is that no-one will do my work....

[Upwind]

EachPeachPearMum no one will do my work either, and I've already fallen behind...

[learningallthetime]

My work has to covered daily, it can't be left, so if I'm not they have to pay someone overtime to do it. Which is why my boss hates me!

[lisadann]

Learningallthetime - were you ill when you were pregnant that you took so much sick leave? How can you know that you're going to be ill again and need to take so much sick leave again?

I feel really strongly that pregnancy in not a reason to take time off work. If you get sick or have another pregnancy related condition then sure, but if you're having a normal good pregnancy then you should be at work. In the workplace, where women are still struggling for equality, taking time off as a 'perk' of being pregnant is not helpful.

I have 3 children and have worked through all my pregnancies - right up to 36/37 weeks. I'm lucky that I have good pregnancies so didn't need to take any time off sick.

Upwind - I think the doctor would give you a cert. It probably is a good idea to let your boss know about your pregnancy though if you are struggling. Good luck with it all.

[learningallthetime]

I'm a postwoman and for health and safety reasons, very early on in my pregnancy, I wasn't able to continue doing my normal delivery. Things like lifting and carrying heavy bags are not suitable for a pregnant woman in the workplace.

My manager decided that I was no longer any us to him and gave me the most crappy jobs going. He could have found me a regular position where I would known what I was going to be doing everyday, instead he treated me like a dogsbody. I was more like the cleaner/janitor.

I could have complained but this wouldn't have gone well in a male dominated environment so I took the easy option and went sick. I was pg and didn't need the hassle.

Not to mention the 5am starts was a killer when I was heavily pregnant and not sleeping at night.

I will do the same for my next pg, I'm no martyr. One of the most important things I will do in my life is carry my children, work comes second and I don't need to prove myself equal to a man by working 12 hour days when I'm already dealing with being pregnant.
When a man can carry a baby, then we'll talk about equality.

[solo]

Not read all thread, but if you have sickness absence due to pg, you can't be disciplined or put on monitoring etc, so, it could be in your best interests to come clean. IME.

[EachPeachPearMum]

But what happens with pay?
If you're off sick (non-pg) we get OSP then SSP, but if its pg is that the same?
SSP is way below my normal salary- won't this be used to calculate my mat pay?
(btw, I am feeling extremely rough at present, and really could do with some time off, but the amount of work I need to get done at present is putting me off)

[learningallthetime]

We get full pay when off sick, maybe your work place is different

[solo]

Our place pays full pay for 6 months and then half for 6 months, but if over a 4 year period you have 365 days off sick, you go to nil pay, which I am at. However, if I was off sick due to pg probs, I got full pay. It does not count. Worth checking out first. HTH.

[learningallthetime]

I phoned my HR department and found everything.

Then I emailed the equal oppertunties commision and they sent me a big pack of info, which I kept throughout the whole of my pregnancy. I was armed and ready to take it into work and show my manager any time he decided to get nasty.

I just copied this off the equal oppertunties website:

"If you have to take time off during your pregnancy because you are ill, you have the right to be paid sick pay according to the normal terms of your contract.

Your employer is not allowed to treat you less favourably if the illness is related to your pregnancy.

Some employers pay enhanced sick pay on a 'discretionary basis'. Sometimes, even though an employer refers to payments as 'discretionary', they can become an implied term of your contract.

If this is the case and your employer refuses to pay you enhanced sick pay, and you think this is because your illness is pregnancy related, you may have a claim under the Equal Pay Act.

To make a claim, you would have to show that other employees are usually paid full sick pay. If you have been paid full pay in the past for other non- pregnancy related illness, you would have to show this too. The Equal Pay Act requires you to identify a male comparator in order to take a claim, but you may also be able to argue that you do not need a comparator.

If the sick pay is genuinely discretionary and does not form part of your contract, but you feel that your employer is not paying you enhanced sick pay because the illness is pregnancy related, this might fall under the Sex Discrimination Act rather than the Equal Pay Act.

The dividing line between claims that fall under the Equal Pay Act and claims that fall under the Sex Discrimination Act is unclear. Sometimes it is best to lodge claims under both Acts to be on the safe side. If you are uncertain you should seek further advice. Remember that the time limit for lodging claims under the Sex Discrimination Act is 3 months, which is shorter than under the Equal Pay Act.

If you are disciplined or dismissed or made redundant because of time off for a pregnancy related illness, you could have a claim under the Sex Discrimination Act or Employment Rights Act."

I know it's a bit long - winded but I hope it helps.