She should just let me be ill in peace

Yes, that is what I would have done when I was a manager (retired). My company would probably have sent flowers as well. I think I was very lucky with my employers reading some of these posts.

I think your manager is being a bit of a dick TBH. You emailed her to let her know the situation, as a manager I would have sent a text to my staff member acknowledging the email, telling her to rest up and take care, then would have text again on day 3 to ask how she was doing. Of course discretion can be applied in these circumstances, it’s about using common sense.

Policies exist for a reason. You didn't follow it and are now kicking off that it's been pointed out.
Unless you physically cannot speak on the phone you should be doing so and it isn't for you to say whether value would have been added or not, since you point blank ignored contact with work for those days, we will never know.

That said, if you want to, you could enquire as to why you may have been treated differently if you feel you have. But it likely won't do you any favours. If you really feel strongly, that's what the grievance process is for whereby it would be looked into properly by someone who wasn't involved.

It’s not being “jobs worthy” to recognise that when you’re an employee, there are rules you have to follow, regardless of how silly they might be.

It's not that people want to please the powers that be, it's that they understand the way large organisations work and know that a staff memebr not following policy is one of the easiest ways to get rid of them, if that's what they'd like to do, for whatever reason.

So many jobsworthy people on this thread - incredible.

Eager beavers wanting to please the powers that be.

Hope you feel better soon @mabelladel - don't let the bastards grind you down!!

And in case anyone has forgotten - it's pretty scary being ill and pregnant at the same time as there are 2 people involved. And one of them isn't even born yet.

Wrong.

Sickness policy absolutely still applies.

Sickness recording in terms of pregnancy related sickness won't apply to the number of days sick recorded.

But OP has tonsillitis which is not pregnancy-related and there is nowhere in maternity sickness protections that says pregnant people don't have to follow sickness policy which is that the employee calls the manager to say they're sick.

Nor does maternity policy for sickness say a pregnant person can breach policy and then not answer calls from the manager for days then get pissy when they quite rightly email her to say she's breached policy by a) emailing instead of calling and b) then refusing to answer calls from the manager giving her the opportunity to abide by policy and have a conversation with the manager.

OPs pregnancy is a red herring.

She acknowledges she didn't follow the policy and then didn't answer several calls from the manager giving her the opportunity to abide by the policy and instead has come up with lots of reasons why the policy shouldn't apply to her or is just stupid.

Which is something she should use a Union for, not complain that the manager should 'leave her in peace'.

Tonsillitis isn't pregnancy related illness though....

They do have a duty of care towards you, so may have wanted to speak to you to check everything was OK.

The sickness policy doesn't apply to you as you are pregnant. Pregnancy related illness does not affect your sickness record. There should be a separate policy for this. You should have had a risk assessment from your workplace for working whilst pregnant.

YABU

No-one said OP had to ring every day.

The policy is that the employee speak to a manager.

OP didn't. She sent an email. Saying she was self-certifying sick for a few days.

Manager tried to speak to OP over the next few days. OP didn't answer.

So OP got an email from manager saying OP had not followed sickness policy. Which OP hadn't.

Even after not following the sickness policy, OP had been given the opportunity to speak to her manager as the manager had called several times over several days.

OP didn't answer any of those calls.

OP now complaining that she shouldn't have to follow policy and is being treated unfairly.

OP is unreasonable.

Many years ago, I worked for the civil service. The reason for the phone calls was explained in terms that there had been at least one incidence where somebody had actually sadly died and due to lack of a proper contact, it wasn't picked up for several days, as the staff member had no close family. We were told if we didn't ring, it might be deemed necessary for our manager to come out to our house to do a welfare check as nobody wanted such a serious thing to happen again. I think if you look at it that way, it's easier to understand that until you've seen a doctor and got a sick note, there is always a concern that you could be seriously ill at home with no help. Hence the need for daily contact.

OP hope you're feeling better soon. Sounds rough. To cover yourself, I'd reply ro the email so there's a paper trail. Then ring your manager, apologise and ask if you really have to ring everyday as you feel so unwell or could it be adjusted to once a week? If you have a doctor's sickness I can't see the issue. It must be up to the managers disgression and common sense I would've thought.
Try not to stress over this. That exactly what you could do without. Take care.

What shaky ground would that be?

Being pregnant is not a reason not to follow company policy - OP messaged once then essentially disappeared off the radar for several days - made no further attempt to contact her employer and ignored all attempts from her manager to contact her.

OP didn't follow the policy in any case.

She knows policy is that she's supposed to speak to the manager but didn't do so.

So manager phoned up to have that conversation and OP hasn't answered any of their calls.

Now OP somehow feels she's hard done by and treated badly when she's not followed sickness policy and then ignored managers attempts to talk to her.

It's not that manager is trying to have daily contact, they just want one conversation because that's per policy and OP has failed to respond to several attempts.

As you are pregnant she is probably on very shaky ground. Id report to your HR department.

This sounds really sensible.

Yabu

There probably is, but given that OP only messaged once and then dropped off the radar for several days, her manager probably chose not to use that discretion.

So here is some sensible advice because it's not worth telling you that you should follow the rules, that ship has sailed.

Write to you manager by email and copy to HR, explain the full circumstances, not just the tonsillitis but also the high blood pressure and discussion with the Consultant and the need to rest and reduce stress levels. Explain you carried on working to finish the recruitment process even though you had been advised to rest by a medical professional.
Apologise for not calling, say that you had tonsillitis and talking was very difficult and that you missed her phone calls because you have spent the time sleeping basically. Suggest that you should have a phone call with your manager and HR to discuss:

1. your recent illness and your email notification.
2. your potential early sign off for maternity leave owing to ill health and an urgent need to hand over workload.

If she continues to berate you it can be seen as bullying. This is why you need to email and copy to HR.

Given that you are 32 weeks pregnant and still working most employers would accept that you are not going to be well at times and your manager's insistence on this phone call rather than the email is petty and micro managing.

Unless your HR department are serious dickheads I think your manager will fold. It doesn't look good having a go at a heavily pregnant woman with high blood pressure over something so genuinely insignificant.

Good luck 🤞🏼

People often take the piss with illness hence why most companies have a policy that employees need to call in daily unless they have a sick note. Calling when you can hardly speak would make her realise how ill you are, messaging and then ignoring her for 3 days probably makes her think you’re taking the piss and not really that ill.

Good advice!

You sound pretty unwell. I’m surprised your manager is taking such a hard line. Isn’t there any exception in the policy about not being in daily contact when you are too ill to do so?

I think the problem you are facing is; policy ring in and culture is; send a message. So I would be apologising and saying you thought what you did was ok given it is widely accepted…

You can’t compare having tonsillitis to having emergency surgery for appendicitis? It’s absolutely nowhere near the same?

The more you update the more I understand your managers stance!

I'm afraid @mabelladel that you sound like HARD work. Pick up the phone. Call in. Follow the policy.