To say colleague is a cheeky fucker?

[SayYouCare]

She booked an all inclusive to Spain a few weeks back.

She requested a half day (leave at 12pm), so she can get to the airport and depart. The rest of the week she's there, she already had booked off.

Today she's requested to speak to me. Turns out she is telling me she will be leaving at 12pm on Friday (the date of her holiday), because she says she is now pregnant and has her first MW appointment (the booking one).

Employees don't need evidence for their first Midwife appointment.

AIBU to think she's cheeky and she is leaving for the airport?

Just pass it all over to HR and let them do their job
You need to try and arrange cover , you can't stop her going as she has said she's pregnant
Feel sorry for her if she is and wanted to keep it private

*Sorry I'm at a lose here. This woman has a holiday and a midwife appointment?

Where's the CF angle?*

She asked for the day as holiday and it was refused. Suddenly she’s pregnant and her appt HASto be this day. It’s fishy.

Unless, as a pp suggested, the extra ‘holiday’ she wanted was to cover up her pregnancy. I hadn’t thought of that.

I accept (from what' been said on here) that you don't need to provide an appointment card for a first appointment for pregnancy. But what about if there's cause for believing there's an issue with the said appointment/holiday? Could asking for proof not be part of some sort of potential disciplinary proceeding? If the 'CF' is genuine, then surely she should have no problem in providing one.

I would be very annoyed at being taken for a fool.

Is the flight at 3am? 3pm makes no sense even with half a day off

This. She won't have time for both an appointment and getting to the airport in one afternoon. I know you said you can't ask for proof, but you can say in private conversation 'what time's your appointment?'

Plus if she really is pregnant, but the booking appointment is a fiction, then she'll have to have it another time and she'll come unstuck then as she'll have to ask for the time and this time you'll be able to ask for proof.

Jengnr

Thanks for that I must be naive or OP is paranoid.

This is also really unprofessional over a half day absence. Why take this to SM? OP are you really a manager?

Christ! Petty!!

Yes she shouldn't have done it - it sounds like she's trying it on.

But Christ let it go! As Elsa would say.

The bigger issue IMHO is that you doubt her integrity. If this is evidenced in other ways I would have words & use these examples.

But for now, follow Elsa's advice!

Just pass it all over to HR and let them do their job

This would be for the manager to sort out (with HR support) in most organisations. Not HR.

I'm sorry but what kind of person makes up a fake pregnancy.. It's a bit sick to even consider someone would do that, because if she has just made it up which means she's going to need to fall preggo quick, or fake a MC which I'm sorry is one of the sickest things I've heard of.

I know it's difficult but I'd believe her, as PP mentioned her flights prob tomorrow and didn't want to let any one know she was pg early... and as for long apps I had an early scan last week at my EPU and my app was at 2 and I didn't leave the ward till 6 due to issues with trying to get bloods from me so it's plausible that her appt could stretch on.

If she turns out not to be pregnant would it be grounds for dismissal? Or would you have to assume that either she had an abortion or miscarriage and as such can you ask about her medical history/demand proof?

Basically can she lie about being pregnant and then get away with it if no baby appears?

Basically can she lie about being pregnant and then get away with it if no baby appears?

At this stage, yes.

Just wait till the Friday when she'll undoubtably post up a picture on instagram of her and her relatives in the airport bar at 1:30 or something.

I don't think you are her manager. You are one of those busy body colleagues stalking everyone's social media for your kitchen gossip 😂

I had to prove all medic appointments pregnancy related or not with a previous company I worked for so I don't think you would be unreasonable to present her with the photo from her Instagram and ask her to provide proof of her appointment.

Never mind the OP being unprofessional. I'm more at all the (unprofessional) people on here who seem to think it's perfectly OK for this colleague to lie (if that's what she's doing) because "she had to" and "she was backed into a corner."
Why should the OP "let it go?" If she's the manager, it's her job to deal with things like this.

I really think it's a 50/50 thing.

Either she's a cf who is seeing a loophole she can exploit OR she was hoping to not disclose the pregnancy yet by talking about the airport as a cover.

I imagine if you see social media images posted live of her in the airport at the time she says the apt is then there may be something that can be done by her re discipline afterwards but I think at this point you have to assume she's legit.

If she is faking a pregnancy because she fucked up her holiday dates that's a really horrible thing to do.

I think you are both in the wrong.

You're her line Manager and you have a duty to use her information in a reasonable way. Starting a thread is not.

She is out of order for not booking her flight off.

I'd also check the proof thing. The time off cannot be easily authorised for business reasons (leaving you very short staffed) You have to give time off for antenatal apt's but I thought you could ask for proof for your records, especially since giving it is difficult in these circumstances.

Ignore the flight. That is a separate issue.
Simply ask her to come back after her midwife apptmt to finish her shift.
That way you are supporting her pregnancy apptmt and following policy.

You have to give time off for antenatal apt's but I thought you could ask for proof for your records, especially since giving it is difficult in these circumstances.

Wrong.

I agree with several others and reckon she was using the flight as a cover for the appointment. That's why the times make no sense - there is no flight on that day. She wanted to avoid telling anyone as it's really early. I avoided telling until thirteen weeks. Also, my midwife only does booking in on a Friday so a similar thing could be happening here and she'd need to get it done in order to get the ultrasound booked, which needs to happen before thirteen weeks. They often won't do booking in before eight weeks and if she has a two week holiday she may not be able to get booked in before the end of her tenth week depending on midwife availability. It can also be difficult to get an appointment anyway - my sixteen week won't happen until 19 weeks because the midwife wasn't free till then- so waiting could make it difficult for her to get the scan booked in in time. For me it makes sense. She may also be posting suitcase pics on purpose because she doesn't want friends to know and have fed them the same story about flights. Give her the benefit of the doubt, OP.

It's a pretty stupid lie to make up if she is lying. If she isn't pregnant, she'll have to either stuff a pillow up here jumper in a few months or feign a miscarriage, which seems like an awful lot of effort to go for to get half a day off the go to the airport.

This! Why on earth would you?
Plus, why post on here? If she's on here,sounds like a pretty identifiable situation. Seems a bit unfair to post work situations on here (not to mention unprofessional, sorry)

Is she safe to fly?

Is she safe to fly?
Why wouldn't she be? It's only the last trimester when airlines get twitchy.

But Christ let it go! As Elsa would say

Yes indeed. Let's all manage our workplace via Disney memes.

Best case scenario is the employee is truthful, it's coincidental timing and that's that.

Worst case is the the employee has invented an elaborate lie to get the holiday she wanted that OP wasn't permitted to give her.

There's various possibilities of scenario in between.

But if the worst case is true, then I wouldn't let it go.

I think she is genuinely pregnant and her flight is genuinely at 3pm. She originally tried to book the half day as she didn’t want to disclose the pregnancy yet and midwife appointment is first thing AM so she’s hoping to make the appointment and her flight in one day.