This is very outing as I’ve spoken to a lot of people about it but at this point I don’t care and just need some sympathetic ears (eyes) to help me feel better please.
My boss and colleagues are constantly ganging up to pick on me since I told them I’m pregnant. Most of the time they blank me and refuse to engage with me at all, so it’s them 5 against me every day. It makes for a very awkward, uncomfortable atmosphere and I spend all of my breaks crying in the loo. I didn’t get one congratulations, and no one has asked how I am, about my scans, nothing. But a lady who worked here in a different department was looked after so well, I assumed the company would treat me kindly too.
My boss and her boss have told me that they don’t care about my extra needs, that it’s not their problem if I feel unwell, they pile jobs onto me, even jobs we initially ruled out during my first risk assessment, and ignored me when I fainted and needed help to sit down last week, the grounds maintenance man helped me up.
They refused to pay me for an urgent maternity appointment, I reminded them it’s a legal requirement to pay employees for their maternity care, to which they responded ‘we don’t care you’re just causing drama you know we don’t know the rules about maternity care so it’s not our problem to find out’. I again reminded my boss it’s the law and I will seek legal action if I feel pushed to do this. She screamed in my face that I’m ruining their business and she regrets hiring me. (Payroll did pay me for it, but they believe I wasn’t.)
They are intent on bullying me to leave so I walk out freely and they haven’t got to pay me SMP or deal with any risk assessments. I refuse to be bullied out of my job, but I’m so stressed and unhappy I’m scared it will cause complications for my baby. I feel like I’m back at school being picked on by a gang of older teenagers. These are all women in their 40s+ who also have children and would not have liked being treated this way during their pregnancies. I’m the youngest at 27 and seem to be fair game as I got the impression they didn’t like me when I first started the job.
We don’t have a HR department to speak to, the managers are friends and meet every Friday night. I know they all gossip about me and call me names. One or two have let slip things they shouldn’t know, including some of my colleagues who I didn’t know spoke with them. They also know my dh name even though I have never given this information in work, so they have snooped on my social media accounts. (Now private).
I feel very alone and like I can’t trust anyone. I can’t leave because I need the SMP to survive. I have considered asking my gp to sign me off sick for the duration, but I am concerned about how it will affect my SMP. I feel physically sick at the thought of going in tomorrow (one Saturday a month on rota) and genuinely believe I’m not safe around these people as the aggression will get worse and worse as I grow bigger and slow down more. They will all protect each other regardless.
Can anyone advise me on the money side of things (sick pay vs SMP) so I can weigh up my options please, and if I have a case for discrimination how do I go about getting help? I have written everything in a book, dated and timed. I have already filled 9 A4 sheets with all the things they have said and done to me.
Everyone tells me to keep my head down and focus on my job, but the days drag slowly with them watching my every movement, and I feel very uncomfortable and upset just being there. I appreciate any replies, I just need someone to talk to.