To wfh because I’m pregnant and have morning sickness.

[Namechange20222022]

We are meant to work in the office 3 days per week.

I’m 8 weeks pregnant and really struggling in the mornings to get ready and commute to work. I get waves of nausea and have vomited a few times.

AIBU to say I can’t come in until the next trimester when hopefully I’ll feel a bit better? I can do my role fine from home and we WFH fully during the pandemic so I don’t ‘need’ to be in, it’s just their rule.

Talk to your manager. You also don’t need to decide you’ll be doing the whole trimester at home, take each day as it comes?

Speak to work, hopefully if you have a decent employer they'll put these measures in for you. If it's a choice between WFH or you being sick I'm sure they'd prefer you there from home. Take it easy though first trimester can be hard.

Does your work know you're pregnant?

In your situation I'd totally want to avoid going in to the office, not just because of feeling queasy but because of the high risk of catching something from someone - over 1.5 million active cases of COVID right now, you don't want that when you're pregnant. So the more you can avoid being in crowded situations the better for your health and that of baby. I'm trying to conceive now and wearing an N95 mask whenever I'm indoors in public.

All the best! Hope your morning sickness passes soon, I found it easiest to cope by always having a little something in my stomach, empty stomach made it much worse.

@Namechange20222022 I have been Wfh since 6 weeks and I'm 11 weeks now. Hoping the sickness will clear up soon and then I'll go back in but can't face it whilst I feel like this. I think it's totally fair enough, the constant nausea is so awful xx

Or just go on sick leave until you do feel better. It will count as pregnancy related sickness.

Nothing worse than vomiting in an office toilet

Tell your manager. The law protects you to work as little as you need/wherever suits you. They cannot refuse you or discriminate

Thanks for the replies. I’ve told a close friend at work but not my manager yet. If we feel a bit under the weather for any reason then we can wfh so I was thinking I’ll say I have a cold for a few days which will buy me some time.

"Nothing worse than vomiting in an office toilet"

Having been there, I couldn't agree more.

Second worst thing is expressing breastmilk in an office toilet.

I wouldn’t lie about it being a cold, pregnancy sickness is counted differently.

I ended up crying down the phone to my boss as I felt so rough and couldn't face going into the office, she was happy for me to stay home and once I started to feel better I went in, I just kept her updated

The law protects you to work as little as you need/wherever suits you.

This advice is incorrect OP.

Sickness in the first trimester can be awful. My advice would be to have a chat with your manager and let them know you’re pregnant as sick leave during pregnancy isn’t like taking normal sick leave. You can’t be disciplined or dismissed and it’s not counted like normal sick leave is, however, make sure any sickness absence is noted by your employer as pregnancy related. Also ask your employers to do a covid risk assessment.

We’re employers and follow the Unison advice for pregnant employees. I’ve included a link for you. https://www.unison.org.uk/about/what-we-do/fairness-equality/women/key-issues/pregnant-workers-covid-19/

Off topic but by far the saddest thing I ever did in an office toilet was expressing milk and throwing it away because I was trying to stop in order to stop the leaking. Missed my baby so much.

I was a teacher with dreadful morning sickness. I used to vomit into a Tupperware in my classroom closet
It's just part and parcel of it, really. I personally wouldn't want to be seen as 'THAT' pregnant woman only 8 weeks in!

I had terrible sickness with my last pregnancy and couldn't face the hour long bus journey to get to work. I discussed with my manager and agreed I would work from home until I felt well enough to go in. I actually ended up working from home for the entire pregnancy (it wasn't a fun time lol). Just speak to your manager in confidence and see what you can arrange

This

You need to tell HR, your sickness is treated differently if its pregnancy related. Don't lie about it.

Also they might let you wfh as an adjustment but I'd be wary of just a blanket I'm working from home for my first trimester. Take it each day at a time rather than ruling it out.

I had morning sickness for seven months so waiting until the second trimester is no guarantee.

I would strongly suggest you speak to HR and your manager to explain that you are experiencing morning sickness which, as it is pregnancy related, is treated differently to ‘normal’ sickness d would like some accommodations.

In your shoes, I would ask for the ability to work from home at short notice but say you will come in when you can. That gives you flexibility. Hopefully, you won’t be sick for seven months!

Congratulations. I'm 9 weeks myself, and have no idea how I'd cope in an office!

That said, I wouldn't go asking for the first trimester wfh. It could last more or less than that, and speaking from my own experience, home becomes a tedious place when all that you do there is work and throw up.

I'd ask them if you can do the next fortnight then review.

Hope your sickness eases up OP! I had terrible morning sickness but because I work in a boutique I had to be in everyday. Had to tell my boss at 5 weeks because I was having to run out to the stock room to be sick every 5 minutes for what ended up being 4 months. So if the option to WFH is available id definitely have a chat with your manager. Maybe don’t set a set time period though. Morning sickness can end within weeks or last a whole pregnancy, just take it week by week maybe

@Namechange20222022 , tell your manager you are pregnant and take sick leave. Under the Maternity Act, pregnancy related sickness has to be recorded seperately to other sickness, and cannot be used in disciplinary action against you. By telling your manager that you are ph, they will be obliged to do a pregnancy risk assessment for you, which may well indicate that wfh would be the best way of reducing risks such as exposure the Covid.

It's not "not going to work" though is it? Its working from home to make things that little bit easier. I assume you mean you work 14 hour shifts on a ward, sorry that means you're unable to wfh but some people are - it's not unreasonable or weak to want to make the hard bits of pregnancy that little bit easier if it's possible to do so. We all know that having kids is tough, so why not do what you can to maintain your resilience when it's possible to do so. Its attitudes like this that cause women to have feel like failures when they get wiped out from pregnancy, childbirth and child rearing and end up powering through to detriment of physical and mental health all round.

Tell your manager OP and get any sickness recorded as pregnancy related - they also need to do a workplace risk assessment. Take it day by day (you might feel better by next week you never know).

@Throwncrumbs, it's not a race to the bottom.