Signed off sick?

[TheHazelViewer]

Hi all, I’ve never been signed off work before so unsure how this works. I’m 16 weeks pregnant and going through a bereavement as well as my grandma only having weeks left to live 😔 I haven’t been ok for about 6 weeks now but have kept plodding on. Family have now advised I go to the GP be signed off. Nobody in my family or friends circle have ever done this so I don’t know how I go about asking for this? I don’t want to sound cheeky but I want to be clear that I’d like 2 weeks before the Easter hols to have some extra rest. Any advice appreciated!

You ring in sick each day for 7 days then you go to the go for a sick note.

GPs are usually pretty good with this kind of thing. Just go and explain what's happening and that you don't feel well enough to work.

Sorry to hear you're having such a tough time x

I wanted to go to see the GP anyway as I wanted to enquire about sleeping tablets, would they not give me any kind of note until I’d called in for 7 days?

You can self certify for a week without a doctors note but you don’t have to. Just go speak to the GP, say you’re feeling stressed and overwhelmed and need some time off to rest. Well done for trying to address how you’re feeling before things get too bad.

No, you have to self-certify for seven days.

Thank you! It makes me feel so cheeky but I’ve never had more than a couple days off before for being poorly so I’m trying to tell myself it’s not cheek!

You can sign yourself off sick for a week, and some GPs refuse to issue a sick note until you’ve done that, or they issue a note but charge you for it. You would be much better signing yourself off for a week rather than joining the thousands of other people calling for an appointment on a Monday morning. It’s also extremely unlikely you’d be prescribed sleeping tablets in pregnancy.

Do people really get signed off sick for this?!

Yes. Problem?

For going through grief? Yes, that happens all the time..