Work place dont accept sick notes

[Emilyjane11]

Hi ladies,

I am looking for some advice. At the start of my pregnancy I was signed off by my doctor due to severe sickness when I returned to work a week later and handed them my sick note they said they dont accept them. I asked if it could be left in my file and they said 'no'. This rang a bell as I knew someone who was signed off for 6 weeks the year before with depression and was told they could have the time off sick but they wouldnt accept a sick note, I was told when I was off that "doctors dont know best and only you know if your fit for work". Fast forward to now, im 22 weeks and have extremelly bad spd. I havent been signed off as i have not seen my gp but I know this is a possibility due to me not being able to walk properly at the moment.

My question is, is it legal for a workplace to not accept a sick note. I work for a very large energy company which makes me think there must be some kind of loop hole that they have found in regards to this.

They treat you like a liar when you have time off sick anyway, always have but its going to cause me anxiety if they tell me that they wont accept a sick note for the kind of conditions because if im anything like today I am going to find it very hard to get to work let alone do my job.

Any advice would be appreciated

Thanks

I think it works in some organisations Lougie, you're right.... Ours defo ain't one of them and unfortunately people end up feeling exactly as Emily does. 9 times out of 10 the doctor genuinely isn't too fussed about noting adjustments and that's what I mean about it being daft...

Emily, for what it's worth you can set up a contact plan and agree when's best for them to contact you. It's a necessary evil in some organisations to keep your sick pay rolling but take it with a pinch of salt, there ain't a ruddy thing they can do.... They just need to show they've offered support etc.

Go put your feet up, smile sweetly when they call and play the game without letting it stress you