Being pregnant, did you take a lot of sickies these last few month ?

[Summerfruit]

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no, and no, my boss would not have been understanding in the slightest

I have been signed off with hyperemesis for the past 7 weeks. My employer has been fine about it.

You should know that any absences during pregnancy cannot by law count towards your sickness absence record - it's sex discrimination if it does.

Here is a useful factsheet - if your employer gives them any problems, print it off and give it to them ... useful quote:

'If you are ill during pregnancy normal sickness rules apply, with a few exceptions. If the illness is pregnancy related it must be recorded as such, it does not count towards your sickness record & you cannot be dismissed for it.'

Hope you feel beter soon.

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During my pregnancy I took one true sickie (it was a Monday, DH was working from home and I really couldn't be bothered going in ) but that was it.

Be careful as you get nearer your due date as they can enforce the start of your maternity leave if you are off sick in the last 4 weeks.

had most of the first couple of months off boss was understanding to a fault infact they were so nice about it I resigned out of guilt and stayed in bed only to emerge in the last couple of months when the sickness went

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Hi - firstly - good luck with everything!

From an HR perspective just wanted to confirm what has been written here:

1. Only pregnancy-related sickness is exempt from being counted as absence. Be careful with this though, as you may need to get your doc/m-w to confirm. Eg. tiredness or feeling under the weather may well not count, as opposed to say medical, pregnancy-related conditions.
2. As CeeBee said, be careful as you get close to the time, as the company does have a right to enforce mat leave earlier if you are regularly sick with 'pregnancy-related' condition. Good that you're on a contract, however in my experience some places fast tire of the unreliableness of regular days off and take the view that it's easier to get someone in to replace you full-time than have to manage unexpected illness etc. If you're not entitled to mat leave etc with them then it possibly means you'd be losing out on guaranteed contractual pay... hard to say without knowing your individual situation.

On a related note (get ready for a rant!), my experience shows that the businesses that are in general intolerant/unsupportive of illness during pregnancy are this way because of a bad experience i.e. feeling someone has taken advantage. So I always try and recommend people work when they can (most people do anyway by the way - I'm not casting aspersions) as otherwise they may lose out themselves, and on a wider level, make things more difficult for the women who get pregnant after them.

Saying that, happily I work for pretty enlightened companies

Good luck with everything!

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I had nearly 3 weeks off last month due to hyperemesis. I went back the week before last and managed to stay the whole week last week. However, I had a really bad headache last night and this morning so I didn't go in. The headache has gone now but the sickness seems to have come back with a vengeance - grrrrrr!

I'm not coping very well with work and I'm usually so committed. Thing is, I don't get sick pay so I have to go in if I think I'll be able to handle it. If I didn't go in just because of tiredness, I'd never go in! Sometimes I wonder if they really want me walking around like some sort of zombie as I've already made a few mistakes since going back! I just feel like I'm not any use to anybody which has really knocked my confidence.

Now, the decision is whether or not I'll be well enough to go in tomorrow - I guess I'll have to see how I am in the morning...