Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

Signed off until maternity leave because of my employer!!

10 replies

mum2bemay22 · 18/01/2018 09:46

My doctor has signed me off until my maternity leave starts in March. I’m not due until middle of May and I’m just shy of 23 weeks. I’ve been signed off due to severe PGP and stress & anxiety at work. I’ve never had a mental health issue before but since falling pregnant my manager has gone out of her way to make my work life living hell. My doctor gave me a note a while ago to encourage my work to reduce my hours due to PGP making it difficult for me but my note got handed back to me and ignored and no action was ever taken. Yesterday I thought my waters had gone at work (TMI - I was soaked)!! I rang the hospital and had to go straight to the labour ward, while I was in the hospital I got a WhatsApp message from my manager addressing the whole region saying ‘I was off sick and she was short staffed’ not something I wanted to read when I didn’t know whether baby was ok or not. She never messaged or rang me to see how I was or baby and that was the final straw for me. It wasn’t my waters luckily but the hospital said it could be stress which is why I am now going off until Mat which I’m sad to leave all my lovely colleagues (except manager) behind but I have to think of baby!! Anyone else been in this situation? Going to citizens advise today to see where I stand with a legal case against her.

OP posts:
Brownbear84 · 18/01/2018 09:58

Be careful as they can start your maternity leave now! Meaning you won't have hardly any time after birth!! I've read that just yesterday xx

mum2bemay22 · 18/01/2018 10:01

The earliest they can start it is 4th March I believe but I won’t be going back after my mat leave now not that I will tell them that so that’s the least of my worries

OP posts:
Oysterbabe · 18/01/2018 10:02

My employer can't start maternity leave until 36 weeks however much you are off.

pastabest · 18/01/2018 10:06

Sorry to add to your worries but are your earnings still going to be enough for you to be eligable for SMP if you are off work right now?

Eligibility for SMP is calculated between weeks 17 and 25, you hopefully will be okay if you lose two weeks pay during this period (depending what your sickness policy is) but it's just something to be aware of.

I don't think your employer can force you to start maternity leave for a few more weeks yet.

There's a good link here for info
www.maternityaction.org.uk/advice-2/mums-dads-scenarios/pregnant/sickness-during-pregnancy-and-maternity-leave/

I'm not sure what legal case you think you might have at this point. I think you would probably have to follow your companies grievance proceedures to make a complaint first as even though you are off sick you do still work for them.

HopeAndJoy16 · 18/01/2018 10:08

Oh OP what a horrible situation. Maternity Action are another organization worth contacting, as are ACAS. This might be useful www.maternityaction.org.uk/advice-2/mums-dads-scenarios/pregnant/
If you end up going off sick at 28 weeks they can start your mat leave then, which as a pp said will leave you with very little time afterwards. But your manager should have done a risk assessment and made reasonable adjustments. It might be worth discussing the anxiety this is causing your with your midwife too, there may be support available for this.

loveka · 18/01/2018 10:23

First of all, this sounds awful for you. I am glad you have such a good GP.

In what way has she made your life a living hell? I only ask as that would be a factor in whether this is harrassment on the grounds of pregnancy.

Have you spoken to her about how she is making you feel? This is something else that may be raised in a tribunal hearing.

In employment law it is the impact of her behaviour on you that is assessed; not her intention. So she can't say "I didn't mean it".

mum2bemay22 · 18/01/2018 10:24

Thanks, I’ve worked out on the government website that the qualifying period was my November, December and January payslip if I want to take mat leave beginning of March. As I say, really not bothered about the time after as I have the money and luckily my husband can support until I find another job next year. I will follow the grievance procedure too but I want to know what my legal standing is on unfair treatment during pregnancy (there is a lot not posted on here which has happened) so I can fight my reasons why I’m off

OP posts:
mum2bemay22 · 18/01/2018 10:28

I’ve been isolated, ignored and my work load has dramatically reduced (not for my benefit) to be given to another colleague who is busy all day every day and I’m sat with barely anything and then get ‘told off’ for not doing anything. She’s employed someone to replace me while I’m on mat leave which is fine but she told me that ‘I won’t want to come back after baby is here’ which at the time was completely untrue and I wanted to come back. I suffer from severe PGP and I have to sit down and when I did she told me to get up and get on with it. I handed her my doctors note to reduce my hours and amend my work place situation and she handed it back to me with a comment of ‘no one will be here soon’ (because others reduced hours for other reasons) and never acknowledged the note again. She wouldn’t accept my mat leave dates and kept ignoring me when I kept asking for a meeting to discuss it. She’s never done a return to work with me when I’ve been off during this pregnancy and she’s not completed a risk assessment. The list is endless...

OP posts:
loveka · 18/01/2018 10:37

If you have decided not to go back then you may have a case for constructive dismissal.

Have you noted down each incident? If not, do so now and try to remember dates.

Has she put any of this in writing, ie email? If so, make sure you have copies.

Many women let this stuff go, because dealing with it is stressful in itself. But the law is very clear on harassment.

Do you have an HR department? Is her manager approachable? You should start with a conversation with them if possible.

katmarie · 18/01/2018 10:47

This is what I would advise (I used to be a union rep and have supported pregnant ladies with issues like this before)

Make careful objective (emotion free and factual) notes of every single incident with dates times and the names of any other witnesses if you can, as well as copies of any emails, texts or other evidence you have. Get copies of your employers disciplinary, grievance and equality policies if they have them, and read them. You can raise a grievance by yourself, by following the process in the policy, but if you're a union member you can ask them for help too. You'll likely need to write to your employer setting out your complaint and making it clear that you wish to raise a grievance. They should write back acknowledging it and set out next steps for investigation and resolution.

Decide what it is that you actually want to achieve by taking action, so for example, do you want the manager disciplined? Retrained? Do you want a sideways move so you can go back to work etc? An agreement that mat leave starts on a certain date and not before? Use the grievance process to negotiate this as a resolution to your complaint, being prepared to compromise if necessary, and bearing in mind they don't have to tell you the outcome of any disciplinary action against the manager, but should tell you if your complaint is upheld.

If internal grievance processes don't get you a sensible resolution, then check your house insurance, many policies include legal cover for employment issues, and if they do, or if you can afford it and you think it's worth the fuss, consider seeing an employment law solicitor to get some further advice. As you probably know discrimination on the basis of pregnancy does come under protected characteristics so it's possible you will have a case against your employer, but you wouldn't be able to take this forward without exhausting internal processes first.

As others have said Acas and maternity action are also excellent sources of advice too, and I'd fully recommend speaking to them. Bear in mind that any action you take will be fairly stressful, and will take time, and can have long reaching consequences. some of the people I've supported in the past wanted to just get their heads down and get on with sick leave/mat leave, and that's perfectly understandable. Others were determined that they would make their complaint heard and felt that it was worth the stress and hassle. Only you can decide what's right for you.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page