work and being pregnant????

[bluebell82]

Didn't really know what the title should be but...

I have been with my company for 5 years and I am in sales, the company is national and I am within the top ten performers, they know I am pg and that my dh and I had been tyring for 2 yrs with two mc along the way. They seem happy and really supportive at the moment.. but when I was 3 weeks pg, I didn't know, but was suffering morning sickness which I thought was a stomach bug and had two days sick, I am now 11 weeks and I have had 3 early scans to date because of issues in the past and also made a dash to a&e at about 6 weeks which resulted in a half day off work.. I have had to call in again today because I have had a migraine for 24 hrs and I seriously can not function. I have spokent to my mw and she says it is because the increase of blood etc and hormonal changes so I am not worried about that, but IO just wanted to find out how flexible work should be as I am concerned that I am not performing to the same standard at work, I am not deliberately being lazy but my revenue has gone from £15k a month to £7k, which is still above company minimum but ultimately not my usual and I have say it has been nboted.. do I run the risk of being sacked for having 3 days sick in the last 12 weeks and also the amount of appointments I have to attend..

I know you can not answer but I just wanted to find out what other work places are like..??

anyone??

Hi Bluebell

congratulations on your pregnancy and I'm sorry to hear you've had a bit of a rough ride.

Your work situation sounds very similar to mine - I work in recruitment and it's very target driven. I'm also used to being one of the company's top performers and I know how it can affect you when being pregnant starts to affect your figures!!

First of all, try to relax and get things into perspective. It sounds as if you really love your job but you obviously really wanted a baby so much. I found it difficult to chill out at work and to try and accept that I now had other priorities.

I did have a few days off ill along the way and my work were understanding. You CANNOT be sacked for having sick days or for attending antenatal appointments and if you work for a large national player, they will be well aware of this - so don't let this worry you.

It is really difficult to work in a sales environment when you're pregnant and your employer shouldn't put the same amount of pressure on you to perform. If anything, they should look after you really well to make sure that you come back to work for them again after your maternity leave.
I'm about to finish up work in 2 weeks time and I have to say I can't wait - which is odd coming from someone who was a total workaholic and also strived to be one of the top billers!! but right now, my baby is more important than my job and I'm looking forward to taking some time out to enjoy the baby and then return to work again for a fresh challenge.

Please don't let the stress at work affect you and your baby, and if your employer starts being silly about things make sure you document everything (as I've had to do several times). I kept forgetting that the ball was in my court, and I was pulling all the strings - if you're one of their top performers they won't want to lose you!

Good luck and enjoy your pregnancy!
BLM
x

BLM thanks much, I work in recruitment too, and I see people come and go all the time which does worry me, however my dh always says that I have proven myself and that they will be looking after I just worry that something drastic will happen.

It's good to hear that someone in the exact sam profession has not had a massive amount of problmes along the way! I aim to work up until week 36 all being week and I do intend going back to work. Things have changed I used to get toi work at 8am and leave at 7pm my work was very important and I was very competitive I am just worried that they may think I am taking the pee because I am not billing the same as before.. I was born neurotic!

Oh, and I also meant to say that legally, your employer has to carry out a Risk Assessment for you as soon as you tell them you are pregnant. Work-related stress falls into the category of a risk during pregnancy - see www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg373.pdf

I will look into the assesmenet as I have not formally told HR yet, although my regional and manager knows so will do that tomorrow when I return to work! Thanks so much for your reassurance

Yes, sounds very familiar Bluebell!! I've eventually had to give in and work 9 to 5 as I just couldn't last the longer hours anymore. I'm working up to 36 weeks too but I'd have to say the last few weeks have been a struggle.

The only area I had some issues with my employers was over whether or not I would get my commission while I was off on leave. Check and see if your company has a maternity policy - mine didn't and I was the first employee to take maternity leave!! After they spoke to their lawyers they decided to pay me my commission for the full time I was off - I do temps so my revenue will keep coming in for a while after I go on leave. I suppose if you do perms that's a bit different.

I was also given a much much lower Business Plan for this year, as soon as I told them I was pregnant. Hopefully your work will be understanding too!

Thank BLM I do perms so I think I should get the month arrears when I go on m/l. Sounds like your firm are very understanding. The good thing is my managers are female and have children so I am hoping they will identify with the situation but it is difficult when they have their own targets to meet. Fingers crossed1 And good luck to you... 6 weeks to go! x

Hi I am in medical sales, and work for big company and my although my sales where ok whilst I was pregnant, I did have about amonth off sick with morning sickness and they where fine about it. My sales did suffer horrendously in my year off and I am now struggling to hit target, but if they even DARE to question me I will kick up such a fuss for them not covering my territory whilst I was on Mat leave.
They Can not sack you for being sick, your prioritys change when you are pg, you will not be as motivated, so chill out and enjoy your pregnancy and forget about work

Hi Bluebell - I too work in a sales/ target environment. The other posters are spot on when they say that your employers cannot employee standard practices for any time taken/ sickness that is a result of your pregnancy. My company for example can do return to work interviews after just a little level of sick leave. If you are off sick due to pregnancy - they cannot do this.

If you have contributed so much as one of their top sales people - the company should look above all this short term stuff and at the bigger picture - because you are a valued sales person.

Congrats on your pregnancy! Enjoy it and dont worry about your employers!

Hi Bluebell,

I work in IT Sales which is kind of up there with recruitment in terms of pressure to perform so I know how you feel. I am due to pack up at the end of July when I'll be 35 weeks. I work for an IT start up as well so maternity provision is, shall we say, pretty basic. Having said that I have had to take a few days sick here and there due to random bleeding episodes in second trimester and they were fine about it.

The fact is as you get bigger you'll get slower and your priorities will change. You'll also be tired a lot especially if you commute so you need to cut yourself some slack and assume your employers will do the same. Difficult for us goal orientated types I know but you need to listen to your body. It knows what its doing.

Good luck xx

Hi Bluebell

Congratulations!

One thing to add to the good advice - make sure that any pregnancy-related sickness is noted as such - that way it can't be taken into account in your overall sick record (otherwise it's sex discrim).

the law is VERY strict when it comes to dismissing pregnant employees. I think they would find it very difficult indeed to fire you when there is such a clear link between your pregnancy health and the drop in sales.
if you do some research on google you'll soon see how tight the regulations are. hopefully that will make you feel a bit better. It doesn't stop some companies acting like axxeholes but they risk a tribunal..
you are legally entitled to attend all antenatal appointments. technically you have to give your employers an "appointment card" from the midwives to prove you're actually going to one but most companies probably don't bother demanding this.(my company never once asked for it.)
good luck. i can totally relate to the migraine thing by the way - they were the curse of my first 16 weeks of pregnancy. absolute hell. it did ease off though.

hi bluebell, congratulations!

i dont know if that would be the case for you, but the employer can ask you to start your maternity leave if your sickness is related to the pregnancy. it didnt actually happen to me but i was told that in my job...

Jabuti that is correct, but only towards the end of pregnancy and if it is a pregnancy-related illness. If you are sick with a pregnancy-related illness in the six weeks before your baby is due, your SMP will start the week following the week you become sick. If you are sick with a non-pregnancy related illness, you can claim Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) until the week the baby is due.

i clearly didnt pay enough attention, it was a long talk

Been there done that... then dozed off