Too sick/nauseous to work but too soon to reveal pregnancy

[Silvanna]

Hi! I've been suffering from terrible nausea and being sick quite a lot. As soon as I start moving about, it gets worse. I also have to drive as part of my job. Today I had to stop constantly because was so nauseous and didn't know if I was going to be sick on the wheel. I'm considering taking sick leave because I'm feeling like crap. I can take a week on a self-referral but I didnt want to reveal right away that I am pregnant because I'm only 7 weeks. Is there any way to describe the illness that is truthful but not mentioning pregnancy?
Thanks

Can you not go to the doctors and get a sick note from them and just give that in to ur work

Is there any reason you are reluctant to share you are pregnant?

Is it possible to let your manager know and make clear it's not to be general knowledge just yet?

I had to tell my manager I was pregnant at 5 weeks for the same reason. 🤦🏻‍♀️

My manager is actually on sick leave at moment and the second in line, is actually the nosiest person that I know so I wouldn't want to tell her. I'm a bit superstitious in revealing too early. With my other pregnancies I managed to get my first scan before telling in work. I'm 42 now so I really want to make sure that things are going well before spreading the news.

I could get a sick note from the G.P. but wouldn't they write pregnancy illness in it?

Pregnancy related illness can't be counted as normal sick leave so it's a good idea to see if there's someone you can tell (HR?) so it's recorded properly and won't trigger any disciplinary processes or be on any references.

@FusionChefGeoff that's a good point. I just wish we didn't have to wait so long for a first scan .
I might just use some of my Annual Leave until my manager returns

I'm in the same boat although I've made it a lot more tricky because I'm changing role and my MIL will be my new boss, I've told her boss and she's sworn to secrecy because we don't want to tell the family until we've had a scan in case anything goes wrong.
But if I take a day off sick, the return to work form specifically asks whether it is due to pregnancy and I don't want my current boss to know as it would reach MIL before I had a chance to tell her.
Would it be wrong to lie if she's not going to be my boss for much longer?

Just tell them. If you did unfortunately have bad news, you'd have to tell them anyway as you'd need a couple of weeks off to recover.

Think logically - nothing will happen to your baby if you tell people, there's nothing to be superstitious about.

You will probably need your annual leave when you are much further ahead in your pregnancy!

@Worrier2019 yes your case is even trickier with your MIL being your boss. My back to work form doesn't specifically asks if it's Pregnancy related. I've requested my G.P. to prescribe me something for the morning sickness to help me function and avoid being off work. How far are you?

@NowWeAreSuckingDiesel I intent to tell my Manager but not to the second in line. Even if something bad happened, I would prefer to describe it as low mood than to have her gossiping about my grief.

That's good then, much better than annual leave. I doubt anyone would be gossiping but agree the world and his wife don't need to know yet. Hope you feel better soon

I worked in birdseye factory when i found out i was pregnant with my first.. obviously vomit in a food factory is a big no no so i had to have time off then i couldnt stomach going back the look and smell of that processed chicken made me gag, so i quit.. and iv never eaten a chicken kiev since😂😂

My GP worded my sick note so that it just said something like general Malaise so that I didn't have to reveal my pregnancy if I didn't want to. At this point family didn't even know so it was very helpful.

@Silvanna yes I've done the same, so I'm hoping that something can be prescribed. I'm only just 6 weeks so not far at all!

I told my manager as I commute. This way even if something does go wrong I’ll be covered.

Thanks guys.

@LRL2019 your G.P. Was very helpful indeed .

@Worrier2019 roll on December .

"Think logically - nothing will happen to your baby if you tell people, there's nothing to be superstitious about. "

totally agree @NowWeAreSuckingDiesel