Maternity Related Illness - Work Absence

[PineapplePrincess]

Help/direction please...

I was unwell the week before I was due to finish on maternity leave, four weeks before my due date. It was a severe chest infection, which admittedly exacerbated some existing pregnancy related niggles - mainly bladder control and SPD. Neither of these in themselves would have stopped me working (I can work remotely), but the constant coughing to the point of being sick, and the lack of sleep from coughing, totally wiped me out.

I called in sick for work that week, but still tried to log on and do as much as my handover as I could manage. I think the stress of everything prompted baby to come early and my waters broke the following week - the first day of when I was actually due to I finish up work (no rest for me!?!)

I am now due to go back to work, and my boss (apparently backed by HR) are stating my absence was pregnancy related and they started my maternity leave from the point of absence.

I have a sick line from my doctor that states ‘chest infection’. Surely that is not pregnancy related, I could have a chest infection at any point in time - it just happened to occur when I was pregnant?

Work seem to be suggesting because I was ‘unwell’ and ‘pregnant’ that any sickness would be ‘pregnancy related’ - is that right....?

I don't think that sounds right. I'd see if you can speak directly to someone in HR to clarify this because it's entirely likely that they've been given an abridged version of events by your boss.

I'm at the other end of this right now. My SPD is pretty horrendous and I've had to go off sick - so my Mat Leave will start earlier than planned. I've spoken to HR and Payroll and confirmed that I can (should) do this and that as a result my Mat Leave will also end early.

HR / Payroll should have sent you a letter before your Mat Leave started to confirm what date it started on and what date it is therefore due to end. If you went off sick for a pregnancy related condition (like SPD or pre-eclampsia for example) your Mat leave can start 4 weeks before the week of confinement. If you went off sick for anything else (chest infection, broken leg etc) it's just normal sick leave. Crucially your HR / Payroll department should have sent another letter to confirm that this is what was happening and given you an adjusted salary calculation and length of Mat Leave.

I work in HR and that doesn't sound right to me. Your illness has got to be pregnancy related in order for them to start it early. If your fit note states that it is a chest infection then I don't see how they have the medical expertise to determine that it is pregnancy related.

If you don't want to start your mat leave now I would initially write to them stating this and challenging that you believe it is incorrect, see what they say. If they don't change your start date then I would follow whatever the grievance process for your organisation is.