Telling work about pregnancy

[fermentedyellow]

Hi all. I have my first antenatal appointment and it's during work hours. I've asked for time off for the appointment, but not said what for. Work have asked for a confirmation letter/email, but it's all on the Badger notes app and makes it obvious what the appointment is for - I have tried to rearrange the appointment for a different time/day, but it would go over the 9 week mark and they're not happy to do that. I've also tried to hide the details of the appt, but that would mean basically covering up everything which doesn't look good for me. I don't want to tell work yet, but at this point I think I'm going to have to tell my supervisor and ask him to just not tell anyone. Does anyone have any advice on how to tell my supervisor so early or how to get around it?

Could you ask your MW to give you an a generic appt card / letter and submit that afterwards or are work insisting on confirmation prior to appt?

Depending on your relationship with your manager, I would tell your manager in confidence what the appt is for / use a screengrab of your BadgerApp and ask them to keep it confidential until such times you are happy to share your news more widely. It also puts in place h&s safeguards for you and your pregnancy ❤️

Hit post too soon 🤦‍♀️ I eventually shared our happy news with my close working colleague at 16 weeks then the wider team when we got to 24 weeks ❤️

I understand why you might not want to, but it's actually in your interests to mention why- maternity appointments and illness are dealt with in a different way, and legal protections kick in. Noone should share your medical information.

As for wanting proof of appointments- the only letters I ever got during pregnancy were for scans!

I’m not sure why they aren’t happy to go over 9 weeks, booking In appointments are done between 8-10 weeks, totally fine to be after 9 weeks.

You could ring your gp and explain they may give you an appointment card that’s more generic.

Can you take a day's annual leave??

@ScottishStardust why should she take annual leave when she has a right to paid time off for maternity appointments?

From an HR POV tell your employer asap. Once they are aware a number of employment rights kick in, plus you will need a risk assessment. If you don’t want your manager to know - I’m not sure what your reasoning is for not wanting them to know- then email HR to notify them.

Might be a little immoral but you could call in sick for the day. Then when they eventually know about your pregnancy it will count as pregnancy related sickness during this time and not count against you on your sickness record.
Just trying to think of a way out without telling them if everything else seems impossible!

My first booking appointment is at 12 weeks, is this what yours is too? You should be able to move it. 😊 I understand your reluctance to tell your employer, I'd feel exactly the same although I know from a HR point of view and legal protections it is best to tell them ASAP..

Or I'd do what another poster suggested and either take a half day or pull a sickie. You could day you don't feel comfortable sharing your personal information.

Good luck!

Check your employee handbook. Most workplaces do not have the right to know specific details about appointments. I'd honestly just redact the information on the letter you have. So far I have taken annual leave for my appointments as I am not comfortable sharing my news with anyone at work. And will continue to do so until about 20 weeks.

@Littlegoth didn't say she had to take annual leave ... it's an option if she wishes to not tell her employer about her pregnancy.

My first is about the 9 week mark for me. It's just a booking in appointment with a midwife, I'm not sure what it involves but I've been told to eat breakfast beforehand so maybe some blood tests etc. I'll have my 12 week appt a few weeks after ☺️ feels so soon already !!

Thanks for all the suggestions, I've managed to wriggle my way around it. I was able to blur out the information and my employer was happy to accept this as confirmation of my appointment without any more questions ☺️

@fermentedyellow Well done!! 👏 Yes, bloods, checking family medical history etc. It makes it all feel real 😊💜

I just told my supervisor but asked them to not share further. If something went wrong I expect I’d want to tell them that to, and have some time off