Sick leave before maternity

[Justcallmesarah]

Hi all,

Is there any way around the sick leave/4weeks before due date kicking in rule?

I'm starting to struggle and due in 6weeks but our maternity policy is dreadful and I can't afford to have my mat leave started earlier.

Is there anyone with experience in successfully having paid sickness up till the due date? 🙏

I was thinking if the Dr marks it as sickness rather than pregnancy related sickness would that be a way around it?

No, once you get to a certain point it becomes maternity leave.

Sorry I don’t think there’s a way round it, unless your work agrees otherwise.

4 weeks before. Them’s the rules. No loophole.

Have you got any accrued holiday? Emergency leave? Dependent leave for dependents?

If the OP can’t afford to start maternity early I doubt she can afford to take unpaid emergency or dependents leave.

Our policy is if it’s pregnancy related sickness, so it would work if you can give a reason non pregnancy related but I guess they might question it. I guess it depends if you have mentioned that you’re struggling or anything already, and obviously depend on your works policy as looking at previous answers it looks like my works policy may be different.

Thanks for all the responses.

Yes unfortunately I cannot afford to take unpaid leave, general speaking my sickness record is good and has never been in question, I'm just genuinely feeling very stressed and overwhelmed. I think it's a combination of things as to why I'm feeling like this.

I am hearing mixed feedback that if it's regular sickness it won't trigger. However, if it's pregnancy related sickness it will trigger. I'm just trying to gather my position before going to a doctor 🤦‍♀️

Do you have access to your maternity policy?

This is what ours states relating to starting maternity leave early…