Another sick leave question in pregnancy....

[LullyMummaOfOne]

Hi, im currently just over 20 weeks pregnant and my GP has signed me off work for 2 weeks due to signs of SPD (SYMPHYSIS PUBIS DYSFUNCTION.) My GP has refered me for urgent physio and im hoping this will have effect. She also said thats its unlikely that i will return to work as this condition will only get worse the bigger i get. I am due to start my leave on 25th May with my due date being 25th June. Im just wondering what my rights are with regards to sick leave & maternity leave. As ive been employeed by my company for almost 5 years i am entitled to 26 weeks full pay sick leave, this is what my policy states, however i am worried that i may be forced to start my maternity leave early. Can this happen?

Any advice is very welcome
Many thanks

Hi, I am not an expert, but i understood that if you had pregnancy-related sick leave within 4 weeks of your due date, then you would be made to start mat leave then. So hopefully you could stick to your original plans and be on sick leave if necessary until 25 May. I guess you may come under pressure to start it early, so you need to check your rights with your HR team.

Hope you aren't in too much discomfort and that the physio helps.

gosh your GP actually signed you off???!!

I'm 22 weeks and in the same position. Agree about the last few weeks of pregnancy but I think it might be earlier, like after 30 weeks or something.

Can you honestly not work? It's my second pregnancy and worse than my first. I struggled on until 35 weeks first time around, not sure I'll do the same this time! Physio not terribly helpful TBH. Going to see an osteopath and I have a tens machine for my back.

Must be bad if you're already not going back to work.

Pulapula is correct. Your maternity leave will automatically be triggered from 36 weeks if you are still off sick.

SPD is awful, I had it in my last pregnancy and I can feel the twinges coming back in this one. I hope the physio works for you. Have you been told to keep your knees together as much as possible? That really helped me.

Same situation here... signed off by GP with SPD at 29 weeks and I don't expect to be back... I simply can't get through the commute and a whole day up and about at work...but work will start my mat leave at 4 weeks before due date, but then I have set the start date of my leave for then anyway, so it makes no odds.

Thanks for all your adivse.
MOGWAI- im in agony and this is also my 2nd pregnancy, i only had it mild with my first. I commute into the city every day with no offer of a seat on the train and then i have a 15 min walk to the office so its really not suitable to work with this condition. My GP is very understanding as she suffered with this with all her pregnancies so i guess im lucky to have her on my side.

I did read that you maternity leave can onl start 4 week before you due date if off sick before hand so im hoping that will be the case as i would hate to start my leave early & not have as much time at home after the baby is born (not that im 100% sure if im going back yet)

Im going to see how physio goes first but my GP is happy to sign me off for this reason until i see an improvement. She is reviewing me every other week & I then have to let work now the situation. Im only worried as work for a really large internaltion company who probably have lots of different policies in place for things like this. I need to get a copy of my hand book before i start investigating.

Thanks again for your help

maternity will be triggered from 4 weeks prior to EDD, you already planned to take your mat leave from here anyway, so keep it as it is. if they push you to start it early, refuse, they cannot legally make you take mat leave before 4 weeks prior to due date. It is not maternity leave now, it is sick leave, as you are physically unable to work. Why should you have less time with your LO because you are suffering from a horrible condition beyond your control?