That is it, I am not going back, they can sod off.

[colditz]

I am 30 weeks pregnant, and work(ed!) as a care assistant. I was informed in front of half the workforce by 2 of my colleagues that I am "very lazy since you got pregnant". Maybe I am. There are nicer ways to tell someone, and one of the people who said it is the laziest person I know!

Amusingly, I was only still going to work because we were so short staffed I thought I was needed, as I hated my job and found it stressful and exhausting. Well, that weight is off my mind, obviously if I am that lazy I am no benefit to the workteam, so I have phoned in with a spurious excuse, then I am not going back.

However, my Mat pay isn't due to start until the 11th, and I can't imagine my boss wishing to accomadate me on this one, so how can I ensure I still get my maternity pay? I can just about manage without 2 weeks pay, but I need my maternity pay to start on the 11th of Feb or before.

Does anyone have any idea on what I can do in this situation?

One thing is for sure, I am not walking back into a workplace where I am so badly thought of. I was in floods last night, but can take a more philosophical approach this morning, as long as I am not going to ruin myself financially to do this.

Colditz, you should not be doing any lifting anyway, You should have manual handling aids eg hoists etc. by asking you to lift they are surely breaking h&s rules regardless of whether your pregnant or not!

They aren't breaking any rules no matter what they want me to do, because they are my colleagues and not my seniors.

We have a 'No Lifting' M & H policy, but they are very very hard to stick to. i have been told by the manager not to lift, my colleagues don't have a leg to stand on with what they have said, but....

I don't want to work with people who think such a horrible thing about me. I don't want to be stuck on a shift with people who will openly point out my flaws to whoever is there.

And another thing, the 20 year old, I helped her to quit smoking by distracting her every time everyone else went out for a break.

The cow

Colditz, I have every sympathy for you - your colleagues are being down right rude and insensitive. If you don't want to go to the GP to be signed off there are a couple of other options that won't affect your right to Statutory Maternity Pay (although you if you are signed off you should be entititled to SSP until you maternity leave starts if you are signed off sick - SSP isn't paid for the 1st 3 days of a sickness period though).

1. You could ask for some unpaid leave. Whilst you are not entitled to it, some employers will agree to letting you have some.

2. If you have any annual leave outstanding, you could ask to take that before you start your maternity leave. If you continue in employment with your employer you will accrue contractual annual leave during your 1st 6 months Ordinary Maternity Leave, so you might have more to take before the end of the annual leave year than you'd thought. During additional (unpaid) maternity leave you accrue "statutory" leave (i.e. 4 weeks per year) over the leave year as whole.

3. You could resign and ask them to agree an immediately effective resignation date rather than having to work your notice (or ask them to agree you taking annual leave during your notice period). Resigning after the 25th week of pregnancy doesn't affect your right to SMP. However, once the resignation date is effective, you don't accrue annual leave anymore, so you would probably be better off with one of the earlier options.

4. If you can be bothered with a bit of hassle, see your manager tomorrow to discuss your pregnancy health and safety risk assessment and your colleagues' comments. Tell her that you understood that you had agreed no manual handling, but you are now being victimised by colleagues for not doing the same work they are. Add that you feel that this is potentially discriminatory if she allows it to continue. Say that you are prepared to take out a grievance if necessary as their behaviour is unacceptable and is upsetting you. Put the ball in her court to sort out. You could try to angle for agreement to you starting your maternity leave earlier (not an entitlement, but could be mutually agreed). Or you could try to angle for a period of paid leave until she gets this sorted on the basis that the working atmosphere is unacceptable (again, not neccessarily an entitlement, but some organisations would agree to this suggestion because of the risk of a grievance and tribunal claim and it buys them some time).

Sue

colditz i worked in a care home when i became pregnant, i found it hard because we were always short staffed, i was told not to lift but how can you leave a old person on the loo!
everyone said they would help me, but didnt, they probaly talked about me behind my back, but i wasnt bothered because i had 2 misscarriages before. in the end i went on the sick until the end of my pregnancey, told them i wasnt going back,we managed on the money we had coming in & got working tax credits.
also working in care homes as put me off for life they are over worked & under payed.

colditz, haven't read all thread but-

1. how come you're not entitled to ssp? Are you sure about this? If you're going to get SMP (not Maternity Allowance-I'm sure you'd know which you were on!) then you'd normally meet conditions of entitlement for ssp. Some employers feel they don't have to pay it but they are ar$eses who are breaking the law. (you prob would not get it if you earn>think £79 pw ish though)

If not, you can get yourself on Incapacity Benefit, go to GP + (s)he'll give you a note.

2. What is going on with your employers sounds like discrimination, tbh. If a senior made the comment or witnessed it without taking action, it is sexual discrimination. Just worth knowing, not saying go to tribunal or anything. If you make management aware of the comment they'd need to take steps to protect you from this behaviour.

3.They should have done a risk assassment when they found you were pg, and if need be offered you alternative work/susp you on full pay-they are not allowed to put your health (incl mental health) or that of your baby at risk.

4. No one should be lifting 13 stone men really, unless fully train etc etc. But I did care assistant work (sone time ago-student)-I know what its like.

5. Take it you're not a union member? Could you join pretty quickly?

Good luck

Oh btw you don't have a pg related illness, you are suffering from stress because of your employers failiure to accomodate your pregnancy. As such you are entitled to be signed off work (and recievce ssp/incap benefit) without affecting your smp.

filyjonk - I am a senior

Someone made my point exactly, it's all very well the manager saying "Don't lift", but when you are left in a position where if you don't get the job done quickly, people are being neglected, then work colleagues start to see you as lazy if you refuse to do things the quickest way. which is what I did.

I am going to the gp tomorrow, to ask him to sign me off with extreme stress, which I was under anyway before all this kicked off through trying to get a grip on Dp's spending and gambling

But does anyone know if they will pay Mat pay if I just walk out?

They won't go for anything that will make my life any easier, I know this from my experiance with them last time I was pregnant, they stopped paying my Mat pay (illegally) and I had to threaten to take them to court to make then pay it!

I am entitled to ssp, but whether they can be made to pay it when it should be paid remains to be seem.

Awful Colditz, nobody lifted where I worked when they were preg and there was no ill feeling towards them.

Can you change teams? Are you always a senior over the same people?

I would complain to your manager. This is completelty unacceptable.

(no advice about mat rights, sorry!)

Nope, leaving, had enough there anyway. I was hating my job before I even got pregnant. I am definately not going back, it just remains to be seen whether or not I can get some money for not going in before my maternity leave starts. If not, I will just do without.

It is good to know they can't stop my maternity pay though.

i think the same as potty. my doc is pretty cool and as i could only afford to stay off work after birth of ds1 for 8 weeks he gave me sick notes as he felt my maternity leave was not long enough. my employers are assholes and kept giving me more and more work even though i requested less as i was getting stressed and suffering panic attacks- not good for baby. i told doc this and he helped me out. i am going to see him tomorrow as i am due back to work on tuesday and he will be arranging me a 'recommendation' that i only work 10 till 3 for a while to settle back in, although i will recieve full pay-
i felt a bit..sort of... scummy i guess as i asked for my sick notes, but usually if you dont ask you dont get. hv informed me docs have been asked to cut down number of notes they hand out, something to do with government or some crap.

Oh I see, Colditz. So they're pretty dodgy, basically. FFS, how riduculous and just what you need.

If you just walk out-I don't think you remain entitled unless you can show that you were dismissed due to being pg. So if you actually resign-no. If you are off sick (through being pg) and they sack you, that might count. You normally need to have an employer to get SMP.

However you would almost certainly get Maternity Allowance. You'd lose the 90% of salary for 6 wks and any contractual obviously, but you'd get I think about £100 per week for 6 months.

I know its hassle + not what you want but you can complain to the Inland Revenue about non-paymeny of SMP (+ I think SSP?), it a bit tedious to sort out though.

Good luck again. Just what you need right now, I expect [sympathy]

Well, some of you may not approve, but....

I went to the Gp, and told him a basic outline of the situation. He signed me off work for 2 weeks.

So, I don't have to go back, and I keep my SMP. All is well.

My stress level has plummeted since I saw my Gp, and he gave me the note!

Colditz

What's not to approve? Whilst I don't approve of people pulling a sickie for the sake of it (I work in HR), I don't think that's what you did. You had genuine concerns about yours and your baby's health and your employer wasn't doing what it should to alleviate those concerns and make sure you were't exposed to unnecessary risks.

I'm pleased that your stress levels have fallen so be guilt free and enjoy your maternity leave!

It is colleagues saying I am lazy, not the boss. >She has been ok about it all.

Your firm has a duty to provide a non-discriminatory environment. If it allows staff to harass you because of pregnancy, then they are liable. They of course have to be aware of this to be effective.