NHS sick leave

[LouJ85]

I work full time for the NHS and I'm currently 17 weeks pregnant. I've been suffering quite bad hyperemesis and as a result I've had 10 weeks off sick so far. I went back to work last week. However I'm still struggling and not sure I'm fully fit for work. My boss has been very supportive and said to see how I go and if I need to be off sick again, so be it.

My question is in regards to sick pay. I'm entitled to 6 months full pay before it goes down to half. I've had the equivalent of just over 2 months so far. If I were to end up back off sick in the coming weeks if I struggle to manage, would this be classed as a continuation of the previous period of sickness, therefore meaning I have only 4 months left before I go down to have pay, or would the clock reset given I've been back at work (albeit briefly)? Hope that makes some sense!

*half pay, not have!

I believe its 6 months in a rolling 6 month period in my Trust to prevent people coming back for 1 day then going off again (not judging/criticising)

Good luck!

Sorry, in a rolling 12 month period

@FizzyDizzy121 oh really? If that's the case it's probably best for me to decide sooner rather than later whether I'm able to manage back at work, as the clock will be ticking so to speak with regards to eligibility for sick pay?

I mean instead of me soldiering on and trying to manage... I might as well call it a day sooner! My plan was to try for as many weeks as I could until I got too much ...

Yes I would expect it to be per rolling 12 months not per illness.

If you’re too ill to work I would just asked to be signed off again. If you get six months full pay then that’s the majority of your pregnancy covered given you probably didn’t go off until 4-8 weeks pregnant and will likely want to finish at 36-38 weeks.

@ireallyamthewalrus
I went off sick at about 5/6 weeks at end of August, so yeah that's right, I'd be covered up until about week 33 at the end of February. I'd then have to go back to work for the final month or so. But I'd like to think I'll be feeling much more human by then anyway. I was hoping to be a lot better by now but the sickness is just relentless

Is your sick leave under pregnancy not protected?
I work for hmrc and sick leave due to pregnancy related illness cannot be taken into account towards our "normal" total sick leave that affects pay (I'm currently signed off for pregnancy related illness, same as you)
I would double check with your HR department

@rosegoldivy
That's interesting. I'm aware that pregnancy related sickness is protected in the sense that it can't be used against you in a disciplinary sense, as usually so many periods of absence in a set time period would trigger disciplinary / warnings etc. But I haven't actually checked whether it also means pay is protected... I'll find out though!

rosegoldivy - I wonder if full pay with pregnancy sickness is a civil service thing? My Department has the same policy. I’m on full pay still despite my sick pay only being a month of full pay and a month half pay as I’m in my first year.

The policy states that pregnancy sickness does not count towards contractual sick pay limits.

Are you in a clinical role? I know colleagues who are 28+ are classes as needing to shield so work from home. Would this be an option later on and therefore you'd not be off? Not sure how the rules are being applied to non clinical staff though.

I found out today that pregnancy sickness doesn't exempt you from going down to half pay, it's treated the same way as regular sickness, so I have until early January before going to half pay. Which means I either need to make a substantial improvement by then, or just suck it up and work through however rough I'm feeling ...

Yes I'm in a clinical role but due to the high risk nature of that role it's been adapted to suit my being pregnant, so it's already agreed that when I feel well enough to return I'll be doing mostly paper based clinical / admin type tasks WFH 4 days and in the office for just one day. From 28 weeks I'll be fully WFH.

My issue at the moment is I barely feel well enough on a morning to even WFH. By about lunch time I'm able to pull myself round a bit, but they need me there full time or not at all, so I'm sort of stuck ...

How well medicated is your HG? Are you on Ondansetron? I had to take a combo of ondansetron and cyclezine. I still felt rough but could limp into work sufficiently to not go down to half pay sick pay

@TotoroPotoro
Yes I was prescribed ondanestron and cyclizine and up until recently I'd been taking them but I tried to wean myself off them a few weeks ago as I get a little better (and also suffered awful constipation with the ondanestron). Perhaps I came off them too soon... I'm rarely physically sick now - just have debilitating nausea and the room feels like it's spinning etc, especially in the mornings. I don't know how I'd manage my commute in a morning feeling like that, even just one day a week.

Take the pills OP. You need them! I was rarely sick but I couldn't function without them. I have had two very health happy kids thanks to ondansetron and cyclezine!

@TotoroPotoro
Did you find anything that helped with the awful constipation side effect of ondanestron?? (Sorry tmi!!)

maternityaction.org.uk/advice/sickness-during-pregnancy-and-maternity-leave/

Sickness absence related to your pregnancy should be recorded separately and not add to your overall absence.

@MrsBeltane

Thanks - I was aware of this but all it means is that it won't count against me for disciplinary reasons. Unfortunately it doesn't change my e sick pay entitlement which is due to run out in January, whether I'm fir for work by then or not. Sadly I think I'm going to have to suck it up and just let work regardless of how I'm feeling...

January is a long way off so you may feel much better by then. I’d take the sick leave now and then see how you are in a month or so. You’re very lucky to get the sick pay you do though!

Was it easy to get signed off? I'm really struggling at the moment and calling the doctors today to get signed off.

@doritodiva

I suppose it depends on your illness? I suffered with hyperemesis in my first trimester and couldn't even keep water down, I ended up hospitalised. I was barely fit to get out of bed and make it to the toilet so commuting to work wasn't going to be happening. So in those circumstances yes the GP didn't contest signing me off. It continued for longer than I thought and finally got under control a little on a cocktail of antisickness meds, so I was being sick less but still having debilitating nausea and sleeping for hours through the day. I just couldn't function. I thought I was ready to go back now but every time I try to get up early and get myself ready the sickness hits me again. It's really grim.

@LouJ85 sounds awful. I'm the same. I have good days and bad days. But at the moment I'm being sick and sleeping a lot

@doritodiva

It's grim isn't it.
How far along are you?

I had something similar with debilitating tachycardia and fainting in pregnancy and they banned me from the building. The very helpful occupational health doctor decided I could work from home but this wasn't an adjustment they were able to make. The law states they then have to suspend you on full pay and therefore I avoided sick pay dropping and early mat leave.

So rather than sickness I was able to work
With X, Y, Z adjustment. In your case this could be later start, reduced hours etc. Then if they refuse to make those adjustments you are suspended rather than off sick.