I have morning sickness and nausea and still been told I need to go into work from tomorrow due to rules covid changing )

[katiie3]

Hi everyone

I am 17 weeks pregnant and been WFH for the past 6 months.

I have had very bad nausea and sickness and protein leaking into my urine for the past 2 weeks. My GP signed me off work for 1 week.

I returned to work and my company has said we require everyone to come into the office 2x a week. I would be driving to work which is 1 hours 25 mins each way in the morning. And evening. Maybe more depending on traffic.

i explained to my manager that I have nausea/vomiting through the day which I am managing with medicine. I am light headed too and frequently going to the toilet as I need to drink water to stay hydrated from vomiting.

My manager said we need you to make the effort to come in as we need people to come in regularly and I’m happy for you to come in at 9.30. See how you get on.

I am so anxious now and I don’t know what to do.

[Candleabra]

GP again - sign off sick, or reasonable adjustments (wfh)

[NoSquirrels]

Remind them of their duties towards you as a pregnant employee: www.acas.org.uk/managing-your-employees-maternity-leave-and-pay/if-theyre-ill-or-having-a-difficult-pregnancy

[Matchingcollarandcuffs]

You need to go back to your GP, if they think you shouldn’t be going in they can do you a fit note saying you should wfh for x time.

Could you try going in and see how you get on? Either it won’t be s as bad as you fear, it there will be no way you can manage it which makes things easier for your GP.

[StrictlyAFemaleFemale]

Are you too lightheaded to drive? Could you make it on public transport?

Would your gp sign you off again? Is your manager generally sympathetic? Do you have to go in tomorrow or could you do Wednesday?

[DrBrennerFan]

Gp now you can’t travel under these conditions your employer is bang out of order morning sickness can be very bad.

[wpao]

To be fair a lot of people with those pregnancy symptoms don't have the option to work at home. If you can't work because of your symptoms just ask the GP to sign you off if your work says you need to do this.

[chiickenandmayosandwich]

What has covid rules got to do with it? Working from the office has been the norm for a long time now.

If you are needed in the office and that's your default place of work then they're not doing anything wrong asking you to go in.

If you are too unwell to work then call in sick?

[katiie3]

I want to continue to work- But it is difficult for me to travel and drive and then get to work and sit at a desk for 7 hours with the all these symptoms.

I went to the estate agents last week- 45 min journey and I don’t know if it was the travelling or motion but I was so sick afterwards. We had to cancel the appointment and turn the car around.

Tried a supermarket trip on the weekend And struggled.

[katiie3]

@chiickenandmayosandwich

My role is a WFH role and the role is managed WFH. There are no active requirements that will not enable me or anyone else to not carry out their role if at home.

The company would like to introduce workers to come back into office

[greatblueheron]

@NoSquirrels

Remind them of their duties towards you as a pregnant employee: www.acas.org.uk/managing-your-employees-maternity-leave-and-pay/if-theyre-ill-or-having-a-difficult-pregnancy

Exactly this.

Working from home is one of the things that is explicitly mentioned in the guidance when someone is experiencing a 'difficult pregnancy' as you are at the moment.

[chiickenandmayosandwich]

@katiie3

@chiickenandmayosandwich

My role is a WFH role and the role is managed WFH. There are no active requirements that will not enable me or anyone else to not carry out their role if at home.

The company would like to introduce workers to come back into office

Has it always been a wfh role, or was this just introduced due to covid?

[Matchingcollarandcuffs]

@katiie3

I want to continue to work- But it is difficult for me to travel and drive and then get to work and sit at a desk for 7 hours with the all these symptoms.

I went to the estate agents last week- 45 min journey and I don’t know if it was the travelling or motion but I was so sick afterwards. We had to cancel the appointment and turn the car around.

Tried a supermarket trip on the weekend And struggled.

Were you driving or a passenger? Tend to be less sick when driving than being driven

is there a way you can get to work on public transport?

[katiie3]

@chiickenandmayosandwich I have been there wfh for 6 months (I started this role 6 months ago). Some people have permanently moved away and are wfh with this same role.

[katiie3]

@Matchingcollarandcuffs yes I can get public transport. It’s more the concern that I have nausea and dizziness. And sometimes I am vomiting. Probably not as nice if on public transport or out looking for a toilet. Or even for my work colleagues to experience someone doing that.

[GrannyAchingsShepherdsHut]

Dr's and get a fit note that says you're only well enough to work from home. It's true, you're not well enough to drive - I remember morning sickness, and there's no way I would have been able to hang on till I could pull over - you you could easily cause an accident if you either stop suddenly or lose control / visibility if you vomit.

Alternatively, go in, and throw up on your manager. They'll probably let you work at home after that...

[chiickenandmayosandwich]

Ultimately it will depend on what your official place of work is on your SMT whether they can insist on office working generally speaking.

If you started work during covid restrictions and wfh was deemed safer at the time, but the office is their preferred way of working then there's nothing you can do if you just earn to remain working at home all the time.

Whether the work can be done efficiently or not doesn't come into it if the employer wants staff in the office.

They should make allowances during pregnancy to make things easier on you when needed, and if working from home is doable they should allow it.

But you also said you can't sit at a desk for 7 hours feeling how you do, so how would you work at home either?

[katiie3]

@GrannyAchingsShepherdsHut throw up on my manager hahah.

it is so awful. The feeling of nausea is sometimes worse than actually throwing up. My manager has left it at come in tomorrow and see how you feel. We need you in - i will go into work and see what happens. Dreading it already.

[Matchingcollarandcuffs]

i would see what your GP thinks then but if you can get public transport you might find out that you’re not as bad. And if it is that bad then clearly the GP will need to issue you with a fit note.

Have you exhausted all medicine options? as you’re 17 weeks you might find that you starter to feel better soon, if not the GP should be trying other medicines to control this better

[katiie3]

@chiickenandmayosandwich

when I work from home, I don’t sit with any pants on as they dig in- presses into areas.

i have a special scent I use on a pillow that I lift my leg on to alleviate the pressure that gives me relief. I lie flat on the floor with my back straight against the wall that helps. i have a bucket and I sometimes sit in my landing close to the toilet which helps.

Might sound stupid but these things help.

and when I am feeling sick, sometimes backing up into your sides and groaning helps. Not suitable to do in a room full of 30 people sitting with you. And when I am sick- And look like crap- I’m home. Sometimes there is even sick in my hair that I can rinse quickly and not worry about til later.

[katiie3]

@Matchingcollarandcuffs I have gone through chemotherapy last year so there are very few medicines I can take. I did try one but I had a reaction to it so I decided not to continue with it.

[stuntbubbles]

@wpao

To be fair a lot of people with those pregnancy symptoms don't have the option to work at home. If you can't work because of your symptoms just ask the GP to sign you off if your work says you need to do this.

But OP clearly does have the option as she’s been doing it for six months. Other people’s non-WFH roles are irrelevant here. What’s relevant is that her employer needs to make reasonable adjustments, which includes allowing her to continue WFH instead of insisting on presenteeism when she’s clearly going to be worse off coming into the office.

OP, can you go over your manager’s head to HR? If it comes to it, I’d be tempted to go in and not hide how awful it is: sick bags at your desk, look a fright as you do at home, etc. As a colleague I’d rather someone that ill worked at home for their sake and my concentration, rather than be in the office just because I had to be. Get your workplace on side.

[Calmdown14]

I think you might be better off in the long run to show willing. If you go in, they will see what a struggle and disruption it is to your work. Sometimes it's better to make them see the impact properly.
Your manager is probably wary that if you are allowed a concession others will be too.
Go in, keep running to the toilet..

On a practical level, I had a bag and tissues on my knee when driving. I found tiny quantities of fizzy juice (which I never normally have) eased the sickness temporarily.

It's awful but I suspect if your colleagues see you having such a hard time they may be more sympathetic than just because you are pregnant

[BlackAndPinkNose]

Sympathies OP that sounds awful.

I can remember knowing every pull in point on my route to work so I could pull over to vomit in a lidded bowl that I kept with me in the car - it was horrific but WFH was not an option as far as my line manager was concerned, even though the job was perfectly doable remotely - he was just an arse who believed only in presenteeism.

[katiie3]

I will brave it and go into work. i will just be my true self and show exactly how I suffer from my pregnancy.

[Matchingcollarandcuffs]

If you go on public transport take a few bags in case you need to be sick, and also something to sniff. I used to take cotton wool with peppermint oil on or pieces of lemon as the smell of coffee/people/tobacco/last night’s curry etc on people would set me off.

often the journeys are the worst bit, make sure you have snacks to keep your blood sugar up.