Can I be sacked while pregnant

[sunshinesupermum]

Have been signed off work for foreseeable. Am 12 weeks pregnant and mental health very poor. Am I at risk of being sacked even though I am pregnant? Have been at current job less than a year.

Yes legally you can. I'm not sure there are any protections at that stage of employment and pregnancy. Sorry.

Not for being pregnant, but for any other reason, yes.

Signed off for what? A pregnancy related illness or anything else?

Yes, you can. It’s a myth you can’t be sacked while pregnant.

Pregnancy is a protected characteristic so you can't be sacked for any illness or absence related to your pregnancy (in the way that you could be let go easily in first 2 years of employment for a high absence rate).

Is the possible sacking related to your absence or for performance?

You have protected rights so the fact that you have not got 2 years service is irrelevant
You can be sacked , but it is due to your pregnancy you would have a claim for unfair dismissal

Not for pg itself but if there are other unrelated issues such as absence, time keeping, productivity etc you are still at risk.

You can't be sacked for any absences or other issues that are related to your pregnancy. However, you can be sacked for other reasons while you're pregnant.

As pps have said, it would depend on why they are sacking you.

I was made redundant while on maternity leave. Loads of people ask "can they do that" when I say that. They can indeed! But they do need to be quite careful

Sacking would be related to absence not performance. Signed off for both mental health and pregnancy issues.

What does it say on your sick note? How much time have you had off with MH issues? Were you already under absence monitoring before your pregnancy?

Pure curiosity here... at what point is one considered 'officially pregnant'? Do you need an ultrasound as proof? Is your word enough? Do you need to have told your manager prior to any disciplinary meetings?(I.e. in a disciplinary you can't just drop it in the conversation). Is there an official week threshold?

As others have said yes you can, but not because you are pregnant or for any pregnancy related absence

Not enough information. Speak to your union or Acas.

Were you already absent a lot before you were pregnant? If so, I imagine your company would be justified in starting the disciplinary process/sacking you.

I'm sorry your mental health is poor. Do you have RL support?

With respect, most employers who want to find another reason can find another reason. Is there a reason you think they might sack you? Because that would be pertinent. Some employers wouldn't dream of it. Others would.

At any point you are pregnant. I've had colleagues suffering complications in very early pregnancy who told me so I could register the absence as pregnancy related. GPs will often add it to sick notes so I've seen pregnancy related MH on one which I thought was useful at the time.

As others have said - at any point. People don’t like telling people until 8 or 12 weeks but from an employment perspective you are protected as soon as you tell the employer and they should at that point undertake a risk assessment for you.

It would be difficult for the company, what you do need to look at is your entitlement to maternity pay. I can't remember the specifics but there's a period of time that is used to calculate your entitlement and that will be affected if you are on Statutory sick pay during those weeks. You may find you have to claim maternity pay allowance instead.

hellsBells46 no absenteeism prior to pregnancy.

Are you assuming you won’t be back before you have the baby?

If the sickness is related to your pregnancy you can’t be sacked or disciplined. Your maternity allowance can be effected and you can be forced to start maternity leave from 36 weeks if you’re off sick at that time.

How long were you off? What did your self certification or fit nite state as reason?

I thought at any time, but as my ex manager said when I first told her 'it's early days' 🙄
Also I think it obviously helps lol when you hand them the MatB cert, is that what it's called? Seems a long time ago 😃

Yes - if the company follows correct procedures they can.

what I would say is they often don’t!!! so should the worst happen do consult an employment lawyer