Should I tell them?

[Ttc2024xo]

I'm currently 8 weeks 1 day pregnant and me and partner have agreed to not tell anybody I am pregnant until we are at least 12 weeks. I have had 2 days off sick and left a shift early due to throwing up. I was called in for a back to work then day after I came back, explained that I was throwing up and suffered from a migraine which was not a lie. I was then told they will more than likely terminate my contract due to the sickness days. (I am on a temporary contract with a probation period, I started work there at the end of July.) Obviously me and my partner planned to wait until 12 weeks to tell anybody that I am pregnant and for personal reasons I just didn't want to tell anybody at work about my pregnancy just yet.

I work in retail and I am in the UK.

Is it too late for me to now tell them I am pregnant and that's why I was off sick?

Do you think it will make a difference?

When is the contract due to end?

The beginning of January I believe

The extra protection you have when pregnant kicks in on the day you tell your employer you are pregnant.

Worth remembering that it is not the case that all sickness during pregnancy is treated differently though, only what is classed by GP as “pregnancy related sickness” so days off for morning sickness yes, but food poisoning for example no.

I always told my work pretty early on so i was protected if i was unwell due to pregnancy. It's not the same as not telling people in general - they shouldn't share it with others anyway.

I had HG when I was 6 weeks pregnant so I had to tell my employer. You have a lot of rights when you're pregnant including your sick days not being marked with your usual sick days so disciplinary action doesn't kick in. I would tell them. \They're not allowed to spread it round if you want to keep it quiet, though I appreciate people do gossip.

Tell them.

Is it too late for me to now tell them I am pregnant and that's why I was off sick?
Is that why you were off sick? If so, then tell them you are pregnant. But it isn't clear from what you said whether it was pregnancy related or not. That said, I doubt that you can "backdate" the reasons you gave for being off - it doesn't really show you in any better a light if you are going to tell them that you lied about the reason. So maybe draw a line under that period of sickness unless they specifically ask, and if they do, you could then "realise" that they are probably correct in assuming it was pregnancy related.

That said, do take it with a pinch of salt that pregnancy protects you - if the employer is set on failing your probation, there are always a range of other excuses that they can give. Obviously not all employers are bad employers, but if they are there are lots of ways they can find to get rid of staff including just letting the temporary contract come to an end.

I do agree with this.

A temp contract, only been there for a few months, on probation, a bad employer if they want to get rid of you then they can still find a way and pregnancy won’t protect you from that.

It’s a bit of a lose/lose situation really, you didn’t tell them so risk being let go for absence, but actually even if you told them they could decide to sack you off anyway, so there is no perfect ending there unfortunately.

I'm just worried its now too late to tell them as their policy states 2 days of sickness can cause termination of contract.

January

Just tell them. You've got nothing to lose if they're already thinking of getting rid.

In these circumstances tell them immediately.

Tell them

You need to tell them immediately. You're protected under the law when they know you're pregnant.

She is only protected from being dismissed for a pregnancy related reason. That leaves plenty of scope for other reasons, including the expiry of the temporary contract she is current employed on.

The OP was worried about being dismissed for being off sick for a pregnancy related reason. Hence me saying she's protected if she tells them.

That isn't 100% clear. She is worried about being dismissed. Anyone would be. But she has not specifically stated that the absences were a result of her pregnancy (I did ask that), and even if they were she is asking for the employer to "backdate" a previous period of sickness as pregnancy related when she has already told them something else. So I wanted it to be clear that the protections were very limited, because, as you are no doubt aware, there is an element of "between the devil and the deep blue sea" here, in that if she tells them they may just find another reason to dismiss.

"I have had 2 days off sick and left a shift early due to throwing up. I was called in for a back to work then day after I came back, explained that I was throwing up and suffered from a migraine which was not a lie. I was then told they will more than likely terminate my contract due to the sickness days."

I don't know why you're being so pedantic with my comment. I wasn't the only person who gave the advice to tell them. I'm sure she wanted advice and some reassurance, which we all have given. I'm going through the same thing currently and I am in fact protected from dismissal through sickness because I am pregnant, if they did dismiss me I have a very good case to take it further which is the whole point.

I'm sorry - I wasn't trying to cause offence. I was trying to ensure that the information was not open to misinterpretation, and fully fitted the circumstances that the OP disclosed. I wasn't aware that I was being "pedantic", and it was in no way personal. I thought I was being "thorough", and helping the OP to fully understand their position.

And you do say here "I am in fact protected from dismissal through sickness because I am pregnant" - again, sorry if you think this is pedantic but no, you are not - you are only protected for dismissal because of pregnancy related sickness, not other sickness. The law is itself very pedantic.