Page 6 | Excuse needed for long sickness..

Miolo · 2026-01-26T14:37:27+00:00

Please don't judge, I already feel bad enough 😔. I need to be off from early June to early September. Plausible reason suggestions needed please. I feel guilty but it's circumstances out of my control that mean I need the time off. Don't want to reveal as might be outing. Big public sector worker.. Months of being overworked and stressed. Curre doing the work of 3 people, not sustainable long term. I'm burning out. Stress a plausible reason for 3 months off? Any other ideas? I do have a chronic physical health condition, would it be best to use that?

Crwysmam · 28/01/2026 23:07

Either your sick pay policy is better than your maternity pay policy, or you have recently started working for the company and decided nt qualify for maternity pay. If the latter is the case you can still claim maternity allowance with the possibility of added benefits.

Companies who pay up to 6 mnths sick pay are generally generous with mat pay unless you don’t meat the qualifying criteria of course.

If it’s a case of not qualifying you need to check that you will qualify for sick pay, and that the policy is for 6 months of full pay. There may be qualifying rules for the sick pay too.

And what will happen if you have a prem baby or complications. I developed pregnancy induced hypertension and had to stop work at 20wks. Fortunately I was able to claim full sick pay until I reached the statutory mat pay week when they then started mat pay. I had the full support of my GP and obstetrician who provided evidence that although pregnancy induced my sick leave was associated with the raised blood pressure not the pregnancy.

DS was born at 36 weeks so I only had to start mat leave 5 weeks early in the scheme of things. It still gave me 5 months on almost full pay ( NHS mat leave) because I’m self employed with an NHS company breast I also claimed maternity allowance. It’s a bit of a loop hole that we are entitled to mat allowance but the NHS contract is not always full time so mat pay is not always enough to live off.

Crwysmam · 28/01/2026 23:30

My guess is that you started work after you found out you were pregnant so will not have worked long enough to qualify for mat pay. But sick pay has no qualifying period.

AmIHumanOrAmIAYeti · 29/01/2026 21:25

Fizzy89 · 28/01/2026 21:40

This has got to be fake because if you live in the UK there's just noway.

Majority of employers now you get 6 weeks at 90% of your pay. No employer would let you be off without a sicknote for anywhere near that long and no GP will write you a sicknote instead of maternity

Public sector pay enhanced maternity.

LiquoriceAllsorts2 · 29/01/2026 21:47

This is insane. You sound like you are struggling mentally, if that is the case now then go off sick now. You can’t not tell your employer about a baby though.

ConfessionsOfAMumDramaQueen · 29/01/2026 22:58

It is ridiculous.

You legally have to tell work you're pregnant before 25 weeks unless you can't because you don't know.

You legally have to take 2 weeks off after having a baby.

All workplaces will require a fit note from a GP to be off longer than a week. If OP turns up to a GP surgery 1 week post partum with said 1 week old baby in tow requesting such a note for whatever reason concocted they won't see a reason to give her one! They'll just look at her and the 1 week old baby and say she doesnt need one as shes on maternity and needs to use her MatB1 or get stuff from her midwife, whose care she will be still under until baby is 2 weeks old.

There's literally no way this works. Could she take shortest 2 week maternity leave, return then go off sick? Probably. Will it go down well? No. I literally cant even see why you'd even try to do this. If you were so new you didnt qualify for any maternity at all you're well under even a years service so taking 3 months of vague medical leave 6 months after starting is unlikely to result in continued employment. If there longer you should get at least SMP which is 6 weeks at 90% pay so that shouldn't be extreme enough to warrant risking this. I can't think of any reason OP would even try this.

ThrowingDi · 30/01/2026 18:14

Miolo · 26/01/2026 20:08

It's to have a baby. Nobody at work knows about the pregnancy and I need to keep it that way. I can't elaborate any more. I'm due at end of June. Relative is moving over in summer to the UK to take up baby care and live with me. I can't let work know about the pregnancy. I've never shown on previous pregnancies.

Wtf, your poor baby. You’re gonna be so stressed trying to hide an entire pregnancy, the stress can’t be healthy for the baby?

ThrowingDi · 30/01/2026 18:15

ConfessionsOfAMumDramaQueen · 29/01/2026 22:58

It is ridiculous.

You legally have to tell work you're pregnant before 25 weeks unless you can't because you don't know.

You legally have to take 2 weeks off after having a baby.

All workplaces will require a fit note from a GP to be off longer than a week. If OP turns up to a GP surgery 1 week post partum with said 1 week old baby in tow requesting such a note for whatever reason concocted they won't see a reason to give her one! They'll just look at her and the 1 week old baby and say she doesnt need one as shes on maternity and needs to use her MatB1 or get stuff from her midwife, whose care she will be still under until baby is 2 weeks old.

There's literally no way this works. Could she take shortest 2 week maternity leave, return then go off sick? Probably. Will it go down well? No. I literally cant even see why you'd even try to do this. If you were so new you didnt qualify for any maternity at all you're well under even a years service so taking 3 months of vague medical leave 6 months after starting is unlikely to result in continued employment. If there longer you should get at least SMP which is 6 weeks at 90% pay so that shouldn't be extreme enough to warrant risking this. I can't think of any reason OP would even try this.

I mean, I’m guessing she could go to the GP and get a fit note from them and ask that nothing maternity related goes on there. There’s a lot of illnesses that can go on a fit note without pregnancy needing to be noted. I’m thinking bowel issues, nausea, stress, pain etc can all be listed as such without needing “pregnancy” as an identifier

Zanatdy · 31/01/2026 13:24

Are you a surrogate? Just say stress, but won’t your GP know you’re pregnant and wonder why you need a sick note?

ConfessionsOfAMumDramaQueen · 31/01/2026 17:06

ThrowingDi · 30/01/2026 18:15

I mean, I’m guessing she could go to the GP and get a fit note from them and ask that nothing maternity related goes on there. There’s a lot of illnesses that can go on a fit note without pregnancy needing to be noted. I’m thinking bowel issues, nausea, stress, pain etc can all be listed as such without needing “pregnancy” as an identifier

Show quote history

She can but if they see she's got a 1 week old baby they will tell her she doesn't need a note from them as legally she is on maternity leave.

BrieAndChilli · 31/01/2026 17:43

As someone said you legally have to inform your employer that you are pregnant 15 weeks before your due date or if not aware at that point then as soon as you find out.
Doctors will not give you a sick note if you are legally supposed to be on maternity leave.
work will require a sock note if off for more than 7 days.

surely going on maternity leave is the best outcome for you both legally, practically and financially? If you have not been there long enough for maternity pay i think there is another maternity benefit you can get.

Tiggermad · 31/01/2026 17:58

If it’s not real sickness you are actually committing fraud !
Be very careful as you could be dismissed if it’s not authentic and they find out.
The reason I am so anti this is because I manage a team and I generally know when sickness is feigned and it very often leaves team mates picking up the pieces.