Pregnant and employer making me see thier doctor??

[anythingwithagiraffeonit]

Hi everyone,

I'm 9 weeks pregnant and have been suffering with terrible morning sickness, so much so my doctor signed me off work.. i've missed five shifts and will miss three more and then return to work next week.

I contacted work and explained that I have a doctors certificate to prove this.

Today HR contacted me to tell me they want me to see thier doctor?!!

Do I have to?? What will happen if I refuse... it makes me feel quite uncomfortable actually, the idea of people at work knowing private medical thinga about me.. even just my weight and things like that. It also makes me uncomfortable at the idea of having to endure a physical (??) or some other such thing because they want me to.

Can they really make me so this? I'm quite upset about it.

Any help would be appreciated x

The role of a company Dr is to interpret medical information for the employer so that they can understand how it impacts on the workplace and what reasonable adjustments may need to be made.

ime what happens in practice is that you would have a chat with Company Dr and they will write a letter to HR outlining any medical issues in layman's terms. You should be able to choose whether or not to allow Occ Health to contact your own GP for further details. Any medical info is held by Occ Health and not passed on to HR/your line manager etc

The only time I've ever heard of Occ Health requesting a physical exam is when they carried out annual health monitoring for senior staff, so blood pressure, cholesterol etc. Certainly never heard of it for normal sickness absence.

You can refuse to go but, tbh, Company Drs always seem to support the employee's point of view and it could be a good opportunity to make sure your needs are taken into account.

There's no reason a discussion with the OH doctor about your morning sickness absence would involve any kind of physical examination or weight check.

Try not to see this as a negative thing. Your employer will listen to their OH doctor so it's your chance to get another medical opinion that your absence has been justified if that's your concern.

OH appointments will be to assess the situation and make recommendations to the employer in terms of how the illness in question may impact on work and whether there is anything the employer can do to support the individual, adjustments to make etc

There's no reason to be upset. If you don't want to see the doctor you can refuse. If your employer pays any sick pay over and above SSP it's possible appointments with their OH doctor at their request are a condition of that pay, so check that before you refuse.