This article provides information on pregnancy-related sickness and protections at work for pregnant women. For more information on health and safety during COVID, see our FAQ page on rights relating to pregnancy and new parents and our page on health and safety rights for pregnant women.
Sick leave during pregnancy
If you are too ill to work you may need to take sick leave. You should follow your employer’s sick leave procedures. Most employers will allow you to have a few days off without a doctor’s note, but for longer periods of time they can ask for a doctor’s note. If your sickness is pregnancy related, you should ask your doctor or midwife to confirm this in your sick note as this will be important to ensure this time off is disregarded. See the section on this below.
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Sick leave is unlike other forms of leave in that you can eventually be disciplined or dismissed for taking too much (except for illness related to pregnancy). If you have odd days of sickness here and there and your employer believes you are taking more time off than you need or that you are not genuinely ill, your employer may discipline or dismiss you under its performance management procedures – this could be for misconduct or capability.
If you have a long period of sickness or repeated periods of illness (except for illness related to pregnancy), even if your employer believes your illness to be genuine, your employer can say that you are no longer able to work and dismiss you on the grounds of capability. This may is true even if your illness was caused in the workplace, although in this situation you may have additional claims against your employer.
In determining how much sickness absence you have had, employers are not allowed to take into account:
- Pregnancy related illness during your pregnancy.
- Time off for ante-natal appointments for your pregnancy
- Maternity, Paternity, Adoption or Shared Parental leave
- Parental leave
- Time off for dependants
- Health and safety suspension
- Holiday or annual leave
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If you have been on sick leave for a long time, sometimes an employer will ask you to submit to an occupational health assessment, or to give consent to a medical report being sought from your GP. Unless your contract says you must agree to this, you can say no, but your employer might draw their own conclusions if you say no. If you have a long term health condition, this may be a disability for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010 and you may benefit from additional protection.
Pregnancy-related sickness and sickness absence records
If you are ill during pregnancy, your employer’s normal sickness rules apply, with a few exceptions. If the illness is pregnancy-related it should be recorded as such and it should be ignored in respect of any employment decision or the assessment of any benefits at any stage of your employment.
Pregnancy-related sickness absence during pregnancy should not count towards your sickness record if your employer has a procedure that may lead to dismissal once an employee reaches a certain level of sickness absence.
For this reason it is a good idea for your doctor or midwife to state on your sick notes when an illness is pregnancy-related.
Sick leave for health and safety risks
You should not be asked to go on sick leave if the reason you cannot work is because it is not safe for you or your baby. This is true even if you have a pregnancy-related medical condition that makes it more difficult for you to do your job.
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You are entitled to protection from your employer in this situation – you should not be penalised by being forced to take sick leave. The law says that if you cannot do your job because it involves a health and safety risk to you or your baby, your employer must either:
- Remove the risk – for example, avoiding heavy lifting if this is usually part of your job
- If the risk cannot be removed, offer you suitable alternative work on the same pay
If neither option is possible, your employer must suspend you on full pay for as long as the risk continues, which could be right up until the point you start your maternity leave.
If you receive less than full pay or are put on sick leave in this situation then you may have a claim for pregnancy discrimination. You may also be entitled to claim full pay from your employer by making a claim for ‘unlawful deduction of wages’ in an Employment Tribunal. If this happens to you, you should seek advice straight away. Also see our article on health and safety rights for pregnant women for more information.
Frequently asked questions
This advice applies in England, Wales and Scotland. If you live in another part of the UK, the law may differ. Please call our helpline for more details. If you are in Northern Ireland you can visit the Labour Relations Agency or call their helpline Workplace Information Service on 03300 555 300.
If you have further questions and would like to contact our advice team please use our advice contact form below or call us.
Source: https://t-tees.com
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