Absence from work issue.

[Tiggy26]

This is quite long winded, sorry in advance.

Ive been signed off work on and off since finding out I was pregnant, to start with it was due to bleeding and doctors advised complete bed rest, I was signed off with this for about 7 weeks in total on and off.

When i returned to work my boss was making my life a misery asking me to do the most unreasonable work activities and just generally making things difficult for me. So....one afternoon when I had come to the end of my teather, I called my doctors in a complete state crying my eyes out and explained what was going on at work, my doctor said it was disgusting the way ive been treated and was concerned about the stress of this effecting me and my baby, so she signed me off for 1 month and even suggested that I stay off work untill my maternity leave kicks in.

My doctor wanted to put something "pregancy related" on my sick note so that when i gave it to my boss it made life a little easier for me rather than giving her a sick note with "stress" written on it, knowing full well she is the cause of it!

Anyway...I received a call from my boss today and she said she has spoken to HR regarding my sickness & absence and wanted to let me know that if i was off sick for anything else my statutory sick pay would have already started by now but because its pregnancy related they have decided to keep me on FULL PAY and it doesnt matter how long im off for! even if its for another few months!

I was quite taken back by this as I thought i would have been on SSP soon. Of course im happy but im just worried! is this true?? or is this complete rubbish she has just fed me in hope that she can stich me up with money?

She also said she has to come and do a home visit and is bringing another member of staff, because ive been off for more than 6 weeks on the trot and its company policy to do home visits. She said its basically to keep me updated with things going on in the company and to see how im doing e.t.c My boss advised I would receive a formal letter through the post advising me of this.

Now im crapping myself! The very woman who has made my life a misery at work is coming to my house, with another member of staff and i dont know who that will be yet.

I really wanted my OH to be hre with me when she comes round but he has to go to work. OH said to tell her to come round on a saturday (which i know they wont do) Im getting myself in such a state now.

What do you make of all this??

Sorry its so long.

T xx

 

[debecca]

Two worries I have with this:

1. The thing about SSP / full pay - you need to check your contract as it will be in there. Mine says I can have 50 days full pay because I am in my second year of service before I go to half pay (unaffected by pregnancy) - you need to check yours too.

2. They are not legally allowed to visit you at home. Do NOT accept. When you are off sick you are off sick and actually should not be contacted at all by your place of work for anything. My doctor told me this yesterday. Is it possible for you to use someone as an intermediary for them to contact so you can be left in peace?

My thoughts are with you as I have been in the same situation fairly recently. My emotions are all over the place and I just can't do my usual 15 hour days

Hope you feel better soon xxx

P.S. From my point of view I'm staying off as long as I need and stuff the money it's the least of my worries - how about you? xxx

 

[Charlie:-)]

Hi there,

I can recommend a really great website for anything to do with employment law, theres also a helpline you can call they offer very good impartial advice and will be able to tell you what your employer can and cannot do. www.acas.org.uk

With regards to the home visit your employer has a duty of care to provide to its employers and doing a home visit is not uncommon with long periods of illness, however, you can request to meet at analternative place if you are uncomfortable with your employers coming to your house. Maybe suggest a local cafe? The person who will accompany them will usually be someone from the HR department, but your company will confirm who it will be. In my experience of working in HR employers have to follow correct procedure when it comes to long term sickness especially when its pregnancy related and they need to make sure that you are ok and talk about your sickness and how its affecting you, they may also talk about your return to work and maybe offer a phased return and whether you are able to perform your job on your return, if not then tehy will look at how they can help you.

Try not to worry about the home visit, its just procedure and they have to make sure they are doing everything they can to help you.

 

[debecca]

Ah, I stand corrected then

Didn't realise they were allowed to do that (but that's probably cos I've never been signed off sick for a long time) - what's the reasoning behind it? xx

 

[tuck]

some employers do not count pregnancy related absence as 'qualifying days' for SSP, I know that the civil service dont and any pregnancy related illnesses you receive full pay regardless of the lenght of absence.

with the home visit, this would be a 'Keep In Touch' visit. normally they would be done once someone is absent for 28 days, then 3 months, 6 months, 9 months and 12 months. your visit may also include a discussion about a referral to occupational health, if this is the case then it may well be beneficial to you as they will be able to give advice on your work situation. If you do not want your supervisor visiting then I would get in touch with either your next mananger in the chain of command or your HR section, you can ask for someone else to visit. you also have the right to someone being with you at the visit, either a TU rep or a friend or relative. normally the 2nd person to come with your manager would be there to take notes. The visit should purely be to see how you are and if there is anything that can be done to aid your return to work, in your case a pregnancy risk asessment should have been done and your job changed if necessary.

http://www.hse.gov.uk/mothers/faqs.htm

please try not to worry as they are standard visits and if done correctly are supposed to be of benefit to you. if you do not have access to your companies polices ask for them to send the details of their policy on long term sick and keeping in touch.