Materinity/Sick leave question

[rachie29]

i had my 34wk appt with the m/w tsoday and my BP is up and they found protien in my urine... i have no real problems upnti ul today, i also had a student m/w in the appt and as little miss is so active i was lay down for ages while she tried to get a heartbeat - result = dizziness and feeling faint.

The m/w is coming on sunday who take my bp again and check urine... she hinted at wanting me to finish work earlier than i had planned, ie if its still high not to go back. i was to due finish at 36 wks.. use up hols and start official mat leave in jan

I have been trying to do some homework on maternity and sick pay, am i right in thinking that i can get signed off sick for the next 2 weeks rather than start my mat leave as it i will not be within 4 weeks of my due date? I have no problem finishin but my mat pay is not great so if i can ensure more money come in then thats what i want to do

any help would be appreciated

 

[Eblinx]

thats what happened to me, i got signed off 2 weeks before my maternity leave and i know with my employer if its not within the last 4 weeks of mat leave they cant start it early, so my last 2 weeks were sick pay and then my maternity leave kicked in.
I think it tends to be the same with most places to be honest.
Hope everything is ok hun,get your feet up and relax

 

[pilkers]

I think it varies from employer to employer. I know at my work if I was signed off sick within 4 weeks of my maternity start date then my maternity leave would automatically start...

I finished work today but officially my maternity leave doesn't start until the end of December as I still had holiday leave to take.

See what happens with your BP on Sunday and if you have to stay off work maybe your employer will let you take your holiday leave early rather than go on the sick.

 

[ella]

I hate to be negative but I think it changed in April this year and now its if you go off on pregnancy related sick leave within 11 weeks of your due date they can start your mat leave

 

[Eblinx]

I think its just how long you can get off that changed, i looked up the new guidelines and it looks like work starting maternity leave early has not moved from 4 weeks.
This is what it says:

Pregnancy-related illness
If you're off work for a pregnancy-related illness during the four weeks before your baby is due, your maternity leave will start automatically, no matter what you had agreed with your employer.

This is where i found it:

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/Employees/WorkAndFamilies/DG_10026556

hope that helps.

 

[rachie29]

thanks a lot, i thought so but i wanted to double check.. guess just have to wait until tomorrow and see what happens..

 

[annaespana1]

It's a bit naughty but as we only get 16 weeks in total for maternity leave here I've been getting sick notes for sciatica - could be preg related but can't say for sure it is, so it doesn't count and I've now had a good few weeks off!