Medical Appointments

Lizabeth21

Also sickness in pregnancy is not uncommon (can occur at anytime-even in working hours).

Bean83

After the first midwife appointment, there will be nothing else until your scan. You get notified of the date of this via letter a couple of weeks in advance. Therefore If you don’t want to tell them, I’d wait until you get the letter then book the time off as annual leave. Then after the scan you can tell work and all subsequent appointments can be taken as and when.

leslieknope

why use annual leave when you're entitled to paid time for anenatal appointments? i understand why people don't want to tell people until 12 weeks but your work is different. otherwise how will they know to enact their maternity policies?

Nicki

emdoug wrote: »

Well I had a doctors appointment on Friday (Already had the time off) and I've got a midwife appointment today but I have no idea if I will need any other appointments before scan as I've not been pregnant before. All I want to know is can they fire me for attending appointments.

I had private ante natal care so had more appointments than are offered on the NHS and even then for a normal pregnancy I had one at 6 weeks, one at 9 weeks and one at 12 weeks for the scan. I doubt you will have any more appointments to explain away before your 12 week scan to be honest unless you have an emergency in which case that would be a case of (truthfully) self certifying as unfit for work rather than asking to attend a routine appointment

Undervalued

leslieknope wrote: »

why use annual leave when you're entitled to paid time for anenatal appointments? i understand why people don't want to tell people until 12 weeks but your work is different. otherwise how will they know to enact their maternity policies?

Quite.

Also, particularly being very new to this job, there is a risk that if the employer suspects pregnancy they may dismiss. Sadly some employers behave like that.

If the OP hasn't formally told them she will struggle to claim unlawful discrimination if this were to happen.

FBaby

I wouldn't want to tell when I've been at the job only 2 months and am so early into the pregnancy. Unfortunately, miscarriages do happen even young women most commonly before 12 weeks.

I expect few employers would be overjoyed to hear that their brand new employee didn't care to become pregnant as soon as they start a job, so they even if they remain professional, you never know how their attitude could change, and since they can let you go for no reason before 2 years, I'd rather be more confident about the pregnancy before announcing it, even if it means losing a day off holiday.

Takeaway_Addict

emdoug wrote: »

I'm not disputing the policy, I just don't understand why he attached it to the email telling me to remember it. It's just worrying me that's all but I have a meeting with my boss Monday anyway just a standard monthly review so may just tell him then just to make things easier.

Your new and he is letting you know how the land lies

You IMO are way over thinking this

Comms69

FBaby wrote: »

I wouldn't want to tell when I've been at the job only 2 months and am so early into the pregnancy. Unfortunately, miscarriages do happen even young women most commonly before 12 weeks.

I expect few employers would be overjoyed to hear that their brand new employee didn't care to become pregnant as soon as they start a job, so they even if they remain professional, you never know how their attitude could change, and since they can let you go for no reason before 2 years, I'd rather be more confident about the pregnancy before announcing it, even if it means losing a day off holiday.

Well if the OP announces the pregnancy, they are less likely to let her go, as there is always a chance of an unlawful discrimination suit. Even when confident of winning it, it's expensive to defend.

FBaby

Yes, but if she was unfortunate to miscarry, they would likely assume that she would want to try to get pregnant shortly afterwards, so could decide to find an excuse to dismiss her before.

Of course it's all what if as they would need to know she's not pregnant any longer before she informs then she is pregnant again.

All is possible. A friend of mine later discovered she had been pregnant when she went for an interview (didn't know then) and only found out after she'd accepted the job. She was petrified to tell her boss and expected a very bad atmosphere but they were great. She is a fantastic worker and they were delighted with her. She worked until she was 38 weeks and came back at 6 months, which as they said, they could have had anyone else off maybe a year later, but then for the full 12 months or not coming back at all.

Comms69

FBaby wrote: »

Yes, but if she was unfortunate to miscarry, they would likely assume that she would want to try to get pregnant shortly afterwards, so could decide to find an excuse to dismiss her before.

Of course it's all what if as they would need to know she's not pregnant any longer before she informs then she is pregnant again.

All is possible. A friend of mine later discovered she had been pregnant when she went for an interview (didn't know then) and only found out after she'd accepted the job. She was petrified to tell her boss and expected a very bad atmosphere but they were great. She is a fantastic worker and they were delighted with her. She worked until she was 38 weeks and came back at 6 months, which as they said, they could have had anyone else off maybe a year later, but then for the full 12 months or not coming back at all.

Sure of course, just mean that it offers some basic protection, but it's not bullet proof