Work related stress .. 22 weeks pregnant

I am having a tough time at work at the moment with one of the line managers (I am the company accountant and report directly to the directors) he is in effect alongside me.  I have already complained about his tone of emails to me to my directors who has agreed they are out of order and for which he has had a telling off.

I have also been having problems with some of his staff as he tells them one thing but I am told to do another by my director, the latest being he has agreed to pay one of his staff for sick leave on full pay when the rules are SSP unless I am told otherwise, which I wasn't in this case.  Cue a lot of emails this morning, me in tears and wondering if I can get signed off on stress it getting so bad and even thinking I dont want to go back.

He has always had a problem with me and I can usually shrugg it off but I am stuggling at the moment and its hitting a nerve.  On top of all this I am feeling unwell in this pregnancy, still sicky at 22 weeks, struggling to eat which in turn had made me borderline anemic.

Could stress at work be making me feel worse?

If I were to get signed off sick how would it affect my ML - as a member of management I would get full pay for 13 weeks, we have just employed my ML cover so we have a 3 month overlap so there is someone there to do my job.

I am due to finish work around 12th June - which is only 3 months off and I do have some more holidays I can use up.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated ... I am off to swimming class shortly but will check back later.

I'm not 100% sure (I think MAdonna might be better placed to answer this), but I think that if you are signed off sick & it's pregnancy related, then your maternity leave starts then & there.

How much holiday do you have to take? Could you bring the date you start ML forward?  Or would it help to take, say, one days leave a week so you are in the office less in the run up to maternity leave?

Sorry I am not much help

Thats what I thought - but not sure if stress would be classed as pregnancy related as such!

I have 6 weeks hols to take from 1st April, so was looking at not actually starting my ML until the day baby was born and taking a month off before as holiday.  Also have a week booked off in may and looking at going down to 2 days a week (instead of 3) from beginning of may so not too bad.

Fortunately the guy I am having bother with isnt office based so I very rarely see him

If you're signed off sick, they can't make you go on ML until 36 weeks iirc.

If you get signed off sick now you will be on sick leave, which I guess will have a financial impact on you if you only get SSP? The earliest you could choose to switch to ml is 29 weeks. The automatic start of maternity leave whilst on sick leave is triggered at 36 weeks.

I can't see your original post - were you thinking that you may not want to go back at all after ml because of this man? If so you need to consider that you will probably have to pay back the additional pay (everything above and beyond SMP).

It does sound like a horrid work situation. hope you can find a solution that works for you.

CLx

Thanks that makes it a bit clearer.  I would get full pay for being on sick as I am management, I only get SMP anyway so nothing to pay back if I did leave after ML.

Just don't know which way to turn, think I need to speak with my boss next week.

Did you have a risk assessment yet? Can you do one/revisit one with a sympathetic boss and run through the concerns?

Can you get something down in writing about your current state of health and need for some extra support right now?

If you are signed off sick with a pregnancy-related illness in the 4w before your EWC then yes, your ML can be started automatically.

HTH a bit, it does sound difficult x

Thanks M - only just seen this.

No I haven't had a risk assessment, but I think I will have to speak to my boss tommorrow (fortunately he understands and has got me my ml cover in already to help!)

Have talked things through with H over the weekend and have decided what I am doing re:holidays and finishing work.  So if my cs is booked at 39 weeks which I am sure it will be, I will be finishing work on 10th June, plus I have a week off in may so given I do 3 days a week I have 34 working days left, so it does seem a bit more manageable knowing this.  I will just have to pass off the difficult jobs to someone else!