{"id":189769,"date":"2024-08-14T01:05:05","date_gmt":"2024-08-14T00:05:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/legalvision.co.uk\/?p=189769"},"modified":"2024-08-14T07:54:40","modified_gmt":"2024-08-14T06:54:40","slug":"sick-leave-pregnancy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/legalvision.co.uk\/employment\/sick-leave-pregnancy\/","title":{"rendered":"Legal Rights and Responsibilities for Sick Leave During Pregnancy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>When you employ staff, they have legal rights, which you must comply with. As an employer, one legal responsibility is to ensure you pay staff statutory sick pay (SSP) where they qualify. You may add to this by paying more through a contractual sick pay scheme. Your pregnant employees may also get sick, and you must treat pregnant women fairly. Otherwise, you could face a claim in an employment tribunal for pregnancy discrimination under the <em>Equality Act 2010<\/em>. This article will explain sick leave legal rights and responsibilities during pregnancy, such as for pregnancy-related sickness absence.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why Might My Employee Get Sick During Pregnancy&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>When your employees are pregnant, they are susceptible to being sick with pregnancy-related illnesses. This means any condition that relates to their pregnancy. These include, for example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>morning sickness, which is nausea and vomiting and may not only occur in the morning;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>backache;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>pre-existing conditions that pregnancy worsens;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>tiredness; and<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>headaches.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div  class=\"box box--icon box--star\">\n    <p>A registered healthcare professional can provide evidence, such as a medical note, that the illness is pregnancy-related. It is also important to note that different people are affected by pregnancy-related illnesses to different extents, so this will vary between your employees.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Happens if My Employee is Sick During Pregnancy?&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If your employee is sick with a pregnancy-related illness during their pregnancy, they should report the sickness as per your sickness policy for other employees. You should also pay them sick pay as you would your non-pregnant staff. This means they should get statutory sick pay (SSP) if they would normally qualify for this. Also, if you pay your employees more than SSP through contractual sick pay, you must do the same with your pregnant employees. It does not matter if the illness is related to their pregnancy or not. Your staff will qualify for SSP where they:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>have worked for you and are considered an employee;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>earn at least \u00a3123 per week on average; and&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>have been unwell for over three days in a row, including any non-working days.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>However, when you record your pregnant employees&#8217; days off sick, you must differentiate them from any sick leave that the employee has taken while they were not pregnant. Therefore, the latter are not included towards a review or trigger points in your absence policies.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You are also not allowed to dismiss your staff for being sick during pregnancy or treat them less favourably because they are pregnant, as this could be:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>pregnancy or maternity discrimination; or&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/legalvision.co.uk\/employment\/sex-discrimination-five-key-things\/\">sex discrimination<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n\n<a href=\"#content-next\"\n   class=\"block p-4 mt-10 text-xl font-bold text-center text-white no-underline bg-gray-800 rounded-t-xl\">\n    Continue reading this article below the form\n    <i class=\"text-xl fa-regular fa-arrow-down\"><\/i>\n<\/a>\n<div class=\"px-6 pt-10 pb-12 mb-10 text-center bg-gray-100 rounded-b-xl sm:px-12 test\">\n    <div class=\"mb-8 text-2xl font-bold text-orange\">\n        Need legal advice?\n        <br>\n        <span class=\"text-lg 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This is where they are sick within four weeks of the due date. This is because you must consider your employees\u2019 well-being as your main consideration. When maternity leave has begun, you must pay them maternity pay rather than sick pay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To work out the fourth week before your employee&#8217;s expected due date, you need to count back four weeks from the Sunday of the beginning of the week their baby is due.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Good Practice<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>It is good practice to be considerate towards your pregnant employees who have mental or physical health issues. Therefore, you may wish to consider changes to their work to help them. For example, you might allow the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/legalvision.co.uk\/employment\/employees-flexible-work-arrangements\/\">flexible working<\/a>;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>differing work times;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>hybrid working; or<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>additional breaks.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n    <div class=\"my-7 lg:my-10 border-y-2 border-gray-100 py-7 lg:py-10 flex flex-col sm:flex-row items-start gap-10\">\n                    <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"w-52 mx-auto my-0! rounded\" src=\"https:\/\/img.legalvision.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/05\/19023421\/performance-improvement-plan-marketo.jpg\" alt=\"Front page of publication\"\n                 loading=\"lazy\" width=\"208\" height=\"298\">\n                <section>\n            <div class=\"text-2xl font-bold\">Performance Improvement Plan Template<\/div>\n            <div class=\"body-text\">\n                <p>If your employee is not performing at the expected level, you may need to implement a performance improvement plan (PIP) to get them back on track. Download our free PIP template.<\/p>\n            <\/div>\n            \n\n<a href=\"https:\/\/go.legalvision.co.uk\/uk-pip-template.html\" class=\" block px-5 py-3.5 max-w-fit bg-orange button__hover transition rounded text-white font-bold text-lg no-underline uppercase leading-tight text-center\" target=\"\" rel=\"\">Download Now<\/a>        <\/section>\n    <\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>When your employees are pregnant, they may get sick and are also likely to suffer from pregnancy-related illnesses. Pregnancy-related illnesses include, for example, backache and tiredness. It can also include existing conditions, which worsen due to pregnancy. When your employee is sick during pregnancy, they must report it as other staff do, and you must also pay them SSP where they qualify for it or any contractual sick pay you offer. However, you do not record the sickness as part of their formal sick records if it is pregnancy-related, as it does not count towards trigger points in your sickness policies. If your employee is sick within four weeks of their due date, you can ask them to start their maternity leave and pay them this rather than sick pay.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you need help understanding your employees\u2019 leave entitlements, our experienced <a href=\"https:\/\/legalvision.co.uk\/employment-lawyers-lp\/\">employment lawyers<\/a> can assist as part of our LegalVision membership. For a low monthly fee, you will have unlimited access to lawyers to answer your questions and draft and review your documents. So call us today on <a href=\"tel:+448081968584\" class=\"AVANSERnumber dynamic-number\">0808 196 8584<\/a> or visit our<a href=\"https:\/\/legalvision.co.uk\/membership\"> membership page<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"schema-faq wp-block-yoast-faq-block\"><div class=\"schema-faq-section\" id=\"faq-question-1723593441668\"><strong class=\"schema-faq-question\">What happens if a pregnant employee is sick four weeks before their baby\u2019s due date?<\/strong> <p class=\"schema-faq-answer\">If your pregnant employee is sick within four weeks of their baby&#8217;s due date, you can require them to start their maternity leave.<\/p> <\/div> <div class=\"schema-faq-section\" id=\"faq-question-1723593459166\"><strong class=\"schema-faq-question\">What is Statutory Sick Pay (SSP)?<\/strong> <p class=\"schema-faq-answer\">Statutory sick pay (SSP) is your employees&#8217; legal right to receive sick pay if they meet the qualifying criteria.<\/p> <\/div> <\/div>\n<div class=\"not-prose m-feedback-prompt\">\n    <!-- Thumbs up\/down bar -->\n    <div class=\"m-feedback-prompt__main\">\n        <div class=\"m-feedback-prompt__title\">Was this article helpful?<\/div>\n        <div>\n            <!--span class=\"m-feedback-prompt__button--text\">Thanks!<\/span-->\n            <button type=\"button\" class=\"m-feedback-prompt__button m-feedback-prompt__button--yes\"\n                    data-analytics-link=\"feedback-prompt:yes\" aria-label=\"Agree\">\n                <i class=\"fa-regular fa-thumbs-up fa-3x\"><\/i>\n            <\/button>\n            <button type=\"button\" class=\"m-feedback-prompt__button m-feedback-prompt__button--no\"\n                    data-analytics-link=\"feedback-prompt:no\" aria-label=\"Disagree\">\n                <i class=\"fa-regular fa-thumbs-down fa-3x\"><\/i>\n            <\/button>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n    <!-- Feedback form -->\n    <div class=\"m-feedback-prompt__form\">\n        <div class=\"m-feedback-prompt__form--thanks \">\n            <div>Thanks!<\/div>\n            <p>\n                We appreciate your feedback \u2013 your submission has been successfully received.            <\/p>\n        <\/div>\n        <form id=\"contact-form\" class=\"m-feedback-prompt__form--form\" action=\"\" method=\"post\">\n            <input type=\"hidden\" id=\"authenticity_token\" name=\"authenticity_token\" value=\"9eb4f72322\" \/><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"_wp_http_referer\" value=\"\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189769\" \/>            <input value=\"https:\/\/legalvision.co.uk\/employment\/sick-leave-pregnancy\/\" type=\"hidden\" name=\"currenturl\"\n                   id=\"currenturl\">\n            <input value=\"Legal Rights and Responsibilities for Sick Leave During Pregnancy\" type=\"hidden\" name=\"currenttitle\"\n                   id=\"currenttitle\">\n            <label>\n                <!-- display on thumbs-up -->\n                <span class=\"m-feedback-prompt__feedback m-feedback-prompt__feedback--yes\">\n                    Can you tell us <span class=\"font-semibold\">why<\/span> you found it helpful?\n                <\/span>\n\n                <!-- display on thumbs-down -->\n                <span class=\"m-feedback-prompt__feedback m-feedback-prompt__feedback--no text-lg\">\n                    How can we better improve this article?\n                <\/span>\n                <textarea name=\"feedbackmessage\" id=\"feedbackmessage\" required><\/textarea>\n            <\/label>\n\n            <div class=\"m-feedback-prompt__form--error\" id=\"form-submit-error\"><\/div>\n            <button id=\"submit-contact-form-button\" type=\"submit\" name=\"commit\" class=\"m-feedback-prompt__form--submit\"\n                    data-analytics-link=\"feedback-prompt:submit\">\n                Submit            <\/button>\n        <\/form>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When you employ staff, they have legal rights, which you must comply with. As an employer, one legal responsibility is to ensure you pay staff statutory sick pay (SSP) where they qualify. You may add to this by paying more through a contractual sick pay scheme. Your pregnant employees may also get sick, and you<a href=\"https:\/\/legalvision.co.uk\/employment\/sick-leave-pregnancy\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"sr-only\">&#8220;Legal Rights and Responsibilities for Sick Leave During Pregnancy&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13326,"featured_media":3248,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"176776,1300,176096,177523,174878,1238","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[20,236,533,2082],"class_list":["post-189769","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-employment","tag-small-business","tag-sick-leave","tag-pregnant-employees","tag-ssp"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the 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