Miscarriage and work

Hi all can anyone put my mind at ease. New starter in job and as title suggests I am suffering.. contract only mentions general sick leave and nothing about bereavement, to contact employer and need cert if absent 3+ days. I am in pain today but know I can pull through and be back next week. Do I need to disclose reason to managers? I am conscious of being new, don’t want to be seen as taking the piss already but is it appropriate to disclose this? My doctor is in another city, so I wasn’t going to visit and usually just follow expectant management guidelines.

fits

You don’t need to tell your manager the reason. Phone up your doctor and get a medical cert. I can do this over website with my gp - don’t need to go in.

sorry you are going through this. Take care.

Dav010

If your employment contract requires a cert after 3 days, you will need to contact your GP to get one. The cert does not have to disclose the medical condition keeping you off work.

Dempo1

Sorry OP for what you going through, this difficult Topic was discussed recently on the Claire Byrne radio show.

As others have said, I'd discuss with your GP and get a sick cert, no need to disclose any details with employer. Take care.

witchgirl26

OP I'm so sorry for what you're going through. I might suggest oddly looking at the maternity policy for the company. Ours has a section in it about miscarriage and gives some extra leave in respect of it as opposed to normal sick leave.

If you do decide to take normal sick leave - I think the other posters suggestions of getting a cert from your gp is the best option.

shesty

Ah OP, you are not taking the p1ss.Any reasonable manager would be 100% understanding of that, and you need time off.Get yourself a sick cert if at all possible.Don't brush it under the carpet, it is a hard, hard thing and you need to take care of yourself.

Princess Calla

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118539463#Comment_118539463

Yeah ours is the same plus from memory if the pregnancy goes past a certain date you are entitled to maternity leave, so definitely worth a look.

The only thing I'd be wary of is disclosing you were pregnant to begin with.....as you are a new starter you are not covered by employment law so can be let go for any reason. So while they won't admit the pregnancy has anything to do with their decision they may not want to risk you trying again and going on maternity leave in a year......I know that's absolutely harsh Just giving you a different angle so you protect yourself with how much information you disclose.

The most important thing is you and your health and welfare so concentrate on that above all else.

Big Bag of Chips

If the pregnancy was early days then it wouldn't be covered under bereavement leave. Even at that bereavement leave might only be 3-5 days. Ask your GP for a sick cert. They can write 'medical illness' on it.

You need to take a bit of time to recover. You are going to be emotional and delicate for a while. Your employer doesn't need to know the details.

Neyite

I'm very sorry for your loss.

Your staff handbook should help there - specifically either bereavement leave or their maternity policy might give you some answers.

However, if you are still on probationary period, it might be worth putting another illness on a sick cert especially if you have a line manager who you don't know very well yet. Unfortunately there are still some loopholes where employers can discriminate against women regarding maternity leave and so on so it might be wise to submit a GP note that just states it as a gynaecological issue.

FWIW, for my first one, I found out on the scan just before work so I was in no emotional state to go in after that, so I just called in with a migrane. But I had a supervisor at the time who more than likely would have managed me out if they had realised I was trying to start a family.

amdublin

Follow the illness guidelines from your work: If you just going to take one day or two or three off **and don't need a cert** just call in and say another reason you won't be in. For example stomach bug. If it is longer and you need a cert per their guidelines, talk to your GP and get one - with a generic reason like medical illness. Sorry you are going through this and sorry for your loss