im 13 weeks pregnant and need advice on coping at work .....?

Question

I work full time as a bar maid and im struggling with other members of staff, and the long hours. i was going to go part time but i would i still get maternity pay?? i feel really exhausted and feeling really sick also. any help would be greatly apprieciated

Answer 1

At 13 weeks you could still be having some "morning sickness" which we all know doesn't just happen in the morning. Also, are you taking Materna or some sort of vitamin supplement ment specifically for pregnant women? If not then talk to your doc. Babies really do take alot out of you but at 13 weeks, I don't think that you should be this exhausted. Check with the doc just to be safe.

Good luck to you and baby.

Answer 2

Right lets get to the facts.

In the UK, under LAW, you cannot be sacked, disciplined or penalised for any time taken off work for pregnancy related illness. Even morning sickness. So if you need to take time off do so. You and the baby come first.

Secondly - you would have to speak to your boss about the requirements for maternity pay but ifyou do not get Statutory Maternity Pay from an Employer you can still get Maternity Allowance from the Government, which is basically the same thing although paid as a Benefit from the Government rather than from an Employer.

To get Maternity Allowance you have to have worked for 26 out of the 66 weeks before your baby is due (don't have to be consecutive weeks or even with the same employer) and been earning at least £30 per week.

Maternity Allowance is better than Statutory Maternity Pay in some ways as unlike SMP its not taxable.

Heres all the info:

http://www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk/JCP/Customers/WorkingAgeBenefits/Dev_008115.xml.html

I went all through this last year as I had very bad morning sickness so was off sick pretty much from the beginning of my pregnancy and handed my notice in half way through as I could not face going back. I got Statutory Sick Pay whilst I was off and then was eligible for Maternity Allowance.

This is the best advice I can give you and I feel very sorry to hear pregnant women struggling at work because they don't know their rights. Please don't suffer in silence. You have rights, use them!

Answer 3

the only problem with going part time is that when you are around 24/25 weeks the government take a look at what you earn and base you maternity pay on this so you will get a much lower rate of pay while you are off. I know it is really hard at that stage coz you get sooo tired but try to stick it out, your energy levels will pick up in the next couple of weeks and you will feel much better. Also try to keep your energy up by eating little and often. If you find after a few more weeks you really cant take it by all means change your hours, your health is more important than anything....see how it goes and good luck. Try ginger products for the sickness e.g ginger biscuits x

Answer 4

Disability or maternity pay really varies by state so I cannot answer that question, but I can say you will likely start feeling normal again really soon. The second trimester is known as the best part of pregnancy because most moms feel really normal... so you may be able to make it a little longer anyhow. Either way, you have to do what makes you comfortable - maybe you could work a split shift or something to break up the day but still get your full shift... Good luck!

Answer 5

The tiredness is normal it should ease pff between ur first 12 - 14 wks so u should feel better soon....
Think if u have been at ur work for more than 6 months ur entitled for the work 2 pay u matty leave bt maybe only ur wage ud be on if u did go part time...Think matty leave depends on ur wage u get any way
If ur not entitled 2 matty pay then u will by social ...Go 2 job centre or local citizens advise cenrte

Answer 6

Do the other members of staff know you're pregnant? They might just think you're not pulling your weight and not realise you feel rough. Unless you're really uncomfortable with doing so, I'd tell them.

If you're in the UK, yes you are entitled to maternity pay even if you're part time as long as it's regular part time, not casual work. But if you are changing your conditions of work, get someone to check that changing job after you're already pregnant it won't affect you (maybe Citizen's Advice?)

Talk to your boss and tell him you're struggling - maybe there's a part of your job which you don't find so tiring (anything you can do sitting down?), and you could swap that with one of your colleagues while she does something for you which you find hard?

Answer 7

You are going to have to sit down with you boss and talk to him/her. Try seeing if you can cut back your hours for just the next couple months to get you through the "morning" sickness. You need to listen to your body, and rest when you are tired. Every job is different about the maternity pay, so you will have to ask. Maybe if you have some vacation time or something you could use that for the next couple weeks.

Talk to your boss, and good luck!

P.S. Just know that they can't fire you for being pregnant, BUT they can if the scheduling doesn't work out...so schedule a meeting with him/her soon!

Answer 8

guys like that want it all. Chances are he tells his wife he loves her every day and he most likely has kids with her who he adores. Sorry but you were a toy he liked to secretly play with and if he was going to leave his wife he would have done so two years ago. having a child with this man as a family is simply not going to happen so best get used to being a single Mum and if you have any sense take him to court for child support then his wife will definately find out what a lying scum bag he is and hopefully dump his backside and take his pay every month. Once a cheat always a cheat and even if he left his wife for you he would cheat on you too when he gets bored. do your self esteem a favour and move on and bring your baby up on your own and a decent new man will follow when you have enough confidence not to take whatever comes along first, but to be more choosy

Answer 9

You will still get maternity pay as a part time worker and yes, have a word with your boss to reduce your hours. It is quite exhausted being pregnant and standing for hours on your feet is NOT good for you. You are also entitled to sick leave, if you are having a particularly bad day, do not feel bad about phoning in sick you are entitled to it.

Answer 10

It's important to not overwork yourself when you're pregnant. Any stress you feel transfers to your baby and you definitely don't want that.

Depending on your employer you may be able to get maternity pay but usually they leave that for the days after you have given birth. Talk to your boss about that one.

The best thing to do with stress from your co-workers is to ignore them. You don't go home to them. Who cares what they say? At the end of the day the thing that matters the most is YOU.

Good luck!