Can pregnancy related absences trigger a stage meeting?

weakerthan · Post by **weakerthan** » 10 Nov 2017, 20:54

Been trawling through employment law guides all evening and not getting anywhere, wondering if anyone here might have some info!

Was off twice with pregnancy related sickness back in July. Called to a review as had 4 absences in 12 months. No stage issued as 2 of the 4 are pregnancy related.

Off work with non-pregnancy related sickness the other week. Had another letter calling me for a stage review as I’ve hit the trigger again.

Without the 2 pregnancy related ones I have been off twice in 12 months.

I thought pregnancy related absences had to be recorded separately? I really wasn’t expected them to still be ‘live’ on my sickness record to the point they can trigger a stage.

Have read royal mails policy which states ‘Pregnancy related absences should be discounted from the formal attendance process but such absences should still be reviewed’. If they were discounted back in July how are they still being used to trigger a stage meeting.

Is this meeting lawful? Most of what I can find online seems to suggest that anything pregnancy related can’t be used for any kind of attendance management yet I’ve questioned it with my rep today and he says they stay on my record and can still trigger a review. Thankyou!

Creditshampoo · Post by **Creditshampoo** » 10 Nov 2017, 21:10

Pregnancy related absences are discounted from the formal attendance procedure see your rep

weakerthan · Post by **weakerthan** » 10 Nov 2017, 21:16

But does this mean they can’t even call me to an attendance review? I’ve spoken to my rep and he says they’re fully entitled to enforce the meeting as I’ve gone over the threshold... even though they couldn’t legally put me on a stage anyway!

Seems weird they didn’t flag them up as pregnancy related back in July so that they couldn’t re-trigger a review? Or do they just sit on my record regardless?

weakerthan · Post by **weakerthan** » 10 Nov 2017, 21:26

Hypothetically speaking, going by what my rep has said, I could go off sick with a pregnancy related illness once a week for the next 3 months, triggering a stage review meeting every time yet never getting put on a stage. Would weekly attendance reviews count as pregnancy discrimination?

and would it be wrong to want to find out?

fishtank · Post by **fishtank** » 10 Nov 2017, 22:19

It states in the attendance agreement that although absences related to pregnancy should be discounted the should still be reviewed however in my opinion anything that may increase the stress involved in pregnancy should be avoided. Common sense should prevail and if it doesn't contact your area rep.

weakerthan · Post by **weakerthan** » 11 Nov 2017, 09:22

Does anyone know where I can find a full copy of the attendance policy? I can find the at-a-glance guides where at the bottom it says the full policy can be found on the psp but can’t find a complete guide!

rehabron · Post by **rehabron** » 11 Nov 2017, 13:23

weakerthan wrote:Does anyone know where I can find a full copy of the attendance policy? I can find the at-a-glance guides where at the bottom it says the full policy can be found on the psp but can’t find a complete guide!

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