Sickness During Pregnancy: Your Rights, Sick Pay & Maternity Leave Triggers

Sickness During Pregnancy: What Are Your Rights?

Being ill during pregnancy can be worrying — especially when you're concerned about your job, your pay, and your maternity leave. The good news is that UK employment law provides strong protections for pregnant employees who are off sick.

Pregnancy-Related Illness: Special Protections

If your sickness is related to your pregnancy, you have additional protections beyond the normal sick leave rules:

Your Employer Cannot:

•Include pregnancy-related sickness in your sickness absence record or use it to trigger disciplinary action

•Dismiss you for pregnancy-related sickness absence

•Count pregnancy-related absence towards any attendance management thresholds

•Treat you less favourably because of pregnancy-related illness

Your Employer Must:

•Record pregnancy-related absence separately from other sickness

•Continue your employment — pregnancy-related sickness absence is protected

•Pay you according to your normal sick pay entitlement

Sick Pay During Pregnancy

Statutory Sick Pay (SSP)

If you're off sick during pregnancy, you're entitled to Statutory Sick Pay at £123.25 per week (2026/27) for up to 28 weeks, provided you earn at least £129 per week. SSP is paid from the 4th day of sickness.

Contractual Sick Pay

Many employers offer sick pay above SSP. If your employer has a contractual sick pay scheme, you're entitled to it during pregnancy-related illness on the same terms as any other sickness. Your employer cannot exclude pregnancy-related illness from their sick pay scheme.

Sick Pay and SMP Overlap

Important: SSP and SMP cannot be paid at the same time. Once your maternity leave starts (and SMP begins), you stop receiving sick pay and start receiving maternity pay instead.

The 4-Week Trigger: Automatic Maternity Leave

One of the most important rules to know about pregnancy sickness:

> If you are off work for a pregnancy-related illness in the 4 weeks before your due date, your maternity leave and SMP start automatically.

This is known as the "maternity leave trigger." It means:

•Your employer must start your maternity leave from the day after your first day of absence

•Your SMP starts from the same date

•You cannot delay your maternity leave start date

What counts as "pregnancy-related"? This includes any illness caused by or made worse by pregnancy — morning sickness, pelvic girdle pain, high blood pressure, pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes, etc.

What doesn't trigger early maternity leave? Non-pregnancy-related illness (such as a cold, flu, or broken arm) in the 4 weeks before your due date does not trigger automatic maternity leave.

Before the 4-Week Window

If you're off sick with a pregnancy-related illness before the 4-week window (i.e. more than 4 weeks before your due date), your maternity leave is not automatically triggered. Normal sick pay rules apply.

Impact on Your SMP Calculation

Being off sick can affect your Average Weekly Earnings (AWE), which determines your SMP rate for the first 6 weeks. However:

•If you receive full sick pay during the reference period, your AWE may not be affected

•If you receive only SSP during the reference period, your AWE will be lower

•The 8-week reference period for AWE is fixed — it depends on when your qualifying week falls

If your illness significantly reduces your AWE, this could lower your SMP during the 90% rate period. Use our Maternity Pay Calculator to see the impact based on your actual earnings.

Fit Notes (Sick Notes) During Pregnancy

If you're off sick for more than 7 days, you'll need a fit note (Statement of Fitness for Work) from your GP. For pregnancy-related illness, your GP should note that the illness is pregnancy-related.

Your GP may also suggest:

•Phased return — returning to work with reduced hours

•Amended duties — changing your role temporarily

•Workplace adaptations — physical changes to your work environment

Mental Health During Pregnancy

Anxiety and depression during pregnancy are common and are treated as pregnancy-related illness. You have the same protections:

•Sick absence for pregnancy-related mental health cannot be counted against you

•You're entitled to the same sick pay as for physical illness

•Your employer should make reasonable adjustments

Read more about your rights in our guide on pregnancy rights at work.

What If Your Employer Treats You Unfairly?

If your employer counts pregnancy-related absence against you, disciplines you, or treats you less favourably because of pregnancy illness:

•This is pregnancy discrimination under the Equality Act 2010

•You can raise a grievance with your employer

•Contact ACAS (0300 123 1100) or Maternity Action (0808 802 0029)

•You may be able to claim at an Employment Tribunal

Related Guides

•Pregnancy Discrimination at Work — recognising and dealing with discrimination

•When to Start Maternity Leave — planning your start date

•Maternity Leave Rights — your full leave entitlements