4 weeks before mat leave

It’s 4 weeks to your due date so they can’t start your mat leave until your 36 weeks x

Yep exactly. I don't want them to start mat leave after the 36 week point, how can i avoid this?

They are unlikely to if it is just the odd day and if it is still beneficial having you at work. I started mat leave at 37wks, honestly work would have kept me longer if they could.

If you need a lot of time off sick, is it a sign that you need to start your mat leave at 36 weeks?

I don't think that there is any avoiding it ( if you need to take a substantial amount of sick days) because the law is written that way to protect you and your employer.

Do you have any annual leave you can book? I've taken a day for the last few few weeks and it's been a life saver

I have my midwife appointment booked for the middle of the day so get the whole day off work for that and done similar with an osteo appointment. It's not much but gives me a day for each to slow down a bit. Work would prefer me to still be there other days able to work more effectively than make me come in for a few hours on appointment days and be less productive overall.

Taking pregnancy related sick leave within 4 weeks of your mat leave start date will trigger early mat leave however you can still take annual leave or normal sick leave yes x

Are you able to work from home some days or have any annual leave to put in?

Use annual leave or say sick due to illness such as cold, sickness bug, which isn't pregnancy related