resigning without notice

[lisaandshaun]

Hi,
Due to some pretty large issues with my current pregnancy it is looking like i am going to have to resign from my current place of employment.
I am hoping to resign and not have to see out the notice period (as its not safe for me to be working) and cant find wether or not a DR certificate will be sufficient or not for the two weeks notice?
Has any one done this before?
thanks.

[Traveller]

I've not done it but I know people who have served their notice on sick leave.

[AnyDream]

You should be able to commence your maternity leave early, rather than resigning outright. If they require you to notify the dates of the start of your mat leave prior to that date, and your health is an issue, your Dr should be able to write you a sick certificate for the period between now and when that notice date occurs. You shouldn't have to resign just because your work is not appropriately flexible.

I strongly suggest you seek advice before you take any action. Your Union is a good place to start (if you're not a member you can join and seek advice on the same day) otherwise the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission Ph 1300292153 should be able to fill you in on your legal rights and responsibilities in this situation.

ETA - yes you could resign and take sick leave until that point, but it may be better to take that leave and leave the situation to cool and give you some space to make that decision (ie so you're not under pressure), unless you intend to find another job before you have your baby.

[Joeve]

If you have a certificate then that would be fine. Use up sick leave or take leave without pay for the period of your notice. Some places will try and make you use annual leave up this is not compulsory if you have any problems call fair work

[Nai]

You can commence maternity leave early with a dr certificate. You could then resign while on maternity leave and provide notice that way so you don't need to work out your notice period.

[lisaandshaun]

I have thought about going on to maternity leave but we HAVE to notify the company a minimum of 10 weeks before we wish to finish otherwise its not approved. I have no intention on returning to work once our child is old enough (not financially viable option for two chn in care).
Our EBA states that we can not resign whilst on leave but i can not get an answer as to wether maternity leave fits in with the leave catagory or not.

[Joeve]

This may be true but if you don't have medical clearance to be at work they do not have a choice if you were to work out your notice whilst providing a medical certificate saying you shouldn't be at work, then they would be liable for anything happening to you. I guarantee they won't want that risk

[AliBaby]

I would def contact HR or fair work. i think in your circumstances, your work is not being flexible in giving you suitable duties to perform while you are pregnant. Also if you resign now, then wouldn't you mss out on PPL from the government as well? not sure exactly how it works but you may want to check these things.

Eta, sorry. Misread some of your post. Still make sure you have all the right info before resigning and see if your work can provide safe circumstances if they won't allow you no take leave early.

[Floweryfields]

As far as I am aware, notice periods only apply if you are fit to work. If you deemed medically unfit for work, it would be foolish of your employer to require you to continue to work anyway. If someone had a stroke for example and could not longer work, they wouldn't be able to do anything about that - pregnancy should be no different.
Do you have holidays owing? My understanding is the only possible penalty of resigning without notice is losing any leave owing.