Have I been sneaky and horrible?

[TotallyAndUtterlyPaninied]

I work as an hourly paid teacher so I need all the hours I can get. I had a MC in april and told my boss who was really off with me about it so I told her not to worry about the coming year as I wouldn't be getting pregnant. I felt pressured to do this as I need my job or I'll lose my house etc.

So I got pregnant immediately after my MC.

My boss (although I don't really like her as such, but we get on OK), came to my hen night, etc. I said I was on antibiotics.

Now I am due to start my job again in Septemeber, I've said I'd like as many hours as poss etc.

I haven't told them I am pregnant or that I'm due end of Feb.

I feel guilty but I need my job to survive and provide for my family- and as I am just a contractor, they would have got rid of me this september rather than have me back again.

When will I need to go on maternity leave? When should I tell them I'm pregnant? How should I go about it?

[sleepymommy]

Wow, your boss is the one who has to worry that she's been horrible!!! You are under no obligation to tell anyone anything, and of course you put your family first...who wouldn't?
I feel for you having to work with someone who treats a pregnant woman this way, tbh.
Good luck, enjoy your pregnancy! Congratulations, by the way!

[AnnieLobeseder]

I think there is a cut-off point where you have to tell your employer for maternity benefits etc, etc, but IIRC it's not until quite late and by then your bump would give you away anyway!

Until then you're under no obligation to tell anyone anything so you're not being horrible. It's so tough to find/keep a job when you're either pregnant or have small children, so do what you need to do!

[beanieb]

I think you have to tell your Employee before a certain time though they have no right to know until whenever that is.

Sorry to hear of your MC. I had to tell my boss about mine and so now she knows I am TTC which is just annoying as I didn't want it out there.

Good luck with your pregnancy

[HeadFairy]

Legally you are only obliged to tell your employer you are pregnant at 25 weeks.... so I would totally not say anything. I agree with the others, if they wouldn't have given you the job because you are pregnant, then they would have been discriminating against you. They are the horrible ones!

[StealthBearWipesBumOnDailyMail]

Would she have to tell at 25 weeks in this case though? Presumably they won't be paying her anything while she's on ML!
Congratulations OP - no as you said yourself you have to provide for your family, so not sneaky or horrible at all

[scarlotti]

Do you work through your own company or are you self employed? Reason I ask, is that your employer is the person who pays your NIC's - if this isn't the school, then you don't have to tell them at all, apart from courtesy.
Your entitlement to maternity pay is also dependent on your employment status so it's worth finding out about it.

[ladyofshallots]

I agreed to go back to work full time when I'd just found out I was pregnant, but like you I needed the money. My boss was not pleased when I told him, but it is fine now and the law is on your side.

[BenignNeglect]

No, you haven't been sneaky and horrible, you just did what was needed to safeguard your job. A word of advice though - if your boss is likely to cause trouble, you need to collate any evidence you can on the off chance that she does something stupid like break employment laws. Even sending yourself and email summarising and unpleasant comments/conversations to date log them will do.

[TotallyAndUtterlyPaninied]

Thanks, this is making me feel much better.

13 weeks until I have to tell her but I'll probably tell her in about 3/4 weeks I guess.

I work hourly paid throughout the year and I ddon't get paid for holidays. I'm employed through them but each year they have the option of whether to re-employ me or not IYSWIM. I will get maternity pay for 26 weeks but it has to be the hours I'm actually contracted with them- so if I ask for a lot of hours now, I'll get more maternity pay when it comes to it. Assuming they don't cut my hours down when they find out.

God I'm nervous just thinking about it all.

[StealthBearWipesBumOnDailyMail]

Oh I see, so they are your employer? That's a good thing!
If they cut your hours when they find out you're pregnant (and if they had decided not to re-employ you) I think you'd have a good case for sex discrimination - showing that these decisions were made ONLY because of your pregnancy.

[scarlotti]

You will be more protected as you are their employee, just on a fixed term contract rather than open ended. You need to work out when your qualifying weeks are (search for the smp calculator online from the gov't) and then get as many hours in as you can for that period.
Mine were the months May and June, and my baby is due in November. I fell pg in Feb so it's quite early on. As it's quite early you will probably be able to get through the qualifying months without them knowing.
They can cut your hours down later if they want, but it won't affect what they must pay you for maternity - minimum is 6 wks at 90% pay and then 33 weeks at SMP rate which is around the £120 mark. The 90% is worked out based on the earnings in the qualifying months.
Don't feel bad about any of this, get as much money as you can to support you and your family. That's no different to anyone else.