14 wks pregnant and going for a job interview

[aichi]

I'm 14 wks pregnant and I've been looking for a job for awhile.
I didnt know I was pregnant when I applied for the job - back in June. (They took ages to shortlist for the interview!)

Its the job that I'd like to do and its part time which would suit me. They're looking for a few different posts, permanent and temporary positions. Ideally I would like a permanent post so I can come back to the post after I have the baby.

Am I being unreasonable to go for a job interview at this stage of my pregnancy? I started to show my bump (well for me it looks big already...my second baby) and worried how to cover my bump at the interview...
I also feel sad to feel that I have to hide my bump when I should be happy with my pregnancy..

I'd definitely go for the job in your shoes. You're currently out of work so have nothing to lose in terms of existing maternity package (which would be my only consideration). Do not tell them you are pregnant. Since they haven't seen you before your 14 week bump is very unlikely to be picked up on, especially in looser clothes. I would not even tell HR that you are pregnant at all. If they offer you the job accept it and then let your manager or HR know about your pregnancy once you've been in post a few weeks.

This is the only way to level the playing field of discrimination against women. Good luck OP :)

A friend of mine went for a job interview (when pregnant) and got the job. I don't know if she said anything or not. Took a reasonable amount of leave (think baby was 7 or 8 months old when she went back) and is happy with her new job. Doesn't seem to have been too much of a problem - but she is a public sector worker, so presumably less likely to have been discriminated against.

Beamur - I think that is a good point - the public sector do tend to be more up to speed on good employment practices. Luckily for the OP the job she's going for is for a local authority.

I hadn't read all the posts, so missed that the OP was applying for a public sector post. In which case, I'd say go for it, YANBU.

Good luck with the interview aichi. FWIW, sounds like the job is quite specialised - I also do a job that is quite specialised, and I would be bloody delighted if we got a great candidate in, because it's bleeding hard to find good people and I'd rather have someone great for 6 months (and then back after a year) than someone rubbish who I'd have to handhold for 18 months.

And with a specialised role, sometimes it does come down to that. Sometimes you're looking for someone for the long term. Women tend to stay places longer anyway IME. Also - the only people I've worked with who've dropped in briefly then buggered off to a better offer leaving us scrambling with a week's notice to recruit again have been men. Funnily enough this is just accepted, despite being harder to work around than months of notice.

As someone who does do interviews, I would much rather not know before interview - I want to be able to make up my mind w/o being influenced, and more importantly, have it provable that I wasn't influenced. Stating early is potentially putting the interview panel in an uncomfortable position.

IMO it is not discrimination to not offer someone a job who is going to be leaving for a year in a matter of weeks. The company needs someone to do a permanent job now, if you are pregnant and planning to go on a year’s maternity leave then you are not a suitable candidate to be doing that job now because you won’t be available. Let’s bear in mind that op is currently 14 weeks pregnant. Recruitment and offer and start will probably take a minimum of six weeks, so op will be 20 weeks pregnant by then. Even if op plans to stay until she is 40 weeks pregnant that’s a maximum of 20 weeks she is planning to work for the company before disappearing for a year.

The talk of discrimination and equal rights is entirely disingenuous. This isn’t a situation where someone is already working for a company and has fallen pregnant, they are already a valued employee of the company with a known track record. This is someone who is planning to go for a job and leave them in the lurch, needing to recruit again without prior knowledge. And it has nothing to do with money because the op won’t be earning while on ml – she won’t even be entitled to maternity pay.

There’s nothing wrong with applying for a job while you’re pregnant, but IMO the company reserve the right to not employ someone who is not going to be staying with them for more than a couple of months before making them go through the whole recruitment process again.

Wannabe let's hope you are not in a recruiting position as you would be breaking the law. Just because you don't like it, doesn't stop it being illegal.

Be honest they will probably give you the job being too afraid to be sued for bias and I am not joking honestly. We had girls on a temp contract the jobs are being put to permanent now this one girl is shit and 12 weeks pregnant the boss confided in me they would have to employ her as they are too scared of being taken to a tribunal I ask you she has been off sick 4 times since June and the boss has been told she is shit at the job by everyone in the team ! So to answer you op I would be honest you may find it works in your favour. Good luck by the way my dear.

Incidentally I've been That Woman. I started a job 1w pg slightly triumphant weekend and desperately kept my pgy secret until my probation period was over.

My bosses couldn't have been nicer about it, as it happened, and I was a bloody good employee for the seven or eight months I worked there.

I think you risk failing a probation period which will render you virtually unemployable so I would not pursue it if I were you

I agree with owlina and the issue of being honest with your employer. This is particularly so since OP intends to take the full year off.

The laws are there to protect women but there should also be a quid pro quo. Too much piss-taking makes it that much more difficult for other women.

Good luck op. do not say you can repay them in future years.
I was in situation where dh job was finishing 3 weeks before my due date. My training finished begining August so without work and mat pay mortgage etc would have been impossible.

My family come first but I am committed to my job ( for those questioning some areas continuation of service counts so I had all the maternity benefits) . I did not tell until a few weeks after accepting the job. They were very poor employers probably worse as they had not picked up I was pregnant at interview and I started at 25 weeks. I would do it again in the blink of an eye. I would have been a very loyal employee if treated ok as it was I looked for another job on returning after maternity.

They did get a member of staff to ask about family and plans!

Dc was a very happy miracle as we were told we could not have any.

Oh and before anyone's heart bleeds for the employer my mat pay was paid by the authority and they had tremendous cover.

Good luck op. do not say you can repay them in future years.
I was in situation where dh job was finishing 3 weeks before my due date. My training finished begining August so without work and mat pay mortgage etc would have been impossible.

My family come first but I am committed to my job ( for those questioning some areas continuation of service counts so I had all the maternity benefits) . I did not tell until a few weeks after accepting the job. They were very poor employers probably worse as they had not picked up I was pregnant at interview and I started at 25 weeks. I would do it again in the blink of an eye. I would have been a very loyal employee if treated ok as it was I looked for another job on returning after maternity.

They did get a member of staff to ask about family and plans!

Dc was a very happy miracle as we were told we could not have any.

Oh and before anyone's heart bleeds for the employer my mat pay was paid by the authority and they had tremendous cover.

Sorry for double post

There’s nothing wrong with applying for a job while you’re pregnant, but IMO the company reserve the right to not employ someone who is not going to be staying with them for more than a couple of months before making them go through the whole recruitment process again.

Aaaaaand this train of thought is precisely why we have anti-discrimination laws.

I hope to god you have nothing to do with recruitment wannabe.

Chunder, sniff away! We stuck to the letter if the law of that country at that time.

OP, good luck with the baby and thanks to those who can see some of the challenges faced by very small companies.

I've been in a similar situation twice, but for temporary contracts.

I interviewed for a 6 month job at 8-10 weeks pregnant and didn't feel the need to say anything as baby wasn't due until 4 weeks after the end of the contract (actually had DD1 on the last day of my contract. I'd had to stop work a week early, but had enough annual leave that I only took 1 1/2 days of sick leave). I didn't think my pregnancy was relevant.

I applied for a temporary (6 month) job when I was pregnant. I knew I would want to apply for other jobs with the same employer in the future. I was about 14/15 weeks pregnant at the interview and due mid July with the job ending in August. I'd decided that I was going to declare my pregnancy at the end if the interview because I didn't want to be appointed over someone who could work the full contract and let them down if I want to apply again. I also applied for part time and they were looking to get 2 full time people.
It turned out that I was the only applicant & when I said I was pregnant they just congratulated me & said it wasn't a problem.

wannabe whatever your opinion is, it is discrimination to not offer someone a job purely because they are pregnant and will go on maternity leave. To do this would be against the law and would cost far more in penalties for the company than any length of heavily subsidised leave would.

The law now says that a couple can slice up ML between them however they like and that companies have to suck it up. How many of you advocating the OP tells her prospective employer that she's pregnant would tell an expectant father the same thing? If you wouldn't, then you're discriminating against women and men.

Threads like this are so depressing. We are so lucky to have legal protection against various forms of discrimination in the UK. We should all thank our lucky stars we don't live in the USA, where there is no right to anything during pregnancy and women are expected to have their babies and get back to work asap in order to support their families. Having said that, their seem to be a few women on this thread who would advocate that. If my DH came home and said that because he disapproved of the legally protected rights of women in the workplace, I'd have serious doubts about what value he placed on my and other women's contributions to the world of work. I certainly wouldn't come on to a public forum and defend his position.

I don't disapprove of the protections accorded to women. How could I? I consulted employment lawyers twice in my career.

But there has to give-and-take as well. It is not all one-sided. It is different if the OP were going for a temp role or intended to take a short maternity. But to go for a permanent role with a one year maternity leave seriously calls for voluntary disclosure before accepting the job.

It is not all footstamping "I know my rights". That does not help women's employment chances at all. I don't blame employers for being once bitten twice shy or getting narc-ed once they find out. Fine if OP was in the job prior to getting pregnant. But not if she is competing with other candidates for the same job.

It's not discrimination to not employ someone because they're not the most suitable candidate for a job, and wanting to take a year off in a matter of weeks makes someone a not suitable candidate.

This is not about the rights of women in existing employment. But it is ridiculous to suggest that employers should be happy about employing someone who is already several months pregnant and expecting to take a year out in a matter of weeks, with the possibility of not coming back.

As we all know, many employers won't take on women of child-bearing age, sometimes because they are sad old shits, but often because they are genuinely scared about the financial/operational aspects of a ML gap in their workforce.

IMHO, if you don't tell them about your pregnancy, you will re-enforce the fear of fertile women and it may stop this employer taking on younger women in the future. You may also find your colleagues resent you for not telling the truth - how long would this feel like a great job if all around you view you as 'the one who lied'?

On a personal note: I'm an employer and if you didn't tell me you would end your employment at the end of your probation period - "sorry, you just don't fit in" is a legally acceptable reason. If you told me, and I could plan ahead for your ML, and you were 'the one' then you would still get the job.

Haven't read other responses but think you should go for it.. What if the company is planning "restructuring" in a few months or a years time..They may still need someone now so will be employing people on a "perm" basis and they aren't going to tell people redundancies may come up.

Ok quite a specific example but my point is the company will be doing what they need to protect themselves and just as you should.

Good luck covering the bump, what about one of those floatyish tops that has a thin elasticated bit at the bottom, that may create some space where you need it and looks smart under a suit. Probably an awful description sorry!