Following on from the thread about the Guardian columnist calling someone 'reprehensible' for not telling a new employer during an interview that she intends to conceive...
I work for a local council on a temporary contract which is due to end in a few months. Recently my dream job has come up within the organization, for internal applicants only. It is the job that I always hoped would arise within the company, and to be honest one of the reasons I took my job, in the hope that it might open the door to opportunities like this. It also happens to be a permanent contract. My boss also saw the job advert and has encouraged me to apply as she knows what my ambitions are.
So far so good. I emailed a close friend of mine, who used to work at the council doing a job closely related to the new job that has come up. So I wanted to pick her brains for help and encouragement with my application.
She was horrible about it. She has a serious chip on her shoulder about leaving her job at the council anyway, and was ranting on about that, and about how I'd hate the job, and how it's wrong that they have advertised internally as the job is too specific (implying that there's no one good enough in the existing team to take the job - thanks).
She was really trying to tell me that I'd be better off sticking with my current temp job. So I then pointed out that as I'm currently TTC (which she knows about, as I've had fertility treatment), if I got PG during my temp contract, I'd end up with no maternity leave when my contract ended, and little chance of getting back into a job. A permanent contract would be a godsend, regardless of the fact that it's also my dream job.
So she started telling me that I'd get no maternity leave if I changed job now (which isn't true, but I had given up arguing by then), and that I'd really be leaving my new boss up shit creek if I got pregnant just after taking the new job.
I said "Well I'm not pregnant, and I haven't got the job yet. If I had either of those I'd be happy"
I've been trying for nearly a year, we have had fertility issues. If I were lucky enough to fall pregnant, I would be so over the moon I don't think I'd really care about the council. They would employ someone to do the mat cover, it would give someone else a good opportunity to get experience... and I'd still have my dream job to go back to at the end.
But it really made me worry that she might say something to my potential new boss - AIBU for applying for a new job when I'm TTC?
What the hell else am I supposed to do, carry on with my temp contract until it runs out and I'm let unemployed, possibly pregnant or with a new baby?