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Original poster

Will someone employ

76 replies

yellowmellw · 12/04/2018 15:40

If I'm pregnant. Currently 7 weeks pregnant.

Do I state on application in pregnancy or wait for an interview and would this affect my chances.

OP posts:
BlueSapp · 12/04/2018 17:11

You are under no obligation to tell them, wait until you have passed the 12 weeks mark and if you have been offered the job and you have accepted that's an appropriate time to share your news. Like others have said it really is not their business to know.

Notevilstepmother · 12/04/2018 17:11

So much for the sisterhood eh?

Meanwhile everyone looks surprised when women say they prefer a male manager....

starlightmeteorite · 12/04/2018 17:11

If you do get the role it will become very obvious very quickly and management will immediately question your honesty and integrity. That will work against you in the long run.

Bluntness100 · 12/04/2018 17:11

I also think this is about legality v morality.

I understand why you would do it if you desperately need the job, but I think any employer would think of you very badly indeed, when a few months after starting you're off on maternity leave and they are desperately looking for cover and training someone up again. Basically you're selling them a pig in a poke and lying by omission.

I'd weigh up how much you need the job v how you feel about basically conning them.

Catspaws · 12/04/2018 17:13

@Samantha77hat

I hope you aren't in an HR role with that dinosaur attitude of the 80s. How can you possibly be thankful that new starts don't get decent maternity pay? How mean spirited and discriminatory!!

If companies can't afford to cover may leave, they don't have a viable business model. That's simply all there is to it. A pregnant employee is no less important than any other.

In a perfect world where people didn't discriminate on the basis of pregnancy, of course OP could tell them. But the truth is most employers see pregnancy as a huge expense and inconvenience - regardless of the fact that simply as members of society they benefit from people having the kids that grow up into adults who will pay their pensions and social care costs!!

Many, many employers will refuse to employ a pregnant woman who is perfect for the role because she is pregnant, even though that is illegal.

In these circumstances OP genuinely is entitled to not tell them before the legal requirement and have them make a decision based on her merits and not her pregnancy.

It's astonishing that as a woman you think pregnancy discrimination is acceptable.

Catspaws · 12/04/2018 17:15

So much naivety on this thread. You're kidding yourselves if you think the majority of employers would give fair consideration to a pregnant woman.

Bluntness100 · 12/04/2018 17:17

If companies can't afford to cover may leave, they don't have a viable business model. That's simply all there is to it

Indeed, many companies struggle to stay afloat, or work on very small margins. What would you like them to do, shut the doors and fire everyone because they can't afford maternity cover?

No one has discriminated, but when you're moving in the premise of newly employing a pregnant woman, what's been said is it's fair for the employer to be aware of the facts.

LaurieMarlow · 12/04/2018 17:17

It’s the most anti feminist thing you could do

What absolute nonsense. Women of childbearing age are also entitled to earn a living, build careers and move jobs when they want to. Yes, it's possible that they'll get pregnant, that's life, employers have had long enough to learn how to deal with it.

As you point out yourself, they aren't obligated to give good maternity terms to new starts so they can cover their ass that way.

VladmirsPoutine · 12/04/2018 17:19

I've known more than one male interviewer express scepticism over hiring women in their 30s for this very reason.
Women will never win in this situation. If you're upfront and honest then you risk not getting the job. If you keep quiet then the inevitability of omission leads to a damage of trust.

NorthernKnickers · 12/04/2018 17:22

The thing is, many women might not even know that they are pregnant at 7 weeks, so why is it an issue if you are one that does? The woman next to you at the interview may also be pregnant but just not know it yet. This is why the law says we don't have to disclose yet, to protect our rights! It's not to stop anyone else from asserting theirs 🙄

You have a clear conscience OP. You absolutely do not need to disclose to ANYBODY that you are pregnant yet for ANY reason. Good luck 💐🤞

Catspaws · 12/04/2018 17:24

@Bluntness100 what's the alternative, that pregnant women are unemployable and poverty stricken because companies refuse to factor maternity pay into their profit margins despite it being their legal and moral responsibility? By all means direct your fury at an irresponsible CEO who lets down his employees by not preparing for maternity pay. Just don't lay the blame at the door of pregnant women.

Like I've said - in an ideal world there would be no danger of telling a potential employer you were pregnant because you could trust them not to discriminate against you. But we don't live in that world and since OP is not legally or morally obliged to disclose her pregnancy to ANYONE at this very early stage, I fail to see why she should have to sabotage her chances simply because some people think being pregnant is a crime against humanity.

BlueSapp · 12/04/2018 17:24

Look she's 7 weeks, what if the pregnancy doesn't continue and she has told them and lost out on the job because they illegally discriminate against her? if they are a company actually worth working for they wouldn't have an issue.

Original poster
yellowmellw · 12/04/2018 18:00

Thanks for all the posts I am currently finishing a course come May so I don't work at the moment.

Due to my course requiring a placement next year and due date not in my favour I am forced to take an unexpected year out and I've been relying on student finance of which I won't receive.

Therefore I find myself having no income over the next number of months. I don't expect smp so I'm not worried about that, I just need a small income.

If I go for a large retailer then I hopefully won't be putting any small companies out of business. It won't be a permanent job.

OP posts:
NorthernKnickers · 12/04/2018 18:09

Don't stress it OP. Good luck with your course, job hunting and pregnancy. Ignore the pearl clutchers...they are not in your situation so have no idea what it is like facing potentially months on unemployment benefits. Be kind to yourself 💐

Wonderlady · 12/04/2018 18:10

Thinking about it you should tell them. They will need to do a risk assessment.

bluejelly · 12/04/2018 18:20

I recruit regularly for a big firm and would be more than happy to employ a pregnant woman. Also it's illegal to discriminate against someone because they're pregnant.

DSHathawayGivesMeFannyGallops · 12/04/2018 18:21

If it's a retail job, i would tell them. You'd be amazed how physical the job is.

splendide · 12/04/2018 18:39

I recruited someone then she told me she was pregnant just before she started. Not a huge deal tbh. She’s now back from maternity leave and I don’t regret hiring her. I also kept the person who covered her leave so all fine. You do know companies get reimbursed for maternity pay?

TittyGolightly · 12/04/2018 18:58

You do know companies get reimbursed for maternity pay?

Not for antenatal appts, illness, recruiting costs, occupational mat pay, accrued leave.....

Skarossinkplunger · 12/04/2018 19:08

No you’re not legally obliged to say anything, but if I was your manager I wouldn’t be happy with you.

I’ve been the co-owner of a small business where one of our two employees announced she was pregnant 2 months after she started her employment, for us it was the start of financial problems that eventually led to the closure of the business.

LaurieMarlow · 12/04/2018 19:17

for us it was the start of financial problems that eventually led to the closure of the business.

Given that your financial obligations to her would not have been onerous in terms of mat pay and so on, why are you highlighting her role in your financial problems?

Skarossinkplunger · 12/04/2018 19:22

Because we has to pay for cover for appapointments, sick leave, and the holidays she accrued by adding them in to her maternity. Then there was the cost of the recruiting and training her mat cover.

Skarossinkplunger · 12/04/2018 19:23

*appointments (not quite sure what happened there)

LaurieMarlow · 12/04/2018 19:30

appointments, sick leave, and the holidays she accrued by adding them in to her maternity.

That's not a huge amount to be fair. A sick employee would also accrue appointments and sick leave. Are you telling me a sick employee would also have scuppered your business?

readyforapummelling · 12/04/2018 19:32

I found out I was pregnant 4 weeks after starting with the NHS. I told my previous employer (friends with my branch manager) and they offered to re-instate my contract if I went back to them so I would get my maternity pay.

Not all employers are discriminatory arseholes.

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