Taking a job in a tiny business when pregnant

[Fromageetvino]

Ok so I know IABU but venting a little.
I took on my first FT employee in July this year (already have 1 x part timer). Three weeks in she disclosed that she is pregnant and is now off on Mat leave.

It’s an industry where recruiting is super difficult at the moment so getting a mat leave cover is likely to be practically impossible.

I know it’s her right etc, and of course have treated her fairly and she will be returning whenever she chooses to return.

But if I’m honest - it’s absolutely screwed our plans for any growth this year (on top of covid troubles).

While I know it’s “right” would you take on a job in a small business when pregnant?

Am prepared to get flamed here (hence the NC).

@RoyalFamilyFan

YABU. Employees have to put themselves first just as employers put themselves first.

Honestly I mainly agree. I’ve worked in large organisations and always think employees should look after themselves.

I suppose in this case, I feel rather like I’m having to absolutely put my employee first. Have had to withdraw from a large contract as there was no way we could manage it as is (and timeframe meant even an extra person would be impossible to find in time).

I’m working at least 12hr days, and will do so across Christmas. I don’t know when she will return so cannot make plans, cannot really recruit for reasons above.

Urgh sorry I’m whinging really. But it does feel shit.

I agree OP and I say this as someone about to go on ML. How sure are you she will return?

I feel like women who do this sort of thing let us all down as they are taking advantage of a system that is there to support women to balance child rearing and career/income. We should use mat leave in a way that is fair.

Especially as you say, if her role is in high demand she hardly needed to take this role to ensure she had a job to return to, and she doesn’t even qualify for maternity pay from you - so just causing you heaps of hassle for what??

@user1471457751

You do realise with shared parental leave you could have a man going off for 6 months of leave?

maybe you need to make the temp contract more appealing. If its an employees market then you need to meet that expectation if you want to hire someone.

Yes I do know that m. I’ve got no issue with hiring women or child bearing age. In fact I think I’ve mentioned several times that the role was purposely inclusive for parents (flexible around school run etc).

It’s very hard to make a contract role appealing when it could be anything from six weeks to a year. In a crowded market, no one wants it. Would you take it?

I agree with a previous poster who mentioned contingency planning. Yes, this can be planned, even for small businesses. A pregnancy will always be a risk, as sickness will be also. The risk is less if you could employ two or even three people on job share for instance. In the case of SSP, this would cut the risk because the employer may not have to pay sick pay (depending on salary). I speak as an employer of carers/nannies for a disabled child. We have always gone for two part timers over one full timer to cut the risks you mention.

@mummyh2016

I agree OP and I say this as someone about to go on ML. How sure are you she will return?

Pretty sure. It’s a wfh role (fully) and she already works around her sons nursery etc. So i would imagine she will likely return. Of course, you never know though.

Lots of her who are employers saying they would act illegally.

I'm a small business owner but not an employer. I spend a goodly portion of my time getting fucked over by clients who can't be arsed to pay me in a timely fashion. So I too take the view that I need to look after myself.

Which in this case, if I ever take on staff, would mean this particular employee would likely not have passed her probationary period. I hate that. If it was a bloke who announced he was going off on for XX number of months on parental leave, he wouldn't have passed his probationary period either. I hate that too.

@Fromageetvino I have worked in tiny businesses for years. I have also had to manage staff when someone went off on maternity leave at the worst time for the business. It is hard, I am not denying that. But as someone who has worked in a number of tiny businesses I know from experience how lots of things can damage businesses and growth. Where I currently work the business nearly collapsed when a key staff member went off sick very ill. He is still very ill and may die. We cant recruit someone with his exact skills set, but have managed to cobble together things so nearly nine months later, we are going to be okay.
I say this not to be harsh. I know how much on a tiny specialist business you rely on specific people. But it is always going to be a risk. You wont grow, but you will hopefully stay stable and grow in a years time. You simply need to manage it as best you can.

@jclm

I agree with a previous poster who mentioned contingency planning. Yes, this can be planned, even for small businesses. A pregnancy will always be a risk, as sickness will be also. The risk is less if you could employ two or even three people on job share for instance. In the case of SSP, this would cut the risk because the employer may not have to pay sick pay (depending on salary). I speak as an employer of carers/nannies for a disabled child. We have always gone for two part timers over one full timer to cut the risks you mention.

A job share doesn’t work for this role really. I already have 1 x part timer (though in a slightly different job).

Sickness is fine to cover - we can use freelance support. This doesn’t work long term though as the cost of a freelancer is around 4 times the day rate which we are just too small to cover for long periods.

Pretty sure. It’s a wfh role (fully) and she already works around her sons nursery etc. So i would imagine she will likely return. Of course, you never know though.

Or she could come back for five minutes and then go off on another maternity leave. I know someone who did that, but they were a teacher working for a large LA so didn't have the same impact.

@Butchyrestingface then you would be breaking the law.

@Butchyrestingface

Lots of her who are employers saying they would act illegally.

I'm a small business owner but not an employer. I spend a goodly portion of my time getting fucked over by clients who can't be arsed to pay me in a timely fashion. So I too take the view that I need to look after myself.

Which in this case, if I ever take on staff, would mean this particular employee would likely not have passed her probationary period. I hate that. If it was a bloke who announced he was going off on for XX number of months on parental leave, he wouldn't have passed his probationary period either. I hate that too.

Gosh I feel that. I’ve spent the week dealing with “sorry you won’t be paid on time as our offices will be closed”. Invoices were sent three weeks ago - you’ve had plenty of time to sort them out”.

I work for a small business, am currently on maternity leave.

I waited three years before trying for a baby, and during that time my role was key during the business going through administration.
I’ve taken a total of 14 months off. They have replaced me- I don’t know what sector you’re in but I think it’s possible to replace someone- you never know who you might find at interview! So I wouldn’t write it off before even trying. You might be surprised at who you meet.

The timing is unfortunate but these things happen and as you say she’s well within her rights. It’s also possible you could have someone in a key position who has an accident or sickness and find yourself effectively in the same position- you can’t rely on people 100% of the time with absolute certainty. I would add to that that if you are the manager & your structure has zero room for absence in any case without costing you a fortune, you should perhaps a bit thin on the ground. Could you fill her post with a job share, a student placement, several student placements, or an existing m member of staff who wants a change for a period of time? You might have to think creatively but I’m sure you can find a solution- if your growth depends on it I would say you don’t have much choice! If she’s very specialist perhaps she knows someone in her field who may be suitable?
Good luck in any case Xox

[quote RoyalFamilyFan]@Fromageetvino I have worked in tiny businesses for years. I have also had to manage staff when someone went off on maternity leave at the worst time for the business. It is hard, I am not denying that. But as someone who has worked in a number of tiny businesses I know from experience how lots of things can damage businesses and growth. Where I currently work the business nearly collapsed when a key staff member went off sick very ill. He is still very ill and may die. We cant recruit someone with his exact skills set, but have managed to cobble together things so nearly nine months later, we are going to be okay.
I say this not to be harsh. I know how much on a tiny specialist business you rely on specific people. But it is always going to be a risk. You wont grow, but you will hopefully stay stable and grow in a years time. You simply need to manage it as best you can.[/quote]
Thank you. That doesn’t sound harsh at all - more reassuring to be honest (though so sorry for your poor employee).

[quote RoyalFamilyFan]@Butchyrestingface then you would be breaking the law.[/quote]
Yes, don't think I denied this.

For those asking. It’s not super specialist (though isn’t say “admin”). It’s more that the market is absolutely saturated with roles. So therefore a temp position just isn’t attractive.

My understanding is that for FT there are around 20 roles to a candidate at the moment. The timing is a bit shit.

It is pretty grim for small businesses. Maybe the law needs to be looked at again.

Just read a few more of the posts- if you are in a sector with lots of freelancers I think it’s possible you could recruit for a fixed term. In my book there’s absolutely nothing wrong with saying to the few final candidates - this is a maternity cover, and as such we are prepared to pay slightly over the normal rate, I can offer you income security for a year but we need to be very sure you are the right candidate as this must help us achieve the growth objectives or its very expensive for the company”. From then on it’s up to management to make sure they are doing the necessary to make it worth the money for you! Freelancers typically tend to be very strong with lots of experience- otherwise you don’t get work as a freelancer- so they could well put in a great performance during a fixed term contract. Another advantage would be that you’d have someone in future who knew your business like the back of their hand who could step right back in. Xo

All the people here saying they would have sacked her. How shameful. I got pregnant (unplanned) when working at a small business, so they screwed me over. I took it to tribunal and won 20k, and I still have my job. Don't start a small business if you can't plan for these things and take it out on pregnant employees. Even if someone is pregnant when you employ them, they don't have to tell you. And why should they, when this is how they're viewed by prospective employees and subsequently treated? Also some people suffer loss and fertility issues, so not something they should have to disclose to employers early on.

OP, I'm glad you've treated her fairly so far. I understand your frustration, but the law is the law and rightly so in this case. So don't let your frustration cloud your judgement and how you treat her moving forward. Ignore the posters saying they would sack her.

@Fromageetvino I am not the employer, but an employee/
If the role isn't super-specialist, can you offer a higher rate of pay than the norm or something else to make your role more attractive? My role is a specialist admin job and there are a shortage of people at the moment, but those who are attractive still get applicants.

@Freecuthbert glad you won that payout. Yes pregnancy is a protected characteristic, so there is no minimum amount of employment necessary to sue and win. And if anyone is reading this who is being affected, contact Pregnant and Screwed. They can help people win cases against employers.

I think it’s just one of those things you have to factor in to your costs. If you can’t afford to have a staff member go on mat leave, your business is financially very precarious and maybe not sustainable. It’s not the responsibility of an employee to try and gauge how stable your business is when planning a family or accepting a job; nobody other than the business owner can really assess whether or not you’re stable enough to afford a maternity leave.

@piney07

I feel like women who do this sort of thing let us all down as they are taking advantage of a system that is there to support women to balance child rearing and career/income. We should use mat leave in a way that is fair.

Especially as you say, if her role is in high demand she hardly needed to take this role to ensure she had a job to return to, and she doesn’t even qualify for maternity pay from you - so just causing you heaps of hassle for what??

The one letting down women here is you.

And no, she is not playing the system.

For fuck sake.

The role was set out to be friendly to working mums. Flexible, wfh etc, so I did know this was a possibility. Just didn’t expect someone actually pregnant to take it.
Well, you can’t have it all ways, can you. The role has attracted someone in the category you made it attractive to.

@Butchyrestingface

Lots of her who are employers saying they would act illegally.

I'm a small business owner but not an employer. I spend a goodly portion of my time getting fucked over by clients who can't be arsed to pay me in a timely fashion. So I too take the view that I need to look after myself.

Which in this case, if I ever take on staff, would mean this particular employee would likely not have passed her probationary period. I hate that. If it was a bloke who announced he was going off on for XX number of months on parental leave, he wouldn't have passed his probationary period either. I hate that too.

If someone took you to tribunal would you get away with such obvious discrimination? I hope not.