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).

Thank you @BellatricksStrange am starting to feel like the most evil person ever for just voicing how I feel.

@HardbackWriter because of the training side of things. And things like familiarising with clients etc. In four months she had barely got to the point of being able to take on projects herself (which then became pointless anyway as they would be handed back to me).

At say a year - she could have got to that. We also may have got to the point of a second employee which would have decreased the pressure.

My plan was - her 2021 - next person March 2022. As it is - I had to pull out of a potential contract as we would never have been able to deliver - so that’s buggered. And I’ve had to halt plans to tender for another,

The resource issue to be fair is not all of her making - that’s the economy too, it’s a job hunters market.

Um, since when did that comment say anything about me being the only pregnant woman or even refer to my pregnancy? I only referred to my pregnancy in previous comments as I'd won an employment tribunal for pregnancy discrimination against a small business, as a warning to those on this thread who are saying they would have fired her or they don't hire women of childbearing age. Not sure why you are taking that so personally or being so defensive, as that clearly wasn't aimed at you as you say you treated her fairly. But you needn't be so bitter about it all, it's just part of life.

I think in that case you can chalk this one up to experience. It might be useful to look at company insurance policies as mentioned earlier in the thread so you can afford other unforseen leave/circumstances in the future.

Learn from it (but please don't resent pregnant women - it's such a small amount of time in our careers to be judged on), don't take the thread to heart and have a good festive season OP!

And fwiw you can still have been a pregnant woman and be resentful towards pregnant women.

I'm not completely without sympathy, OP - but I do think that in reality whenever she'd taken maternity leave would have worked out to feel like a particularly bad/inconvenient time for you. If you can't get cover for her (is going back to using freelancers not an option?) there would always have been contracts affected and plans interrupted.

[quote Fromageetvino]@Freecuthbert so - no I don’t think it’s shocking at all. It’s expected that women of child bearing age may become pregnant.
However what is more unusual is that someone is almost six months pregnant when they interview. Let’s be honest - in standard times - I would have clocked it myself.

Now my reason for the team question. How would you honestly feel if you had a team of three including you, and someone started and was pregnant: leaving you to pick up everything? Honestly.
Would, like me, you be a bit frustrated, a bit gutted etc?

Now throw in perhaps that, thanks to that, your team has missed out on being part of a project that could have meant a bit of a promotion for you. A little more money. An easing of pressure:

Would you feel a tiny bit of resentment. You’d understand etc; but you might want to vent on an anonymous forum[/quote]
What difference would it have made if you had clocked it at interview? Would you have decided not to hire her because she was pregnant? Because that’s illegal and also morally wrong.

You’re acting as though this employee has cost you the opportunity for growth. She hasn’t. If your business doesn’t have the resources to cover maternity leave, you’re not ready for growth. It’s not your employee’s fault that your business isn’t in the position you hoped it would be.

I don’t think you’re a terrible person - you say you’ve been fair to your employee and wouldn’t let her know how you feel. But I think there’s an element of entitlement in blaming her for the position you’re in, when in reality it’s the inadequate strength of your business that is the cause.

Hopefully before too long you will be in a position to grow, but try not to dwell on blaming your employees for the fact that you’re not there yet.

I need a job OP, would gladly cover maternity leave if I have the skills you're looking for

@HardbackWriter

I'm not completely without sympathy, OP - but I do think that in reality whenever she'd taken maternity leave would have worked out to feel like a particularly bad/inconvenient time for you. If you can't get cover for her (is going back to using freelancers not an option?) there would always have been contracts affected and plans interrupted.

We are covering with freelancers at the moment. It really isn’t the same though. It just means that everything falls to me. Even just coordinating them is a full time job really. The costs are prohibitive though.

@Fromageetvino

Thank you *@BellatricksStrange* am starting to feel like the most evil person ever for just voicing how I feel.

Anyone who thinks women don't actively lose out on job opportunities because of CFs like your employee, I have a bridge to sell them.

Good luck finding a replacement.

OP after all of your updates it seems that your messaging wasn’t clear.

If you ran your business with a big corporate mindset and made that clear then the employee was perfectly justified in taking mat leave. In fact where I work now people have been given jobs weeks before going off on leave and resumed on their return perfectly normal!

If her absence was going to cause you trouble in a ‘small business’ way you should have made it clear I.e person being hired is very strategic and business depends on them.

@StFrancisdeCompostela

Morally wrong not to hire someone who's going to leave in a couple of months, leaving you in the lurch? Care to elaborate?

OP I'm quite interested in what industry this is that recruitment is so tough and competitive if you don't mind my asking? I'm genuinely intrigued because from what I've seen there haven't been as many job vacancies because of COVID and since many people have lost their jobs, they end up taking jobs which are below their pay grade or skills level.

@BellatricksStrange

How the hell is this employee a CF as you put it? And of course it is morally wrong to not hire someone because they're pregnant. Pregnant women have to eat, put a roof over their heads, pay bills etc too... not saying you have to hire someone because they are pregnant, but to turn someone down who you would have otherwise hired if they weren't pregnant, that's messed up. Illegal for good reason.

@Lolingokay

OP I'm quite interested in what industry this is that recruitment is so tough and competitive if you don't mind my asking? I'm genuinely intrigued because from what I've seen there haven't been as many job vacancies because of COVID and since many people have lost their jobs, they end up taking jobs which are below their pay grade or skills level.

I’m not going to say exactly what - but right now there are skills shortages in a huge number of sectors including tech, construction and finance. My industry is hugely affected - every single person I know from our small size to the large guys are having recruitment issues.

Good news for most people - I don’t think it’s a bad thing. It just means things are trickier for me.

[quote Fromageetvino]@HardbackWriter because of the training side of things. And things like familiarising with clients etc. In four months she had barely got to the point of being able to take on projects herself (which then became pointless anyway as they would be handed back to me).

At say a year - she could have got to that. We also may have got to the point of a second employee which would have decreased the pressure.

My plan was - her 2021 - next person March 2022. As it is - I had to pull out of a potential contract as we would never have been able to deliver - so that’s buggered. And I’ve had to halt plans to tender for another,

The resource issue to be fair is not all of her making - that’s the economy too, it’s a job hunters market.[/quote]
You were planning on recruiting someone in March 2022 anyway, even if she hadn’t gone on maternity leave? Why on earth didn’t you bring that forward as soon as you knew about the pregnancy? That person could be helping the business grow now as you planned and by the time your employee on mat leave returns you would be in pretty much the same position wouldn’t you? Two ft employees this time next year.

@Lolingokay

OP I'm quite interested in what industry this is that recruitment is so tough and competitive if you don't mind my asking? I'm genuinely intrigued because from what I've seen there haven't been as many job vacancies because of COVID and since many people have lost their jobs, they end up taking jobs which are below their pay grade or skills level.

I’m recruiting at the moment too (financial services) and there is a huge lack of doesn’t candidates. It’s definitely a candidates market at the moment

@UntilYourNextHairBrainedScheme

If, as some argue would be right, small businesses weren't subject to the same employment law as larger ones then absolutely no valuable employee with sought after skills and common sense would even consider applying to or working for a small business. Only people who couldn't get a decent job would take one with inferior employee protection.

Plenty of people would want those jobs, they just need to not be planning to screw their employer over with their maternity

@godmum56

Are women expected to have children? Who says so?

And no one should be having children because it’s expected of them, surely?

Yes, it was rubbish of her but I imagine she needed a job and yours came along at the right time. There are enough posts on here asking if someone should accept a job if they have just found out they are pregnant. The answer is usually a resounding 'yes'.

Unfortunately, lots of employers have had it their way for far too long hence the reason there is no loyalty. Again, how many posts are there where people say have jumped through numerous interview hoops never to hear from the recruiter again. That would have been very frowned upon when I started work but now it's just the norm.

You're a business owner, you need to take the emotion out of this. Yes, it sucks that she's gone off on maternity but it is what it is. There's not an awful lot you can do about it. You need to either absorb the additional work or find someone to help. If the market dictates that you are going to have to pay more for a temp or a fixed term contract then that's what you have to pay. It's simple economics.

@ShirleyPhallus why is this the case? is it because EU candidates have left? otherwise what happened to the usual huge amount of graduates applying looking for jobs, and the people who were laid off during the pandemic

Well I was meaning more long term sickness eg long COVID or the types of illnesses that would take weeks or months, not days, to heal from. As the employer has to cough up for SSP in some cases. It's the SSP that is more costly.

We employ four carers. Two are currently on long term sick leave - one with long COVID and another with an energy limiting condition. We are paying one SSP and it has crippled us but we accept that is the risk when taking on an employee.

OP you seem really sympathetic and a responsible employer. Of course you would be disappointed and frustrated. I don’t know the fix either but it is clear that hiring women of childbearing age presents a risk to businesses. Since that is the majority of women’s careers there needs to be better protection in place to de-risk this for employers- otherwise the mitigation is only employ men or women over a certain age which is a terrible place to be for all women.

I see it from both sides. I worked for a small business (6 people) and I took my mat leave as I was entitled to, but i did notice the difference at work when someone else was on mat leave because its like 25% of the workforce (for that particular skill) gone and its not an industry where you can get easily get temps or maternity cover as its a very specific skill set.
But for people not to employ women of child bearing age rules out a massive proportion of women and would be very discriminatory.

@jclm as an aside you may be able to claim for the SSP if it’s for the long covid person.