New recruit pregnant before job starting

[FlimFlamJimJams]

I've started a new business, it'll open to the public around April time.
It's a very small, community focused business with only 4 staff members initially.
I recruited all the staff within the last few weeks and are finalising contracts. Everyone has formal job offers, no one yet has a job contract.

The roles require training on the job resulting in a nationally recognised qualification, probably achieved within 12 months or so. The business is paying for this.

I have had meetings with everyone individually this week to go through bits and bobs, start dates etc - and at the end of a meeting with one lady yesterday, she tells me that she's 12 weeks pregnant and anticipates starting her Maternity leave around mid-July. She said she found out at 5 weeks - so she'd have known she was pregnant at interview.

I'm now stuck in a difficult position - the business is already going to struggle financially for the first few years (it's not quite a non-profit, but it's close) and I'm now facing having to extend someone's training at least 6 months past everyone else's as well as find temporary cover, which is expensive. She may well choose not to return after her maternity. I turned down other applicants who applied after her job offer was made.

I guess there isn't a AIBU, because I'm not going to do anything, but I feel really deceived and a bit stressed about the whole thing.
I know everyone is entitled to get pregnant etc. But I wasn't anticipating someone going on ML before they'd even qualified, or finished their probation.

Perhaps a solution would be for small businesses to be allowed funding for this situation from the general pot, with the potential for claw back if they become particularly successful?

@Nopeihavenoidea

I work at a small company. Someone here did that - started while pregnant but didn’t say. Worked for 3 months then went off on maternity. Had to find cover, train them up and the original lady wants to come back part time….

Anyway for women of child bearing age it’s now a black mark against them even though they may not want children for years.

But if it's not possible for her to work part time the company can say no.

She’s 18? Maybe she was in denial about it herself. You know, there’s an opportunity to make a brilliant story for your business out of this, IF you support her properly in the chance to kickstart a career. Or you can choose to justify your annoyance and quote statistics on why she WONT come back to work, which exist precisely because women don’t get the support they need in order to continue working after they’ve had a baby. Please give her the details for pregnantthenscrewed.com/ - sounds like she will need them.

She hasn’t deceived you. She’s entitled to a job. You really can’t complain. I would try and change your mindset and grow as a person

You can withdraw the offer as she has not been honest with you. She cannot go to Tribunal as she would have k own at interview and should have coughed up to it then. So simply withdraw offer and pick the next one down the list until you get a new employee. Double check Acas if you must, but I am an adviser to Third Sector orgs on HR issues, so know the law/guidance.

Can you offer a contractor position rather than PAYE?

@NoHunsHereHun

She’s 18? Maybe she was in denial about it herself. You know, there’s an opportunity to make a brilliant story for your business out of this, IF you support her properly in the chance to kickstart a career. Or you can choose to justify your annoyance and quote statistics on why she WONT come back to work, which exist precisely because women don’t get the support they need in order to continue working after they’ve had a baby. Please give her the details for pregnantthenscrewed.com/ - sounds like she will need them.

The OP is supporting her...

Some messages on here are disgusting. She hasn’t deceived or misled anyone, and she doesn’t need to ‘cough up’ the information in the interview. Support her and treat her with respect.

@FlimFlamJimJams

There are no administrative roles to put her on. It's the qualified role or nothing. She simply won't complete her training as it takes a minimum of 10 months and she'll be on Mat Leave for half of that. It'll mean extending the training contract to accommodate her which will set the business back thousands.

I had a feeling that I was going to get some nasty comments - I'm not expecting anyone to put their lives on hold etc etc, simply processing what is, indisputably, really quite bad news for the business. I'm not going to retract her offer (though we're not in the UK, and legally I'm allowed to) nor treat her any differently.

Assuming you are planning to run and grow this business etc you are always going to have to find temp cover for anyone who goes on maternity leave. You are also going to have to figure out how you can work out the training/qualification aspect of the role when it comes to staff maternity or e.g. sickness where a chunk of the training will be missed. It sounds like you need some HR advice, basically!

@Mirw

You can withdraw the offer as she has not been honest with you. She cannot go to Tribunal as she would have k own at interview and should have coughed up to it then. So simply withdraw offer and pick the next one down the list until you get a new employee. Double check Acas if you must, but I am an adviser to Third Sector orgs on HR issues, so know the law/guidance.

The OP isn't in the UK so the tribunal and ACAS stuff isn't relevant here. But if this was in the UK, and the offer was withdrawn as a result of the pregnancy then the prospective employee absolutely could go to tribunal to argue sex discrimination and based on the facts here they would win. When she knew / what she said when wouldn't be relevant to the consideration.

@FlimFlamJimJams

Another thing (though it really isn't relevant, which is why I didn't put it in the OP) I'd be very surprised if she had been trying for years to get pregnant, as she's 18. But really that's none of my business, I'm just trying to figure out how to mitigate the risks.

I had taken into consideration Mat Leave and Sick Leave, but not really within the first pivotal 6 months.
Sick leave is unavoidable and is very different to taking Mat Leave just a few months into the job.

OMD.

I'd think even more about going with the law in your country.

Could you maybe do a development plan instead where by she learns on the job in line with training materials so at the same level as everyone else but then does the training course when she gets back.

Or can the course be broken down into modules
Where by you pay per module?

Op, I think it's fantastic that you are keeping her on and supporting her, in a situation where, in the country where you are you don't have to. (Shame so many posters can't be bothered to read your posts).
If you take pregnancy out of the question I think it is reasonable for you to feel more than a bit put out that someone interviewed for and accepted the job knowing that they couldn't actually meet the requirements. The basic requirement, and a skill that they will need, was to complete the 12 month training.

Iv never seen a job advertised saying "staff required in 9months time". Positions are advertised asking applicant to work certain hours per week etc. If you apply, you are saying you are available to work what is requested.
It is completely selfish and really shitty not to devulge you are pregnant! If you aren't able to do the job advertised don't apply!

Pretty sure she would have preferred her to disclose this at the interview it is definitely withholding information because she wouldn’t have got the job otherwise as OP wouldn’t have wanted the hassle

The more I think about it, I'd be considering terminating her contract before she starts. To be fair to pregnant employees we do our best to treat them equally. This person applied for the job and accepted it knowing that she actually couldn't do it. If she wasn't pregnant you wouldn't keep her on.

If this post had been written 5 years ago I’d have sworn it was about me.
Identical situation, identical business, was someone who had won a government contract to provide services, I knew I was pregnant at interview but was so early and had had such a tough time I was convinced I’d loose the baby, got the job but basically would have gone on maternity just days after go live date and after months of training so I knew it’d be a big impact on them having to find someone else and get them trained and as I was going to be a single parent I didn’t know how the hell id manage full time with a child.. anyway I felt really bad and called the employer and told him, and said I wouldn’t take the job so he’d have time to find someone else, really wish I hadn’t! Not only did he just hang up without saying anything, he then sent me a nasty email saying the offer was withdrawn due to my deception. At the time I had far to much on my plate to deal with so I never took it further but if I were in the same situation ever again I still think it’s right to walk away (and I mean. New company, new role etc not something more established) to give the employer a chance.
Sorry doesn’t help you any I know OP.

Keep job open for her to return.
She doesn’t qualify for mat pay ie You don’t pay her when she’s off, she gets SMP.
You don’t lose apart from having to get someone to fill in for her on a temp basis when she gets back from mat leave.
Don’t see the problem.
Look at acas website.

@Hellsbells35

Some messages on here are disgusting. She hasn’t deceived or misled anyone, and she doesn’t need to ‘cough up’ the information in the interview. Support her and treat her with respect.

Er she did!! She knew she was pregnant and mislead the OP. Now OP's going to struggle to keep her head above water, risking her business. OP is being kind and supporting her anyway.

@Hellsbells35

She hasn’t deceived you. She’s entitled to a job. You really can’t complain. I would try and change your mindset and grow as a person

‘Entitled’? To a job? Lol!!

@Macmoominmamma

Keep job open for her to return. She doesn’t qualify for mat pay ie You don’t pay her when she’s off, she gets SMP. You don’t lose apart from having to get someone to fill in for her on a temp basis when she gets back from mat leave. Don’t see the problem. Look at acas website.

You really need to read Op's posts. She's not in the UK.

@Abigail12345654321 I don't believe you're any kind of employer

[quote girlmom21]@Abigail12345654321 I don't believe you're any kind of employer [/quote]
That’s nice.

Imagining this person is an 18yo school/college leaver, the fact that she is motivated to train in a career and interviewed well for this position is a positive. You may find as a younger mother, she still lives at home and has family support (I had friends who had accidental pregnancies - one at sixth form and one at university - it actually had minimal impact on their studies as grandma was really keen to help out). She may not take much time off at all.

I wonder if the same people calling her deceitful would call her all sorts of other names if she was a teen mother who was not interested in supporting herself and her child financially or planning for the future.

She may have known she was pregnant at 5wks but that's very early. What if she'd told you at interview she was pregnant? It sounds like you probably wouldn't have offered her the job which is discriminatory. She could've then gone on to miscarry and also lost a job. Some of your other applicants would also get pregnant in the next year or two.