To start new job when I’ve recently found out I’m pregnant?

[Dontknowwhattodo123456]

Don’t know much about this stuff other than the straight forward legal stuff I’ve read which says that I’m under no obligation to disclose I’m pregnant until I’m a certain amount of weeks?

it’s such early days that I haven’t even told relatives yet.

finally heard back from a place I’ve wanted to work at for a while. Hours are great.

would they be pissed off when I eventually start to show etc? Am I doing something shitty by them hiring someone who towards the end of the year is going to have to be on mat leave? How does this all work?

thanks so much in advance to anyone who can help.

i was freelance before this.

thanks

Just be aware it will affect maternity pay most likely, plus could cause bad feeling. I wouldn't

I did this. Altho tbf I didn't actually know until after I'd accepted the job.. but I found out whilst doing the training. It was an accident I was on contraception. It was a big shock.
I do feel bad because they are very understaffed. It's NHS. However I do love this job and applied because I wanted to do it... I will be returning as soon as possible after having the baby. I mean sometimes these things happen in life.
I'm not eligible for the full maternity package (5 days out!!) So I'll just get statutory. But it's better than nothing. I do feel very guilty as I can see in the rota them trying to shuffle people round to cover me once I go off. They aren't allowed to hire anyone new due to a recruitment freeze and 3 other staff members have left. I don't know why I feel so guilty seeing as two of the staff members leaving are literally just leaving for better paid jobs... at least for me I intended to stay at this job.
But OP if you actually really want the job and intend to go back to it after maternity leave then just take it.
If you are just using it as a fill in to get money to fund your maternity leave then perhaps that is morally wrong tbh.

Check the maternity pay situation. My sister found out she was pregnant not long after starting a new job and then had some issues with her due date being changed and she has a lot of uncertainty about whether she would get statutory maternity pay or maternity allowance.

As you are freelance you probably won't be worse off but check.

Otherwise I would accept the role and wait until everything is signed to tell them about your pregnancy. Say you found out late and accept it isn't ideal but you want to make the best of things.

12 years ago I found out I was pregnant the same day I was offered a job that I really wanted.
I went for it anyway, I had a notice period so was about 3 months pregnant when I started. I told them after a couple of weeks of being there.
I'm in a different role now but still work for the same company and have had a second child.
I took 7 months mat leave with the first. I also had to get maternity allowance rather than SMP.
I took 10 months with my second.
This really is a case of you need to dobwhat works for you.
I was lucky and my employer were really supportive, others are not so much.
Wishing you all the best regardless of what you decide

One of my colleagues did this. She worked really hard to start with to create a really good impression, and then told them when she was at about 3-4m in. I didn’t judge her at all because it’s just one of those things - we knew she was great at the job and were happy for her.

I vote go for the new job OP.

@Whattodo112222 Taking a job offer when pregnant doesn't depend how "robust your morals are" - maybe giving shitty advice to women to set back their careers over a displaced sense of loyalty is a sign of poor morals?!

All the anti-women women put today makes me furious.

OP - congrats on your pregnancy - wonderful news. And congrats on the job offer - also great news. If you think accepting the new role would work well for you in your current circumstances, then go for it.

5 years ago I found out I was pregnant my first week in a new role. I was terrified my boss and colleagues would be annoyed. Sadly I miscarried and didn't tell them until much later, but I was pleased to discover they were very supportive and would have been absolutely fine.

There are so many disadvantages to being a woman in the workplace, but thanks to the struggles of women before us, there are more and more protections in place. Lean in to them and make the decision that's right for your family.

Good luck

Oh don’t be ridiculous.

If OP found herself in a redundancy or reorganisation situation with this employer further down the line, do you think senior management would be wringing their hands over the morality of what they were doing, or would they use legislation to protect their own and the organisation’s interests?

Go for it.

Happened to me - was made redundant but still wanted to have another baby and just thought- I'm not putting my life plans on hold for a job I might leave/not care about in a few years.

I interviewed (knowing I was early days pregnant) and didn't tell them until I was about a week in the role.

My career mentor (an old boss) told me to go for it and not tell them as... why would you tell strangers you're pregnant before your friends and family??

The law is on your side and - when I told employers- they were so so supportive about it (they can't not be really).

But life happens - maternity leave is such a small time in the grand scheme of things.

I wouldn't let that put you off or put your life on hold.

The only thing I'd caveat is that you're unlikely to get a decent maternity package at new role but if you can afford it - don't hesitate.

What they did was illegal. You should have been consulted, just like all the others being made redundant, and offered the opportunity to apply for a new role/interview/whatever.
If you'd taken them to tribunal you'd probably have won.

All these comments are disheartening. Of course in certain situations it makes no sense, e.g being hired specifically to turn a failing team around in X months, going on maternity for half of that is hardly going to accomplish business goals. Legal or not. The logic is clear if it's hardly something that can be divvied up among others.

but otherwise why should a woman's career advancement be stalled just because she got pregnant at an inopportune moment?

Also just to add to my last post...

Sometimes when I don't know what to do I think 'what would a man do?'

Always gives me a different perspective.

What would he do if a couple of people went off sick? A viable business has contingencies and plans for staff sickness, parental leave and maternity leave etc.

Refusing to hire any woman of childbearing age - so basically anyone under about 45 - is discriminatory and says a lot about him as an employer and person. Would you say the same about hiring a person with a disability?

Some women on here are other women’s worst enemies. @Dontknowwhattodo123456 ignore the people who think it’s not right or immoral. You may work for this company for a very long time. You may be an excellent and committed employee. Congratulations on your pregnancy and the job.

It’s not morally wrong to have children at the time that suits you and to expect your employer to follow the law specifically designed to protect women against the kind of pregnancy discrimination that would be rife without them. You don’t owe it to any company to tailor your family planning to suits its goals. There is no immorality about it and that’s a bloody weird view.

I was temping at a great company when I fell pregnant. They took me out for lunch a few days after my positive test as they wanted to offer me a permanent position. I was really honest with them and explained I was pregnant as it was a small company and having to cover maternity leave was tricky. They still offered me the job and were really accommodating.

This, absolutely.

As a PP has said, you might have done, ten, twenty brilliant years working for the company. Why would it matter that your mat leave was in year one rather than year three?