When did you tell work you're pregnant?

[ldnelegantelephant]

FTM. Currently 5w3d. Only DH and I know. found out at 4w2d. Haven't even told my mum yet but plan on telling her on Xmas.
My best friend told me as soon as she found out so I feel bad about potentially not telling her until maybe after 8w viability scan, but I have had MC's and have struggled with fertility so you can understand why.
Does everyone generally wait until 12w?
My most important question though is when did you tell work? I told DH thinking of telling them too after 8w scan so that they can understand why I need to take time out of work for the 12w scan, and also because I have severe back issues which has been affecting me during this pregnancy already so I am thinking it's best they know early so I can wfh more etc.? DH thinks I am mad and should wait till at least 2nd trimester.

It depends really. Tell as early as you want if you’re in need of more understanding and accommodations for pregnancy related conditions (and your boss is supportive). Don’t tell them early if it’s likely to affect bonuses, promotions and progression still important to you at this stage (we all know it shouldn’t on paper, but in practice very much can do)

Thanks for your reply. I am not concerned about promotions etc. as this is job for me is a stress-free break from my actual career. I also plan to quit my job during mat leave as it is all statutory so should be fine.

I told my work at 12 weeks once the risk of MC is lower. I told my parents/PIL at 5-6 weeks though on the grounds that if anything did go wrong, I’d want their help and support but both me and my DH are very closer to them. Work and friends, even close friends, I waited till 12 weeks.

But it’s a personal decision - I don’t think there’s a right answer! As the PP said, depends a bit on your work and how they may take it. But if you need support now, best to tell them.

I told my manager after my 12 week scan but my job is flexible so I didn’t need to get permission to attend hospital appointments or wfh/have some extra breaks when dealing with pregnancy symptoms. Lots of people tell work earlier though as pregnancy can affect your ability to work so sometimes it just makes sense.

Telling other people, it’s just up to you. We told parents after a private 8 week scan but I had already told a few friends before then as it was just a big thing in my life that I wanted to discuss with them and would also want support if I had a miscarriage.

25 weeks, the last possible point I could! I didn't feel the need before that.

I waited until 20wks as have a history of miscarriages.

Same, I didn’t want to be talking about my pregnancy in work too much.

Maternity Action UK has good advice on this. It’s your choice about when you tell work (obviously you need to inform them by 26 weeks of planned dates for Mat leave) however if you want paid time off for antenatal appointments or you want your employer to take action to protect your health and safety you must inform them in writing

My opinion with work is it’s always best to wait until 12 weeks if you can BUT if there is any need to tell them beforehand, like severe sickness or risk assessments needed then I would tell him.

I told my work at 6 weeks due to HG and needing time off

I told my employer at 12 weeks, and I would likely have told them sooner if I was struggling e.g. with sickness. As it happens I'm having twins and began showing not long after 12 weeks so don't think I could've waited longer!

Family 13 weeks
Work 18 weeks (but no need for any risk assessments)

immediately, but I work in a lab and handle potentially dangerous organisms so I needed to be excused from certain duties as a safety precaution. I'd rather have waited till 12 weeks tbh!

From the employer side of things Id want to know so I could do a risk assessment.

BTW ... if you take a full year's maternity leave then resign to end employment after 1 year, your employer will need to pay you for a year's statutory holiday entitlement.

I told work very early - I work with radiation so needed a risk assessment, and also wanted the time off for appointments. I didn’t tell the wider team until after my 12 week scan.

I told work at at 25 weeks with first and 22 weeks with second, basically when I started to show each time.

I think about 10 weeks. I'd planned on waiting until my 12 week scan but my manager (who'd seen his wife go through three pregnancies and had already twigged) asked if I was alright a bit too nicely. Sickness and fatigue were kicking my ass so I just started crying and told him 'noooo, I'm pregnant' 😅

Told my boss at 15 weeks but only because I worked in a manual job and didn't want them to make any changes immediately.

First pregnancy I waited until 12 weeks.
Second I had to tell them at 8 weeks as I had to go into lockdown before everyone else
Third and Fourth didn't say anything - they ended in MMCs at 8- 10 weeks.
Fifth I told them 5-6 weeks as they were trying to bring everyone back in into the office post covid and moving my desk location. Considering my history I didn't want to risk catching anything or being in a high traffic area. I also had a significant amount of appointments so needed quite a bit of time for these early on.

I think it depends on your history as well as job and how supportive your work is.

I told them at the point I had my first scan, as I had booked 1.5 hours (the allowed time) off for it, but then needed a lot longer.

Is this for your 12 week scan? How long was it? This is why I feel I need to tell them (or at least just my supervisor) before my 12 week scan so they understand why I am taking such a long time off for an appointment