To have done a job interview at 20 weeks pregnant and not disclosed

[Kinekia]

I’m 25 weeks pregnant.

My original manager knew from 6 weeks in January as HG (severe morning sickness) kicked in at 6 weeks and I ended up on the sick for 2 months. After 2 months I returned as I’d found a medication protocol that allowed
me to get back to normality. I worked in an entry level customer service role. They have dozens of staff so my pregnancy didn’t really affect the team that much.

An internal role came up within the business in March. It would essentially be a promotion. Pay rise, more responsibilities (but generally nicer hours and less front-line customer contact, which is a huge bonus), no weekends, smaller team. I applied expecting nothing to come of it. I surprisingly got invited for an interview in April. I was 20 weeks when I interviewed. I had pondered over whether to disclose the pregnancy at the interview. This internal department is in a different part of the building to where I worked so they don’t know me at all. And my line manager at the time confirmed they wouldn’t tell them about the pregnancy and that it was up to me when I disclose. This job role that had come up was something I’ve desired to get into ever since joining the company, and I really wanted to give it my best shot, so I decided not to disclose, as was my legal right.

I interviewed at 20 weeks in April and felt I hid the bump well. We clicked really well at interview and they really liked me. They asked about pre-booked holidays etc. they then asked “Is there anything else we need to know about?” and I cheerfully said “no”. I felt awful about this at the time but on the other hand, as I said, I wanted them to review me as a candidate fairly without just being seen as “the pregnant candidate”.

Middle of May I got offered the role and accepted. The call where they offered the role was very rushed as they were snowed under, and I didn’t get chance to disclose the pregnancy as she said “Right I’ll be in touch when I’ve got a start date I need to go now, take care!” and abruptly hung up.

The next day (my final day before 17 days of annual leave) I messaged the new manager asking if she had time for a call and she never replied. I wanted to disclose the pregnancy then. I then went on the pre-booked
holiday and still didn’t have a start date.

Came back from my holiday and returned to work 26th May after the bank holiday and went to sit in my usual part of the office and got pulled away by my new manager, taken to their department and told I’m starting straight away. By this point I’m 25 weeks so I had to tell them. It was all quite rushed and they’ve been off with me ever since. Nobody has said anything but they aren’t friendly with me like they have been prior and at one point I was asked why I hadn’t disclosed at interview. They exclude me from friendly chat and I have to ask them what they want me to be doing with my time and my training.

I do feel awful for inconveniencing them but I don’t think I did anything wrong by not disclosing at interview. I had intended to tell them earlier than when I did but I just never got the right moment. I thought we’d have a time to sit down together and go through contracts etc and I would’ve mentioned it then but this never happened.

I have seen there is another woman on the team who is pregnant and due to go on leave so I suspect they had intended me to take over from her and that is why they are pissed off. They hadn’t told me this at interview though. Ironically I’m actually due before this other woman so I can see why they are fuming but legally I’ve not done anything wrong. It does prove that if I’d have disclosed at interview they probably would’ve not hired me and would’ve made up a non-pregnancy related reason to justify it.

Am I am awful employee? I’m concerned that my relationship with my managers will never recover from this and it’s a shame as I really have a huge interest in this role and have every intention of going back full-time after mat leave.

That's shite though and should be deemed as discrimination

This is why I always steal a couple of things at Tesco self check out.

Not surprised. You did nothing illegal but behaved in an underhand way. Cleverly concealed the pregnancy. Didnt reveal it when you should have. In other words you've wasted their time.

Yes they did for planning purposes especially as they also had another pregnant colleague and that needs thinking about and organising. Not to make anyone suffer any detriment (immoral and illegal) but purely to be able to provide continuity of service to their customers and stability for the team.

Bore off Karen FFS. She'll be able to do it after MAT leave, company can survive without her. Do you honestly think companies care about you? They'd make you redundant or replace you in a heartbeat.

She deserves to advance in her career even if she's pregnant. My God. She has more money and more flexible hours. She deserved to do what was right by her and her baby.

Honestly the internalised mysogny on mumsnet is wild.

It certainly is when Karen is referenced. I think you should keep your own doorstep clean before you start accusing other people of misogyny.

This. You did nothing unlawful. But they are disappointed and they’ve every right to be. It may affect your relationship with your managers but in the end you’ll be off on maternity leave within a few weeks so it won’t matter. They’ll just be left with trying to cover you. As a manager I too would be pissed off but not stupid enough to tell you about it.

i think what gets people’s back up is the intention to deceive and the fact you’ve deprived someone else of a long term job you won’t even be doing.

so you think everyone should have to declare all their medical and private lives in an interview so as not to deceive in case anything in that info might make a person not want to hire you? I know someone who was recovering from cancer, she needed a new job- should she have had to have disclosed that just in case it she needed more treatment?

How do you know she won’t be doing it long term? I only took 5 months off and was back at work and just picked up where I left off

This!
I get there is a law to protect women’s pregnancy rights however you have a department who have a vacancy which they think they have filled and then it’s dropped on them that you’ll be off on mat leave so they spend a few weeks training you up (potentially not even fully trained before you leave) while also now trying to find maternity cover for you at the same time and training another person up! Yes the law is the law and needs to be followed however that doesn’t mean that people can’t be annoyed and fed up about the position you have put them in!

Morally reprehensible? Fuck me. There’s people in the world bombing schools or arranging child marriages ffs. Calm down.

Well I don’t. But legally she can take a lot longer than 5 months so I would assume she would take the maximum allowance and that assuming is exactly what her employers will be doing. Employers: “What she has done has used her legal right to not say anything, why wouldn’t she take her maximum legal right for time off?”

Because she had to earn money?. I promise women don’t make decisions to spite their employers so would be ridiculous for them to think things like that. Some of us couldn’t afford to take more time off and in fact, I barely know anyone who took the full year as when the money stopped they had to come back.

Okay, I'm sure OP is happy you've put your penny's worth in on the matter in hand 👏🏼.

Though thanks for the reminder.

If I’d not gone for the promotion and quit after maternity leave (due to my previous role having unsuitable hours for childcare) then attempted to claim universal credit to top up our household income whilst spending potentially months or years searching for another job then they’d moan too about me fleecing the taxpayer.

You’re welcome. That damned internalised misogyny will keep leaking out.

God, you really seem like the type whose eyes probably lit up when you saw that contradiction and couldn't keep your hands away from the key pad fast enough to type it out 😂.

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday. Hope you've got the dopamine kick out of it you probably needed!

To put another perspective .... supposing a man were being interviewed for a job and was asked if there was anything important that they should know at interview and he knowingly withheld the fact that he is about to go for spinal surgery that would put him out of action for 6 months at least. Would that be an honest thing to do? Would we be saying good for him?

It is not just about women's rights and protections it is about honesty and integrity.

They're not allowed to ask if she's pregnant. People who are saying she was morally obliged to tell them are saying she should have interpreted their question as them asking for something they can't legally ask for. It's not fair on candidates at all to ask questions like that if you're using it as a way to get around equalities legislation.

You would have put them in a worse position if you had announced your pregnancy in the interview, because then if they had decided not to appoint (even for an unrelated reason) it would have looked like it was because of he disclosure and left them at risk of a discrimination claim. And if they were on top of their legal obligations they would have known that and wished you hadn't told them.

I wouldn't want to be told that if I was interviewing because it opens the business up to a while bunch of unnecessary risks and would create pressure to appoint that candidate (even if they weren't the strongest candidate) to avoid a discrimination claim.

They didn't use the word "important" - you added that yourself, presumably for rhetorical reasons.

That aside, it is simply not appropriate to be discussing these kinds of things at interview stage. Doing so puts the business at far greater risk.

If the Op advances in her post after pulling this ld be astonished,you work for a business their needs have to be taken into consideration as well as your own,you can't expect to have a secure job or advancement if you purely think about yourself.

Ultimately if they wanted cover for the other pregnant employee they should have advertised a fixed term temporary maternity cover position. There are, of course, no guarantees for the company that another pregnant candidate wouldn’t have been successful if applying, but I doubt the OP would have applied for this specific role, knowing she would be absent for the duration of it.

OP, congratulations on your pregnancy and promotion. Whilst ever the law states that you can act as you have done, you have done nothing wrong. Your huge company will indeed survive.

if the readers of Mumsnet do not agree with pregnancy laws and the protections offered, they should feel free to campaign for a change. Whilst being careful what they wish for.