Should I stop TTC and leave my job?

[Eleano]

I've been told confidentially that the project I'm working on may only have a year left before it gets disbanded and we all lose our jobs. And it could be less than a year or slightly more, it's hard to know. The information seems valid since sales aren't going well.

Me and my DH are 34 and 44 years old respectively and have been trying to conceive for a year now. We've been told we seem fine fertility wise but we're signed up to receive IVF in 9 months if we still haven't managed to conceive naturally.

I earn more than my DH and my income is essential.

I told myself that I wouldn't leave this job as I've been there long enough to qualify for all the maternity benefits. However, if I stay and get pregnant soon I could lose my job while on maternity leave and if I stay and get pregnant later I could lose my job while pregnant with no redundancy pay.

On the other hand, if I leave I would have to pause trying to conceive. In order to qualify for statutory maternity pay my calculations tell me that I would have to be in a new job for at least 5 weeks before falling pregnant. There is also the probation period to consider which lasts 3 months in most companies in my line of work but I might not wait for the probation period to end.

What should I do? Stay and keep trying? We had a chemical pregnancy last month so it felt we were getting very close. Or should I leave (would wait until bonus pay comes through in a couple of months) and compromise with a much lower maternity pay but the assurance that I won't get made redundant during pregnancy and there will be a job waiting for me when I'm ready to return to work?

Really difficult decision. It will probably work out fine and in a way you least expect. Is there no chance of an internal move? Have you looked into transferring to other projects?

I hope so! Yes that's what I'm trying to do now and there is a chance that an internal move could happen but only this time round. If I don't get the internal vacancy I'm applying for now that's my last chance of a move as they've said they won't be opening up any more vacancies.

@Eleano I really hope you get it and that you guys are pregnant soon. X

Your calculations are wrong. You just need to not be pregnant when starting a new job to be eligible for SMP.

Why would you not get redundancy pay if made redundant from your current job whether you were on mat leave or not?

This is where I got my calculations from:

To be eligible for statutory maternity pay, you must have been employed by your employer for at least 26 weeks continuously by the end of the 15th week before your baby is due.

Doesn't 15th week before due date mean being 21 weeks pregnant? Therefore, being employed for 26 weeks when 21 weeks pregnant means falling pregnant after 5 weeks of employment?

I hope you're right!

@AmITooOldToDoThis I have to have worked there for a minimum of 2 years to qualify for redundancy pay

Have you looked at whether you could manage on maternity allowance?

If you get a job that pays slightly more than your current job you may be able to save up the difference in your entitlements whilst pregnant. (It’s not as much as people think).

I’d be very surprised if a company made an employee redundant whilst they were pregnant or on maternity leave - at risk of discrimination claims

I am right. ;)

26+15= 41. A pregnancy is generally 40 weeks. But the first 2 weeks aren’t real weeks. So you just need a due date more than 40 weeks after your start date and you’re golden.

Have you done 9x4=36 weeks to calculate a 9 month pregnancy? There are more than 4 weeks in a month. But a pregnancy is considered to be 40 weeks.

One of my colleagues who is pregnant has just been made redundant as they gave her a low performance rating. Equally, they could make a pregnant woman redundant if her job ceased to exist and they had no suitable alternative vacancies.

Ah. When do you hit 2 years?

You can’t make someone redundant because of poor performance. The work needs to no longer exist.

@AmITooOldToDoThis thanks for giving me peace of mind about the SMP :)

I will have been there for 2 years in August 2024 so it's a bit of a gamble...

@rolalinda2005 thank you! :)

Update: The project and therefore my job will last until September 2024 at which point I will be eligible for redundancy pay

So now the scenarios are:

• Imminent pregnancy (next 3 months): I'm on maternity leave when I get made redundant but I get the payoff and maternity pay

• Latest pregnancy (IVF in May): I just about miss the maternity pay as I would be a few weeks off from getting it but I would get redundancy pay

Now I need to figure out if the redundancy pay will be as good as getting maternity pay.

You’d probably be able to negotiate the mat pay to be paid as well as your redundancy.

Would there not be a future project they could move you to?

@AmITooOldToDoThis new roles come up every October (except this year that they've come up early) so we would be one month off but it's not impossible. There is no guarantee due to a recent structural change that any of the project people like me will be saved when the project ends. So the answer is maybe... but only due to someone leaving whose place I could take or an unforeseen new need.