Job Offer withdrawn after informing employer that I am pregnant.

[Char1997]

Hi all,

I originally posted this on as a pregnancy thread. As the situation has evolved I have been advised to post on here. I was offered a job yesterday afternoon and although I know I was under no obligation to inform them, I told the employer that I was expecting in December. Since then I have had the job offer withdrawn as they felt that I “misled them” and wasn’t honest. Is anyone able to give me some advice if I were to take this further.

@pearl24 why does it matter if something (a very essential thing that populates the human race) takes some one out of the job for a year. The employer will not be paying them!

You do realise why childbirth has to be protected don't you. Because we need the human race to survive.

If they don't protect pregnant women's rights, there will be no babies, and no workplaces at all in the future

@Annamaria14 if you read posts further down you will see I am on the OP's side. I am merely saying the knee argument is a ridiculous one.

@pearl24 I apologise Pearl. I actually realised that just after I posted.

I think you took the piss a little bit to be honest. I pulled out of a job when I found out I was expecting as couldn't do that to the employer

Haha sorry, no idea how a post from 2019 came up on my feed. Retract what I said, just noticed the date. Gosh this is drawn out hey

If they don't protect pregnant women's rights, there will be no babies, and no workplaces at all in the future

@Summersunandoranges I just can't understand how you don't see how important pregnant women are. None of us would be here without them.

What is the point of having workplaces without people?

How do we get people, they all come through pregnant women.!

Oh well, the business people who think on here that they can discriminate against pregnant women, will get sued eventually

No they just won’t take women on. That’s what will happen because of cases like this.

And it’s not just about the money. Which you’ve been explained to many times. I’m not sure which sector you worked in but it’s not as easy for us. We don’t really take casual workers. We have a sales business which is very fast paced with high commission so you don’t get part time workers or uni leavers or people just wanting to work ‘for a bit’

The Op still hasn’t stated her role which tbh is fundamental to the discussion, but yeah you keep on banging on about how easy it is to get maternity cover and the government pays

No they just won’t take women on

You really think they won't get sued for that?

No they just won’t take women on. That’s what will happen because of cases like this.

Unbelievable. So if a person who is an ethnic minority suffers discrimination for being so, should they not fight for their rights in case it stops the employer hiring ethnic minorities in the future?

If women don't fight for their rights then this will sort of thing will happen more and more.

@Summersunandoranges "they just won't take women on".

But how would you know she was pregnant. She wouldn't tell you at interview

Sigh. It isn't just a question of costs. It's finding the right person for the job. Not in a year or two but now.

@viviennemary I still think that your argument is redundant. I think that people are just a bit surprised at you - arguing against the law.

In my company, we had such excellent people that came in on maternity contracts

Keep going @Char1997 you'll get there. Your courage through this is inspiring, not that you should have to. You're a beacon shining against active discrimination. Frankly, I think you're fucking amazing.

@MarieG10 You are a snob, and a discriminatory one at that. Banging on about how you "are head of a large department" and "work in a high pay, high skill set area".

Toot your own horn much. I fail to see how the industry you're in, or the fact that you "head up a large department" is in any way relevant, other than to try and big yourself up in an anonymous forum of strangers. Nobody cares what you do (you're probably lying anyway) and nobody asked.

In my company, we had such excellent people that came in on maternity contracts

In my old company we didn't do maternity contracts. We all generally pitched in or shifted people around.

Like a pp said, I can imagine it's slightly easier in Costa for example, or even a job where your training is a professional qualification (like a lawyer). But for us the hiring process took months.

I was speaking to an ex-colleague earlier this week who told me the guy who replaced me (almost a year ago) is still finding his feet.

But anyway... a company with 2000 employees is probably more than likely to be able to cope with someone coming in and leaving within 3 months. They'd do what I mentioned above and shuffle people around if they can't get a maternity cover.

Smaller places, like the ones in the OP, don't have HR departments to do their hiring. They don't have training departments to train people up. It can sometimes be them, or two or three of them. And for me, time taken to train someone is time I'm taking out of my business.

I just don't think people realise how much this kind of short-term thinking actually holds us back. That's what gets to me. It's like yeah, this woman is winning the battle but in the process she's moving us all back in the war.

And please don't patronise me, like I don't understand the value of pregnant women. I've had two myself and taken two maternity leaves, and been grateful for my rights. But the truth of the matter is when it's my livelihood, I wouldn't take any chances with a man who had plans to go travelling, or a woman who was imminently due a baby. It's not about sex, race, gender, disability. All of those things people have no choice over. Op could have chosen to find a job before she got pregnant. Op could have chosen to apply for temporary contacts. Why didn't she? Why is it the fault of the employer for not wanting a temporary employee to fill a permanent role?

As I've said many times if they already worked for me and got pregnant that is totally different and of course if that was the case the op should take them to the cleaners. But she hasn't worked an hour for them. She didn't even have a formal offer!!!

I am currently applying to be a Police Officer. One of the questions is "Are you pregnant?"

I thought it was illegal to ask, but this is a Police force so must not be.

It was in the diversity section where they ask about disabilities, sexual orientation and ethnicity etc. I assume it's asked so that reasonable adjustments can be made, but still strikes me as an offensive (and sexist) question to insist I answer.

The managers are legally obliged to work around a pregnant woman who has never even contributed to a single hour of of work. She may even have to change or reduce her work hours when she comes back. She has now become a problem that needs solving instead of being a person that solved problems with out - once again - doing one hour of work.

You'd need to make reasonable adjustments for a disabled person, who "hadn't done one hour of work", too. Do you actively discriminate here also, or is it just pregnant women you target?

@Char1997 well done, just come across the thread, October isn't as far away as it feels. You will win, and rightly so.

@Summersunandoranges it is your exact attitude that warrants laws like this at all. Everything you have mentioned are all things that employers are obliged to work around and support. The fact you think the route to better times for women is for them to 'work harder' rather than ensure discrimination is rooted out, makes you part of the misogynistic patriarchy that controls us.

I am so glad the OP is taking on this case and will no doubt win.
It's clear from some of the replies on this thread, just how important this protection is.

@FATEdestiny - It is not illegal to ask. It is illegal to take the information into account when making the decision whether or not to recruit.

It was in the diversity section where they ask about disabilities, sexual orientation and ethnicity etc

Many organisations have such a section. It is normally not compulsory to complete it and is not used in the decision making process. It is there so that HR can monitor recruitment to see if there are any signs of discrimination. It can also be useful as evidence if the organisation is accused of discrimination.

@blockyy I think that you have made all these problems up in your own head. It sounds like you have never hired some one on a maternity contract?

When I was working in a small company, less than 50 people, I was HR, and it was just me, no HR department. We advertised maternity contracts, and every time - we had loads of applicants.

There was not a training department in our company, people do not take months to train, why do you think that?

The people that came in on maternity contracts fitted in seamlessly, and achieved a lot in the nine months. They were huge assets to our company

It seems weird that you are making all these arguments about how hard it is, when you have never hired a maternity contract. It all works seamlessly.

StealthMama I am a female business owner. Tell me why I should be over the moon after going through multiple interviews, to often split hairs over candidates, to offer the job to some one only to be told they were already pregnant. Why would would I be happy about having to start the whole process again looking for some one new to cover the some one new I’d just taken on?

Tell my why I’d be over the moon about that new pregnant person who was taken on to fill a specific job role and hours that now I’d now have to put them on reduced roles and possibly hours. And how I’d also have to find some one else to cover what they couldn’t do.

I do not think women should have to work harder - but in reality they do have to to be recognised. It’s unfair and shit because cases like this perpetuate this myth that if you take women on they will be off all the time having babies OR stuck doing child care, this women didn’t even get through the door on the first day and she is suing their arse off!

You'd need to make reasonable adjustments for a disabled person, who "hadn't done one hour of work", too. Do you actively discriminate here also, or is it just pregnant women you target?

If they can come in every day and not need up to a year off after three months there would be no issue.

@Summersunandoranges "they just won't take women on"

But how would you know she was pregnant. She wouldn't tell you at interview

I don’t think your understanding what I’m saying.. I’m saying it will get increasingly hard to even get an interview, as a woman, if your employer doesn’t want to fall foul of this.

And it’s a good point of blocky - why didn’t the OP go for a temporary job if so many company’s are hiring for maternity cover?

@Summersunandoranges because interviewing some one is easy. It is not a stressful thing to do at all!

Honestly, you sound so spoiled.

"I have to sit in a room and interview some one again". Big deal!

And for me, time taken to train someone is time I'm taking out of my business.

No, that is part of your business. Just like paying your rent, doing your taxes, all of the back office stuff which isn't on the front line bringing money in. If you can't cope with staff turnover - which, yes, has an impact in both time and money - you need to reexamine your business model.

OP, well done, it's a difficult thing to take a case forward, and the amount of disgusting internalised misogyny on this thread shows why so many women don't.