Temping - when should I tell my employer...

[DottieD]

I'm normally more of a lurker here but I've had a hunt around and can't find anything that directly relates to my dilemma so thought I'd post something...any help would be very appreciated!

I'm currently 19 weeks pregnant and was made redundant (way before I was pregnant) last July, having struggled to find work over the last few months when I did become pregnant I didn't have the necessary number of weeks work to qualify for maternity allowance. I have since managed to do a couple of weeks temping and have just started a long term temp role for the NHS and i should (fingers crossed) end up qualifying (just!).

When I was first signing up to agencies I was very honest about my pregnancy - only to be subtly dropped from their books. So I decided (out of desperation) to no longer mention that I was pregnant, having started my new job yesterday they still don't know I've got a bun in the oven - and i feel horrible about it!! Really, really guilty. I should mention however that I only ever said to the agency that I was looking for temping work until mid July (6 weeks before my due date) - not sure if they passed that on to the employers though, i doubt it.

My real question is when should I tell them? When is it fair morally to tell them (rather than from a legal stand point)? I have my 20 week scan on Friday and was hoping to wait until after then. I work in an office where there are just 3 of us so I'm really worried about them being annoyed/angry with me!

Hi DittieD

Don't worry about it. As you're temping they might not have all the worries about paying for your maternity leave so I don't see why they would be upset? They have only made a temporary commitment to you as well remember. You're doing a good job and at this point are happy to work for a few more months which you were upfront about so perhaps tell them after your scan.

Different situation but I also had a lot of concerns telling work. My advice: keep it factual and positive. You're enjoying being there (tell a porkie if necessary) and plan to work until X date. You'll give notice for your appts and will work with people to schedule around it. Employers can't argue with professionalism :) I wasn't expecting a particularly positive response and after a couple of days after they got over the shock, my boss and others have been very supportive.

Good luck! And appalled to hear about blatant agency discrimination.

Sorry *DottieD :)

Thank you so much for your response - hearing someone else's perspective is really helpful! Think I will mention it after the scan and maybe start to wear some clothes that reveal my growing bump a little more!

Your employer is your agency, so it will be the agency who sort out any maternity allowance pay.

So I wouldn't feel guilty about letting the colleagues in the office know whats going on. You could bring up in conversation that you specifically said you could only work until July, as you are pregnant and you thought it important to finish well before the baby arrives.
If they are only expecting to have you until July, its all the same to them - except you'll have a few appointments to go to. But it sounds like you are going to be lots less hassle than some temp workers, so I'm sure they won't begrudge you at all.

I think that, by law, you need to tell your employer when you are 25 weeks, so thats not long. I think you get a MAT1B form from your midwife at the appointment after your 20wk scan. You can then forward that to the agency for their info. I think (again, all from my rather rubbish memory - employment issue board people will know) that the agency claims back something like 93% of that money back from the government, so they are not much out of pocket (especially when you think about the easy money you will have earned for them in one long placement against lots of small ones).

Don't feel guilty. You haven't done anything wrong and you have nothing to hide from the people in your office.
Hope you have a healthy pregnancy and a good scan on friday (my 20wk one is on tuesday, so we are at about the same stage)