Pregnant while on maternity leave - help??

[EllieRosesMammy]

Hi all, so I'm due to return to work in a few weeks after being on maternity leave with my daughter who is now 6 months old. Whilst on maternity leave I've fallen pregnant again (12 weeks today) so I'll be taking a second maternity leave mid December (due date 31/12/18). I'm incredibly nervous about telling work incase they demote me. I'm aware that it's discrimination if they do but I worked hard to be promoted and I don't want them to use my new pregnancy as an excuse for demotion. Basically I work in a kitchen as a team leader, so a lot of long hours on our feet in a hot fast paced environment, and during my last pregnancy I couldn't work as hard as I usually would due to SPD and HG, but not to blow my own trumpet I still worked damn hard; a lot harder than some of the staff who weren't pregnant. Anyway, with this pregnancy I've had absolutely no issues so far, everything is going incredibly well and I'm full of energy which is amazing considering I also have a 6 month old to care for. I recently returned to work for a few days for some KIT shifts (Keep In Touch) and I managed them with no issue, so I know that when I return to work I won't have a problem working to my full potential. I just don't want to be judged as being pregnant and have them try to say that they're demoting me because I can't fulfill my role as a team leader, which I absolutely can. Has anyone else experienced something similar? Xx

Hello. Do you work for a big company or an independent I'm part of a chain and in management so may be able to offer advise if you need it. xx

If they judged or demoted you for anything related to your pregnancy it would be discrimination and you could sue. That’s not to prevent them making another excuse though... I would consider taking someone into a meeting with you when you let them know, just for piece of mind. Then if they do start making noises you’ve got more evidence of it. Honestly I think it will be fine, it’s not so unheard of to come back pregnant! I know a few people who have!

If the demote you for being pregnant then you should take them to a tribunal.

Thanks ladies I think it's just nerves. I'd already told them by this point last time but circumstances were different.

@LuckygoLucy yes I work for a big company, a popular pub chain in the UK. I've read all the company's info on maternity leave and what to do if you fall pregnant while still on leave and it states I'm entitled to full leave again, just worried people won't be too happy with my news and make excuses to demote me. They're already claiming that when I return to work I have to be available to work late shifts and that if I don't I'm "not fulfilling my role as a team leader", except nothing in my team leader contract says I must be available to work lates x

You need to be back at work for a certain number of weeks for maternity pay I think. I was 4ish weeks when my maternity leave ended buy didn't return until 10 or 11 weeks due to using annual leave. I imagine work weren't happy but they were very nice about it which helped ky embarrassment at being in that situation.

Yeah the qualifying weeks are between week 18 and 25 of my pregnancy I think, and I'll be returning when I'm about 15 weeks so just in time to qualify for maternity pay😂 I guess they're not going to be thrilled but I'll just have to grit my teeth and bare it. Myself and my partner weren't over the moon at first either but we're excited now so sod what people think x

Understandable to be nervous, but you sound very sensible! I think the key thing is to be factual - don't apologise, as you haven't done anything wrong!

Don't stress about it, I went back from
maternity leave and was pregnant again. It wasn't exactly planned and I was nervous about it all but I wasn't the first person in our workplace to do it. I think that if you've had one baby there's always a sort of expectation that you may have another at some point, it just so happens that they're quite close together.

And it was a bit of a shock initially, but now I love the close age gap, family is so much more important than work!