Telling a new employer I’m pregnant.

[Char1997]

Hi all,
I’ve recently graduated from university and found out I am 18 weeks pregnant with a baby due christmas eve. Obviously I have been job hunting for a number of months now and becoming more and more stressed as time goes on. I was offered a job earlier this afternoon on the spot and was too nervous to explain that I was expecting. I rang the director after leaving and explained that I didn’t want to join under false pretences and that I understand it is an inconvenience for a new hire. They told me that “it isn’t ideal” and that they “feel misled” and that I wasn’t honest. Am I in the wrong for not revealing this information straight away?

I am speechless at that email.. I don’t have any practical advice but 💐

@Char1997 good for you for contesting this.

I am so angry on your behalf. Please fight this for yourself but also the sake of other women facing the same discrimination.

Sending you lots of support across the web

You will find the right role. And congratulations on the pregnancy too!

OP I honestly would email back to them with wording similar to what I suggested. It’ll give them a chance to resolve it with you before taking it further.

ACAS are a great point of reference as is CAB and there are also law firms who specialise in this sort of thing.

Do point out that as a protected characteristic, the retraction of an offer even based on their being ‘hurt you didn’t tell them’ IS discrimination!

Your right to not disclose your pregnancy during recruitment/interview IS protected. Your right for your pregnancy not to be taken into account IS protected.

So therefore by saying ‘We’re retracting the offer as honesty is important to us and you weren’t honest about being the pregnant’ HUGE DISCRIMINATION.

And if they can’t get their heads around that, tell them to try replacing the word ‘pregnant’ with ‘gay’ or ‘female’.

For some reason companies seem A LOT more understanding of discrimination when it comes to sexual orientation/race/gender- than pregnancy!