Got the job without telling employer I am pregnant

[Emma70459]

Hi ladies!
So I'm looking for advice desperately.
I'm currently 37 weeks pregnant and 3 weeks ago,I had an interview for a zero hour contract admin job. They asked if I was able to start work full time immediately and I said "I am able to work full time for now".
They couldn't see that i was heavily pregnant as the interview was done online.
I wasnt expecting to get the job,so naturally I was thrilled when I found out that I got it.
Now my line manager is asking if I am available to work next week but I will be on maternity leave from next week.
How do I tell her that as much as i would love to start working for her i cant otherwise i would lose all my SMP? But i would definitely want to start working as soon as my maternity finishes.

Also, are they allowed to withdraw the job offer because I'm pregnant?

You need to check the legalities but you can't actually start the job as you're unable to work. Are they going to want to hire a maternity cover so you can come back at some point in the future??

They can’t withdraw the job offer because you’re pregnant, no.

But they could just never give you any hours ever.

I think you’ve been misleading the employer tbh. You must inform any job of your pregnancy by 25 weeks, as you are well past that and about to start maternity leave it was unfair to have not mentioned it to them. There’s a good chance once you tell them they will pull back their job offer.

I guess it depends how long you are planning to take as maternity leave. If you're not going to be wanting to actually start work for nine months I can imagine they won't be very impressed. If you're only planning on taking 6-8weeks the scenario is probably quite different. Either way you probably need to come clean!

No idea but I can’t imagine they will be thrilled about it. If their hands are tied legally I guess they can just give you zero hours until you look elsewhere rather than withdrawing the offer

TBH if you'd done that to me I would be well pissed off . They obviously they need someone they've taken time to select you and will have turned down other people then you let them down.
If it's zero hours that what you will get there obliged to offer you nothing .

They can I believe withdraw the job offer on the grounds of you withholding important information that impacts your ability to do the job.

I'm not sure I follow how you expected this to work out when you applied / interviewed?

It might be worth reposting on the work board as would be good to get the actual answer rather than just opinion

I think technically they can withdraw the offer as you’re legally obliged to notify your employer of a pregnancy by 25 weeks. I think it depends how much time your are having off maternity as to how reasonable they will be about it🤷🏼‍♀️

Oh dear. This is not good at all.
They have hired other people, not just me for the role as it is zero hours.
I didnt withhold information deliberately. There is no legal obligation for me to let an interviewer know that I am pregnant and like I said, I didn't expect to get the job.
Being pregnant does not affect my ability to do an admin role. But I just dont want to start now as it would mean I would have to sacrifice my SMP, which I dont want to do.

I am not sure what was your plan when you interviewed and accepted the job offer being 34 weeks pregnant and the company explicitly asking for you to start work immediately full-time?
But i think the best would be for you to be open and honest from now and say that you weren't aware you'd lose maternity pay if you started this job but you would really like to work when maternity leave finishes.
That being said, if i was the employer i would have a hard time trusting you after this. I mean you clearly knew you were not going to be able to work as you are giving birth soon 😐
Hope they are understanding though.

Why did you apply for the role ? I don't get it ?

I'm all for women hiding that they are pregnant in the early stages, but i think doing it so late and then being unable to actually even start because you are on maternity leave is really bad!! I'd be so pissed off if i was this company.when women do this, it tars every woman with the same bush and is why compa ies don't employ women!
You won't get SMP as you haven't worked there during your qualifying weeks, i presume you'll have to apply for maternity allowance.

What did you think was gonna happen? I think you can pretty much say goodbye to the job, they either won't give you any hours or find another reason to sack you, and i don't blame them

They sent me a work questionnaire asking me to declare any health conditions. I have declared that I am pregnant and my due date.
I applied for this job in march.

How did you think think this would pan out? Did you think they'd hold the job open for another six months to a year while you were having your baby and on maternity leave???? I'd be really grumpy if I was a boss and someone did this to me. What an utter waste of my time.

Ah, I've just seen your update. Then more fool them for not reading your questionnaire properly!

Who are you getting smp from? Do have another job? I believe you need to work between week 16-23 of your pregnancy to qualify.

Did you tell your employer immediately after you accepted the contract/file that you were pregnant? As you haven't provided satisfactory notice (15 weeks before EDD) you are obliged to tell them when you first start...

Tbh although they couldn't have held the job from you because you are pregnant you haven't been honest with them

Is this your first baby op?

Being pregnant does not affect my ability to do an admin role - no but giving birth and having a new-born does - which is the issue here, not being pregnant. And it's not a question of losing your SMP either, because otherwise you could just replace that money with the salary you will receive for working?

When are you actually planning on starting work for them ?

Sorry OP but I think you've behaved really badly? What was the point in interviewing for a job to start one WEEK before maternity leave???

And you do have an obligation to tell your employer 15 weeks before maternity leave is due to start

To be honest this just plays into the hand of a employers who think women of child bearing age are a PITA to employ

I have another job so I will be getting SMP from.there.
As I said, I applied for the job in march and they interviewed me a few weeks back. I thought, why not as I had nothing to lose.
If they had asked me to start work last week or even this week, i would have started. But my maternity starts next week so i cant do this.
I dont mind doing unpaid work for them after giving birth on a part time basis? Do you think this would be reasonable?

You won't get SMP from this company as you do not have adequate service