Should I tell HR that I am pregnant?

[eausolovely]

So I’ve just found out I am pregnant after trying for a few months. I have no idea what my company maternity policy is because you have to specifically ask HR to be sent it. I have spoken to my friends at work about this and they all are the same as me and haven’t wanted to ask until it was needed.

My direct manager is amazing and I know he will be really happy for me that I’m pregnant however I’m almost certain I am due a promotion in March when I have my review. He has mentioned things about my role becoming more senior and that in my review the director will be joining to discuss my progression. I just don’t want me being pregnant to stop them giving me the promotion I’ve worked really hard for.

The issue is if I ask HR for the maternity policy will they then alert my line manager? I want to trust that they wouldn’t discriminate against me for being pregnant but you can never be too careful. But I really need to find out what the policy is so I can budget for the next 8 months if it is bad.

Do you think asking HR is okay before I tell my manager?

I wouldn’t tell them.
assume the worst and budget for that. Then if it’s better then that you’re in a great position and you’ve not been discriminated against.
i would however have asked a long time before planning to get pregnant, just to know. It’s reasonable to know, just like you may want to know their sickness policy even if you don’t intend to use it. You can’t change that now but perhaps one of the other women at work could help. Or are there women you trust that have used it.

I wouldn't tell them. If you assume the statutory minimum and it's better than that : what difference would it make to your decision-making.

Good plan! We barely have any women at the company as I work in a very male dominated industry. My friend whose wife is currently pregnant tried to get it for me but they only sent him the paternity policy. Bless him for trying though!!

I wonder if asking in a vague “would just like to know way” would be worth it or maybe too risky… anyway I think planning for the worst outcome is a good idea 👍🏻

Get someone else to ask for it, preferably a man. They can't withhold it.

Get him to ask again. He could say he's been asked by a colleague to get it for them and they don't want anyone to assume they are pregnant.

Then put it on the notice board!

You could ask where to find the policies in general, like the expense policy, sickness policies etc.

I tried this months ago and they haven’t got them publicly listed anywhere the only way to get them is to ask for the specific policy from the one woman in HR. It’s madness 🙃 It’s not a small company either but they haven’t ever publicly released any policy documentation since I’ve been there which has been 3 years

That’s really bad. You should have a handbook with all the policies which is available for all employees. Don’t ask now, get past 12 weeks first and get your promotion and then ask.