Job hunting while pregnant - disclose or not?

[dutchmummy1]

I was made redundant at the end of last year, just before I was ready to announce my pregnancy to the world.

I have been trying really really hard to find a job - difficult since I cannot do fulltime due to childcare restrictions.

Now (20 weeks pregnant) in the interviewing process for three jobs. I am not really showing - especially when dressing smartly - and have not yet disclosed to anyone I am pregnant. But I feel quite bad about it!

One of them is quite a physical job and the other two are office based. I will be out in June for maternity leave and potentially sooner for the first job due to the physicality.

One one hand, I really want a job and especially the office based ones are perfect for me. Like a few times in a lifetime kind of perfect! I know employers are not allowed to discriminate but if its between me and somebody else I am willing to bet all the money on it that they take the other person. And I would too in their place.

On the other hand it feels like a 'bad' start to get hired and pretty immediately say: hey I'll be out in a few months.

Has anyone been in the same boat? Any advice? I'm leaning towards maybe telling the physical job before signing anything as I feel like it has much more impact.

Large corporations are at least in a better position to absorb the cost and disruption of maternity leave. SMEs less so. I run a small specialist six person consultancy and I would not exactly be thrilled if I took someone on who subsequently announced they were pregnant two weeks later.

@Witchtower
No.
Use your head and logical thinking and stop asking me trick questions. I don’t have to rephrase anything for you, if you lack the knowledge about specifics and want to know go read up ACAS materials for these cases. Both you and the other person.

Also another thing people are discussing here- the statutory maternity pay. In order to get the statutory maternity pay a person needs to have worked a certain amount of time for the company, prior to their due date. If the service length does not meet the requirement the Satutory maternity pay is paid not from the employer but from the Job Centre.
Means you have to go to the Job centre do a bunch of forms etc.

@nur touched a nerve much. Apologies, you can clearly see what I meant about the employer not having to pay maternity pay if you start the role whilst pregnant, and monies being paid by the government.

In regards to letting your employee go due to lying on the medical form. It was not a trick question and I did not ask you to rephrase.
Why were you able to accommodate one pregnant woman with a risk assessment and not the other?

Yes I am curious to know the actual reason you gave? Very much seems to have touched a nerve. I would also very much be interested in you sending the link to previous ACAS cases?

Im always open to being incorrect, I have no problem with.

@nur ACAS specifically states ‘You should never ask job applicants if they're pregnant or planning to have children.’

This all smells a little fishy to me.

I interviewed at my current work place (but still in same organisation) when I was in very early weeks of (high risk) pregnancy. I didn't tell them until I had my 12 week scan (around the time of job offer). Soon as I got results of scan and things were ok, I told them. Worked through until 37weeks, then back to work FT when DC2 was 6 months old.

I'd tell them:

1. if you do have any struggles with your pregnancy, I imagine that they won't have to support you to stay in work if you haven't disclosed (that is the case with disability anyway, it is legal for the employer not to support if they don't know the person is disabled.)
2. If they can't do the pregnancy risk assessment because they don't know, then if something bad did happen you might struggle to get compensation or anything.
3. Not disclosing makes you look bad. While they can't let you go because of pregnancy, you will probably have a probation, and they might find a good enough reason to let you go at the end of it, if they are annoyed with you.
4. Do you really want to become the annoying employee in a job you want to potentially stay in for years?!

@Witchtower You have either not read enough or not understood what you read to presume it’s “fishy”. I have explained everything and to an extent at which you should be able to find answers to all your questions. Nothing fishy about it, everything was dealt in a legal manner and legally.
You are required to know the difference between a job interview, job acceptance and formalisation in terms of paperwork and probationary guidelines and probation clause. What else I can say.

I don’t have to share any specifics that you are asking here relating to the above and you can’t call me out on anything, no one owes you anything. The fact you have been unable to digest is none of my problem. Neither do I have to give you any links, go and find it yourself, don’t be lazy. You should be interested to familiarise yourself with the law.

you haven’t even managed to tag the correct username.

That question is designed to prevent discrimination against women of childbearing age. Understandable.

The medical assessment provided to a new starter however aims to gather medical information for safety reasons. Including pregnancy. Many jobs involve the handling of dangerous chemicals that can cause birth defects , for example, so this is a standard question and allowed.

Safety is very important in these environments and the employee was not only dishonest but also reckless. Fired with good cause. I do feel a bit sorry for them, I think they didn't disclose because they knew that they'd be unable to perform the job while pregnant if in any way a competent professional but they could have still been put on other light duties, for example if they'd discussed it.

Being unable to perform due to pregnancy-related illness - cause for firing is 50/50. How can an employee expect maternity protection if they won't admit that they're pregnant. Finding out from 'third parties' isn't valid, only the person themselves must admit it. In any case, that's not the main reason here.

Incredible!!

Look at like this. Honesty is the beat policy IMO.
Importantly if one is applying to join a small firm, like most firms they could be surving by the skin of their teeth due to rising costs, borrowing costs etc etc. Then for them to hire someone they will have to replace soon and the expense etc, I could not lie.

If its a much larger firm or organisation, then depending on ones circumstances, I guess one puts one's self first.

We dont run a business but we are LL's.

OP, how would you feel if you were the owner of a small firm and took someone on who did not declare the facts?

I do understand its your life/circumstances and only you can decide, so, good luck

This is a difficult one. I do believe honesty is the best policy. If they really like you then what’s a few months as you say. Plus you wouldn’t be entitled to any of their maternity pay. If you tell them and they don’t take you on you can’t prove that’s why. However you are VERY protected by law being pregnant. They can not take you on and then dismiss you (because your pregnant) as you would have a very good tribunal case. If it was me I think I would be honest given your half way so can’t really claim you were unaware and what will be will be. If they don’t take you on and you think that’s the reason why maybe they are not the type of employer you want to work for anyway. Good luck.

that’s not for you to give up on a dream job because you’re a woman
To be fair it has nothing to do with being a woman. I’m sure the employer would happily hire another woman who wasn’t pregnant, and would equally not hire a man who wanted 6-12 months off work shortly after starting. It’s about the fact that the employer wants to hire someone to do a job, and OP isn’t going to be available to do the job. If women go around pulling tricks like this it’s just going to put employers off hiring women in future.

Sorry this does sound dodgy. You can not dismiss a pregnant woman due to pregnancy related illness and there is no law that states she had to tell you. ( that I know of I could be wrong) your lucky she probably didn't know her rights as if she proved that you dismissed her due to "pregnancy illness" it doesn't even count as sickness btw you would be in hot water.

Your protection against being let go for pregnancy related illness only starts from when you actually tell the employer you're pregnant. If the employee never disclosed their pregnancy they are not protected in that same way.

Fair enough! If she didn't tell them she was pregnant. The OP did say when they learnt of her pregnancy so they knew she was pregnant.

Presumably she was fired for lying on her risk assessment which would have serious insurance ramifications.

OP if I were in your shoes I'd probably interview without disclosing and wait to see if (1) after interview I still wanted the job and (2) if they called to offer me it.

If they offered me it, I'd disclose then, "I'm delighted you think I am the right fit for the role, I agree with you and I'm looking forward to it. I am currently 20 weeks pregnant, so can I ask how you would prefer this to work - either I can start immediately, and then start my mat leave in June, or we can discuss a start date which falls in 2025 if you would prefer to put a temporary person in until I am finished with my maternity leave?"

I understand she lied and yes that was wrong ( exactly the same position the poster starting this thread, should she tell them) where the lady went wrong was not disclosing even when asked. Which I find odd but then I've always been office based so I get it if it's a dangerous job. However if she perhaps had told the truth her employer would of been legally obligated to find her a suitable role and remove risks. I don't think people realise as I said in a previous post her protected they are by law because of companies like the one who dismissed this lady whether they admit it or not for being pregnant.

You're getting several different things all muddled up. The fired woman is not in the same position as OP.
That woman wasn't just dismissed for lying, or being pregnant. The detail is important here.
She was dismissed for lying on a medical assessment that is required for the job she was doing.

Not for 'being pregnant'. But for putting herself and her baby at risk, also as a PP said it could invalidate insurance claims.
You work an office job so you clearly don't understand how all this works but it's very normal in dangerous jobs. There are toxic chemicals for example that can cause birth defects. Why anybody competent enough to do the job and knows the effects would take the risk baffles me certainly I wouldn't trust them to take safety seriously.

Now to the OP's question. OP is under no obligation to tell anybody anything, until the latest possible required by law (think it's 25 weeks?). OR, if she requires any pregnancy related adjustment.

Now, if OP, like the PP's employee was required to fill out a medical assessment form it's obvious that answering 'no' would lead to safety issues. OP would be stupid to take such a risk. But she's already been offered the job and it can't be withdrawn, so she'll probably be moved to lighter duties upon declaring, all good.

If there isn't and well OP gets injured and miscarries she has nobody to blame but herself for not disclosing.

Employers have to undertake a pregnancy risk assessment but this is only after they've actually been informed. And said assessment is required for all jobs even office ones. If a job is dangerous enough to have a standard medical assessment that's a separate issue and honesty is required on that.

I'm actually not getting anything muddled up thank you. If you read the post it reads to me like the reason she was dismissed was because they found out she was pregnant. That's my interpretation be it right or wrong. I understand it was false information ect and yes from a legal stance I get it. Here you go OP

Firstly, you only need to tell your employer about your pregnancy once you are ready to do so (see the questions above). That also applies if you are going for job interviews or starting a new job – there is no legal obligation to tell your employer early in your pregnancy or if you do not feel ready to do so or if you think that you will face discrimination as a result of it.

Well your interpretation is wrong. They didn't dismiss her because they found out she was pregnant. They dismissed her for lying on a form.
It would be the same if she'd lied about, say not having a sensitivity to a particular chemical and then turning out to actually have it.

Why was the lie such an issue? Because of the very real health effects it could have on the unborn child. Biology doesn't care about discrimination. It's just science. Pregnancy, as one of many conditions is this context is different from business asking about pregnancy to discriminate because they don't like the disruption. This is to preserve the health and safety of employees and the baby.

From a managerial POV the issue here isn't 'dishonesty' per se. It's the flouting of health and safety procedures. If someone is willing to be this cavalier with their own precious baby. Are you telling me I should seriously trust them to be in a position where breaking the rules could cause serious injuries or even worse, death?

It sounds over the top unless you've actually worked in a similar position. Certainly not necessary for most office jobs.

😶 letting her go because of morning sickness - isn't that discrimination? Letting go because of lying, that's a different matter

Sorry, my above post was to this

You can't get rid of someone for not disclosing a pregnancy unless legally required. And you don't have to legally disclose to [most] employers until much further along.