Worried about telling my employer I’m expecting.

[WelshMumsie]

Hi All!

Wondering if anyone has any advice in regards to telling your employer you’re expecting.

I started my new job on the 14th November 2023 and found out I was expecting just after Christmas.

I’m now 14weeks and due to being a high risk pregnancy, I have a lot of appointments which I don’t have enough annual leave to cover. So I thought it best to bite the bullet and tell them.

I have a very good relationship with someone who works in HR and I have a call to discuss everything tomorrow as I’d like the extra protection in case things go the wrong way. As I haven’t been here for a very long time, I’m unsure how my manager will react.

Has anyone had any experiences with telling a relatively new employer that you’re expecting? I’m worried they’ll find a reason to let me go and this is the only income into the house at the moment due to my partner being made redundant.

Thank you!

Hey. Look at your rights as a pregnant woman. You are entitled to paid time off for appointments. I’m also high risk and have had loads of appointments so far. Don’t take your leave for them, you don’t need to

Yes - I started my new job end of August last year and found out I was pregnant beginning of October.
I was beside myself about it and left it really late to tell them, I told them at 23 weeks in the end.
I had all the same thoughts - that they would find a reason to get rid of me and as it happens they were going through redundancy processes at the time. I was not put up for redundancy and they took the news really well, everyone is just happy for me and nobody has batted an eyelid at my length of service. In fact, I shared how I’d been feeling with the HR lady and she said she’d been in the exact same position before which helped as I felt like the only one in the world!

Good luck, I’m sure it will all be absolutely fine 😊

I really think you are over worrying. It’s very common, you can’t plan these things. And you shouldn’t use annual leave for medical appointments related to pregnancy-when you speak to HR id ask if you can cancel the leave you took. I alway think they’re nervous of redundancy when you’re pregnant as you could claim discrimination