Pregnant on zero contract hours.

[MrsBryan]

Are my work allowed to ask me if I am pregnant?

I am going to ttc in April and don't foresee any problems with that side of things but I have been looking at my rights as a zero contract employee and they seem to be completely none existent with regards to maternity leave.

It looks like the best thing I can do is wait until I am 25 weeks before telling them I am pregnant.

Can anyone advise me on this? It's a minefield out there!!

I have been more than surprised at the advice I have got here, So aghast in fact that I didnt respond to Flowery actually answering my question which I have now thanked her for.

It is really important when giving advice that you are not giving bad advice, which I am afraid I have been given here. I am sure there are plenty more people on this forum who have been screwed with regards to maternity pay on zero contract hours. The best thing we can do is not tell them. The internet is littered with stories, I have heard at least 2 since making this thread. So important to give good sound advice or not give advice at all.

Do carry on. You are starting to amuse me.

I think that is probably because you are reading things that aren't there, where have I once mentioned changing jobs?

Hi op,I'm not gonna even dare to give you any advice!!
I'm interested in how you think you are going to conceal a pregnancy until 25 weeks,serious question.

Not all people show early/or much at all.

I could have concealed both of my pregnancies way beyond 25 weeks.

Mrsbryan - flowery was advising you of your rights in law. Her advice is correct. She wasn't actually telling you what to do.

Maybe you do have unscrupulous employers and you'd rather just not tell them than challenge them IF they don't abide by the rules - up to you. It doesn't make the points raised on here untrue or false information.

Ok,but most pregnancies are obvious at that stage.
So op if you are visibly pregnant before 25 weeks what is your plan?

I've been pregnant twice before, I wont show much at all by 20 weeks. By 25 maybe a little bit but I am thinking I can avoid the office for a couple of weeks at the end and perhaps take a weeks holiday before that.

I honestly don't think challenging them would make a blind bit of difference, they have been known to outright lie to clients, let alone members of staff and they are frequently behaving in less-than professional ways. Frankly given their track record I wouldn't be surprised if they cut my hours right down with no idea of the law or how it could affect them. It is impossible to have a conversation with them without them butting in, finishing sentences for you and coming up with any excuse under the sun to make them come out smelling of roses.

So what happens why you are puking your guts up or having other symptoms of pregnancy?

Do you intend to just work through it no matter how much it may be to the detriment of your health (and your baby's)? Are you oblivious to the fact that just because you haven't had problems before or you haven't shown before, that you might not be so lucky this time?

Or are you just so intent to ignore what everyone else says just because you know best anyway?

Ffs,where on earth do you work?!!
(I'm not really expecting you to tell me)

I'm sorry Red, I am still waiting for you to point out where I said I was moving jobs? I am not convinced you are even posting on the right thread until you can point out that little detail to me.

South, I like many others work for a zero-contract hours company run by cowboys because it is the only work I can get. Its rubbish pay, less than I would get in tesco but I prefer it as a job and that means a lot when you are working lots of hours.

"Once again it is my decision to continue doing a physical job while pregnant rather than loosing my maternity pay"

Therefore suggesting your were at least considering changing jobs.

Want to carry on?

So your CHOICE to work for a cowboy yet you still moan about it, and your 'lack of rights' which you DO have.

Selfish. And Arrogant.

Red that quote suggests nothing about me leaving.

It was in the context of not telling my employer despite doing a physical job. I said nothing at all about planning to leave - why would I have written this thread if I was planning to leave?

Why do you even care anyway? You clearly have no interest in helping me with anything so why not have a cup of tea, pop onto another thread and forget about it.

Working my fingers to the bone does not make me selfish and arrogant, it makes me a hard working mother who supports her children.

Ok,that wasn't meant to be as abrupt as it looked written down!
It's just pregnancy wasn't even an issue for me at work,I never had to consider concealing my pregnancy and would be horrified if any of my employees had to even consider that.I'm lucky,my employer is fantastic.

"It is really important when giving advice that you are not giving bad advice, which I am afraid I have been given here."

Where? What "bad advice" have you been given? What has anyone told you that is incorrect?

It is selfish and arrogant if you don't consider the possibility of health implications despite advice and reassurances that you are protected.

You choose to do a certain job which isn't paid as well as other options (and might offer you more security), its a physical job - yet to choose to ignore the possibility that you might have health and safety issues due to the pregnancy, and you are choosing not to tell your employer of this and you are whining that you have no rights when you do.

Don't be the martyr. You aren't.

Do you what is best for your family hon.
Can ACAS give you good advice??

Thanks for the advice and I have just spoken to ACAS, they confirmed that more and more people in my position are finding their working hours reduced to nothing in the qualifying weeks. Disgraceful isn't it.

I will definitely be concealing my pregnancy. They advised me to look at the CAB website which I am just about to do.

This is a copy and paste from the CAB website

Evidence from the Citizens Advice service shows:

workers can be "dismissed" with little or no due process.
Employers rarely dismiss a zero hours worker - they are simply told there is no work for the time being. This leaves workers unsure of their position, and whether they should or can claim benefits. Although it is possible they may be able to claim unfair dismissal or redundancy pay, the fact that they believe they may get further work can mean they do not seek advice for several weeks at which point it may be too late to try to make a claim.

Workers are susceptible to abuse of their basic rights e.g.. no holiday pay.
Confusion about holiday rights for casual workers is not surprising given that there are no clear rules for determining entitlement for casual workers.

Some employers offer zero hours contract as the only option to existing staff who request more flexibility in hours because of care commitments or who want to continue working beyond a retirement date
Pregnant workers may have their hours reduced
Workers are liable to having their hours reduced to zero if they take time off sick

Telling me to inform my employer I was pregnant and contest them reducing my hours as 'unlawful' was terrible advice.

Doesn't work that way with zero hour contracts.

Who told you to do that? Genuinely can't see where anyone told you to do that.

Speaking for myself, I said "I would be concerned about waiting too long if the nature of your job means you should be notifying them for your health and safety". I didn't tell you to inform your employer you were pregnant and as no one has reduced your hours, no one has told you to contest it.

Seriously, am I looking at the same thread as you OP?