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!!

Thanks The, it is difficult and I really hoped to speak to people familiar with the contracts on here who had been in the same boat as me.

"You may not think that by saying 'Oh but by law they have to keep your normal hours' is suggesting I tell them early, but that is exactly what it was doing and it was bad advice to give."

Er...ok. What an utterly bizarre interpretation. I didn't actually say that exactly, but I can reassure you that most people won't interpret similar statements that way so you don't need to worry about legions of people on zero hours contracts leaping to tell employers about their pregnancy if they otherwise wouldn't have done so.

Most people will take that statement literally, as simply notifying you that reducing your hours because of pregnancy would be unlawful. That's a fact. That's not advising you to do anything, that's making sure you have relevant information so can make the best decision for yourself as to what to do in your individual circumstances.

Of course you don't need to start a new thread. I was, yet again (I've no idea why), trying to be helpful, as you don't seem happy with the advice and information you've been given on this thread and have decided you want to hear experiences of people in similar positions rather than to know whether your work are allowed to do something.

I'm leaving this thread now as it's become ludicrous. Luckily, I'm confident that anyone reading it will have the intelligence to form a sensible view about the contents and the posters on it.

I think it is safe to say that whatever physical work MrsBryan carries out in the course of her work, it is not the ploughing and reaping of the seeds of tact and harmony

Im doing this right now. I have a very physical job, and no intention of telling my workplace. If I was you I wouldnt say.

You can sue for discrimination, but who can be bothered with that when if you dont tell them then there is no hassle. I totally get you op.

Here's some real life experience for you:

You can't afford to TTC. You should not be having a third child because your employment situation is not secure enough to allow you to support a third child.

HTH.

whatever namechange

Of course I can afford to TTC, everyone knows that loving is free.

"You can sue for discrimination, but who can be bothered with that when if you dont tell them then there is no hassle. I totally get you op."

If you don't tell them you forfeit all the protection that has been fought for, and won, for pregnant women.

No risk assessment and modification -who would risk the health of their baby to protect 6 weeks at 90% of their wages??

No right to antenatal appointments in work time -possibly essential if you have any complications.

Less protection should they discriminate against you - if you don't tell them you have to prove that they knew about the pregnancy if they discriminate against you. If you tell them, you've got that bit sewn up right from the start.

But, of course, you've decided you're going to have those uncomplicated, uneventful pregnancies which just sail along without putting a bump in your road.

I hope your plan doesn't backfire, because I couldn't imagine the guilt I'd feel if I concealed my pregnancy at work and then miscarried because of the unsuitable working conditions.

By the way, if the risk assessment shows that your work is too dangerous and can't be modified sufficiently, they have to sign you off for the whole pregnancy at full pay. I appreciate that you've got zero hours contracts, but I'm sure there would be a good case for establishing that for the last you always had 40 hours work per week and that apart from your pregnancy, there was no external influence that resulted in a drop in hours, so 40 hours should be taken as your normal working hours.

If you don't tell them, of course, then that protection is also gone.

Im doing it as Im on a temporary management contract and I dont want to lose my job as Im pregnant. I risk assess myself and do things to get round heavy lifting.Im not planning on going on any antenatal appointments during work time so Im not bothered about that.

For what its worth I didnt tell my job until I left at 25 weeks with dd1 as was agency work. I am very glad I didnt say as wanted the money.

If you tell them you are pregnant and they then reduce your hours they would be acting unlawfully, you could take them to tribunal (although I appreciate that you are understandably not keen on the idea in practical terms) and it would be relatively easy to demonstrate that your average hours per week had been systematically reduced over the qualifying period.

If you don't tell them you are pregnant but they guess or suspect (which you must think is a possibility given that you're wondering how you should answer if they ask you) and they then reduce your hours over the qualifying period because they think you're pregnant they would still be acting unlawfully but you'd find it almost impossible to prove it because you'd have to start by proving that they knew you were pregnant.

FWIW, first pregnancy I didn't show until around 22 weeks or so, second pregnancy around 16 weeks, third pregnancy I had to tell everyone at 10 weeks because it was bloody obvious. And my SIL who only looked slightly tubby on her due date first time round (several people in her office didn't realise she was pregnant until she went on ML) was obviously pregnant by 17-18 weeks second time round. So any strategy that tries to get round the "employers will reduce my hours if they know I'm pregnant" issue by relying on their not guessing you're pregnant is quite high-risk (though if you do decide to go for it I am told that the key is padding your bustline out so that your breasts continue to protrude more than your belly).

Love is free. Shoes and nursery fees and pencil cases and car seats and so on are NOT free. I am completely serious Op - and I know it sounds harsh - but your problem here is not what you should do about work. It's whether you can afford to get pregnant at this point. If you were already pg well that's a different story. But you're talking about planning another baby whilst you admit your family is dependant on your salary at present levels, that your employers are gits and that you strongly suspect they will try to screw you over. I think that's reckless.

The op can have a shorter maternity leave and get another job if she needs money. Its not a problem.

I will risk assess myself, I don't need my work to do it for me.

Those protections that women fought and died for have gone along with fixed contracts. We have no protection, heaps of people have come online and written about being shafted after announcing pregnancy. They have been seriously let down by everyone and they have been unable to 'prove' that their hours are reduced due to their pregnancy.

I have been pregnant 3 times, I am well aware of my own limitations and I don't need guilt trips from people saying I could miscarry. That is highly unlikely given my disposition trust me.

What is important that my children can still eat, my current children that is and I cannot and will not put the safety of a future unborn child over them.

We aren't dependant on my salary, we would be dependant on my husbands and tax credits if I wasn't working.

I see no reason to delay having children. Now while I am studying and working in a shit job is the perfect time to cash in on maternity leave. 90% for 6 weeks or no.

Then I will finish my studies and get a better job.

If you're NOT dependant on your salary then why does your existing children's need to eat come above the health risks to you and your baby? No, you can't risk assess yourself. A risk assessment is a processs by which you and your employer consider your situation and any altered capabilities or additional risks that result and agree actions to minimise those risks. All you can do yourself is decide what you're ok with. Not the same thing.

A large majority of people dont tell their employers until 12 weeks which is the most likely time for miscarriage, so how is what the op doing wrong?

It's not wrong, it's sad people clutching at straws for reaons unknown to me.

MrsBryan, while I have every sympathy with your situation, you came on asking for advice and are refusing to listen to it/telling people they are giving bad advice/asserting that you and your opinionj is the only right one.

With respect, why did you start the thread if you are counter-arguing with almost everything that is said to you?

It seems like you have made up your mind, but you know that given the nature of your work, you absolutely do need to be risk assessed, or are you planning on having your workmate take up the slack? What if there is an accident with the moving equipment you will need to do your physical job? say for example you are in pain due to all those softening ligaments and you take your eye off the ball and an accident happens? you, or a colleague, or other person gets badly hurt? (It can happen, I have seen it myself) and you haven't told work you are pregnant? You will have absolutely no legal recourse whatsoever if that were to happen and you could, in the worst case scenario, be prosecuted yourself. It's just not worth the risk imvho. speaking as someone in what I assume is a a similar job role.

But, it's ultimately your call. I just hope that no-one else falls foul of what is ultimately a pretty irresponsible thing to do.

The only people I have said have given me bad advice have been those suggesting the law will protect me if I tell my work I am pregnant. Other than that I have learnt a lot and shared a lot with everyone on this thread. I think I have disagreed with two people. That's it.

People work with bad backs all the time

A woman at my work came back from having a full hysterectomy a couple of weeks ago and was told to do 'light work and build up slowly' they gave her the most strenuous and hardcore run ever. Fortunately she was doubled Up with me and I helped her loads.

They would not change anything because I was pregnant . They just don't think like that.

Hi
Im meant to be starting a zero hour contract in a few weeks and have just found out i am pregnant . Does this mean i am not intitled to maternity pay? My manager is going to try and give me 16 hours a week as i am a single parent and have two children and would then be intitled to working tax but obviously can not guarantee work. Im just wondering if any one has been in this situation and what would you do if in my shoes would you not start the job and yry and gey a normal contrct job ? Thank you

If you are already pregnant then you won't be entitled to SMP from your employer no matter how many hours you are working. You may be eligible for Maternity Allowance from the government though.

All this fuss and there's isn't even a baby yet!

Simple- if you think you will be treated like crap and discriminated against don't get pregnant so that you can 'cash' in on your maternity.

If your not depending on your wage (although you previously said the 90% was essential) then just give up work and live on benefits.