Anyone ever been offered a job whilst heavily pregnant

[flymo79]

Hi - am considering applying for jobs put part of me feels there is no point as I am 7 months pregnant. Can anyone advise? Current work situation just got bad, I can't really expand but I am trying to find a way out and usually for me that means applying for other jobs. I am guttted as I had thought this job was secure.

Would you not be best starting maternity leave early if you are desperate to leave ASAP, then looking for new jobs to go to once your maternity leave is over?

Yes, I have.
I was 5 months pregnant at the time, but the job was due to start just about bang on my due date.
However, this was in the days when we had 3 months maternity leave, so the start of the job was deferred for 3 months, as they had (I think) already made up my mind I was clearly the best candidate for the job before I told them I was pregnant (I think they just thought I was a larger lady!). It was a specific role for which I had all the right experiences, qualifications and skills. Had it been a role that were easier to fill then I suspect it would have been offered to another candidate, but I put forward the point that this was not a 'job' to just be done by someone turning up each day, but was a long term job that needed me , and it would make a lot of sense for them to wait 3 extra months to get the best person rather than insisting on that start date and getting a lesser person .
I would agree with flowery's advice though if it is just a case of looking generally for a job that you might like, rather than a specific one.

thanks Flowery - every penny counts at the moment so feel like I can't leave a day earlier than planned

Well can't you hang on until planned date then? Even if you find a job starting that quickly, if you leave now you won't get SMP (although you would probably get Maternity Allowance, which is only less for the first 6 weeks) and would have no job security. If you stay where you are until maternity leave starts, you will get SMP and continue to accrue holiday while you remain employed, and can take your time to look for the right job, which you will also (realistically) be far more likely to actually get than you would walking into an interview 7 months pregnant.

Thanks - I'm less thinking should I stay or should I go, I'm thinking whether anyone else would have me!! and when is the best time to start looking / applying. Obviously I would like to receive mat pay, but if I start to get the impression I'm being forced out, I'd like to have done some preliminary applying etc. I just feel there is zero chance of being offered a job whilst I am away with a tiny baby.

I'm not suggesting you stay.

The best time to start looking is while you are off on maternity leave. You are far more employable as a mother committed to coming back to work having got your maternity and pregnancy out of the way than you are as a heavily pregnant woman about to disappear off for up to a year and with all sorts of rights and obligations attached to that.

It doesn't matter if you start feeling forced out if you are on maternity leave and not planning to come back anyway. You get SMP for 39 weeks regardless of whether you're still employed or not.

Sorry, I'm struggling to see any advantage in spending time and effort applying for jobs at this stage in your pregnancy. Unless your dream job that never comes up is suddenly available, you are far better off being able to come fresh into a new role after maternity leave.

thanks flowery - that is reassuring, I am in a flap today because ordinarily I would be trying to make plans at any sign of trouble and I feel I can't. But this helps.