Will I be able to get another job if I am already pregnant?

[Sunshineonarainyday1234]

It looks like I'm being made redundant and we had plans to start trying for another child shortly (it may already be too late to change these plans!). Based on the timelines they've given me at work, I might well be pregnant when I'm looking for a new job. Does anyone have any experience of this or can anyone offer any advice? I assume I don't need to tell a potential employer that i might be pregnant? If I was given the job when should I tell them? Will I qualify for maternity pay at my new employer? If I'm visibly pregnant at the interview will people discrimiate against me? I know their not legally allowed to but it would be impossible to prove that surely. So what are my chances of getting a new job if I can't hide the baby bump? Help!

you qualify for maternity pay if you start work before 5 weeks pregnant (i was 5 weeks the day i accepted the job so didn't even know and didn't qualify).

I can not imagine you would get any job if you were visibly pregnant, and unless every other candidate was hopeless would be very difficult to prove.

It looks like I'm being made redundant
Put "at risk" or have they announced compulsory redundancies? Fight it tooth and nail.

We had plans to start trying for another child shortly (it may already be too late to change these plans!)
If you can't afford to survive on SMP or MA then you may need to postpone. You will certainly need to save every penny of redundancy pay if you are already pregnant and get a new job asap.

I might well be pregnant when I'm looking for a new job. Does anyone have any experience of this or can anyone offer any advice? I assume I don't need to tell a potential employer that i might be pregnant?
No - you don't need to say a word [you might lose the baby for one] but you do need to comply with statutory notification [15 weeks before EWC I think] in the event that your pregnancy is not obvious.

If I was given the job when should I tell them?
When you are confident that the pregnancy has taken and you've had your 12 week scan. Not before then unless there are medical issues.

Will I qualify for maternity pay at my new employer?
You will qualify for MA [you need to claim for this yourself and do all the paperwork - value is the same as SMP] provided you have been recently employed. You may not claim for statutory maternity pay [where they process it all for you] if you haven't been there long enough. You are unlikely to qualify for their enhanced pay if any depending on the firm and when their policies allow you to qualify.

If I'm visibly pregnant at the interview will people discriminate against me? I know they're not legally allowed to but it would be impossible to prove that surely. So what are my chances of getting a new job if I can't hide the baby bump? Help!
Slim on all counts unless you are an exceptional candidate imo.

I've turned up to a new job 7 weeks pregnant having gotten pregnant on gardening leave. The new company were understandably a bit crestfallen but tried very hard to hide it. If I'd been a week or two less pregnant I would have qualified for their enhanced pay which would have been a bit of a slap in the face for them so as it was my maternity cover was cost neutral. I went back to work after 12 weeks mat leave [in the UK] which softened the blow somewhat for them. I don't recommend it though.

I didn't qualify for Ma either as i had taken too long to find the job, so had forgotten about that.

thanks so much everyone. to answer some of the questions. I'm not just at risk my whole team has moved across the country so redundancy is happening for definite unless i move house (not possible). However, they are a kind company and are giving me some options about when I take it. The earliest I could leave is March 2016 the latest is Sept 2016 (that includes my garden leave). Do you think temporary work would be an option while pregnant? Theres a lot of contracting in my industry. My Mat leave wouldnt cost them anything as contractors arent eligible for anything but I wonder if people would still discriminate. Would they worry I'd be off sick due to the pregnancy or something?

If you were already pg when you started a new job you wouldn't get Smp from your new employer but you may qualify for maternity allowance. As a contractor you'd effectively be self employed.

I interviewed at 30 weeks pregnant and got the post, but I did go back much sooner than planned (the role was part time). My old company were liable to pay my SMP as I worked there during my qualifying period and I got it as one lump sum when I left. Obviously I was ineligible for any enhanced package.

Gosh it must have been stressful telling a new employer you were pregnant already. I dont think I'd have the guts (might have to grow some balls tho given the current situation!)

What if I worked until Sept 2016 where I am now. If I got pregnant soon this could work quite well for us. I would get stat mat leave. I think the redundancy pay out plus stat mat leave would work ok for us. But if it takes time to fall pregnant I could be unemployed for a while after the redundancy. Bit of a gamble!

VeryPunny - Wow they must have been really impressed with you! Its good to know that there are employers out there who dont discriminate. Were you honest with them before the interview? Did they discuss mat leave with you? Were they just thinking long term that they wanted you in the company?

i just slid my scan photo across the table, the hr lady did the sums and realised the dates.

Start saving hard so you have choices would be my advice.

I managed to swing redundancy while interviewing for a new job and went straight from gardening leave on one job to the other with no break on my CV. Would have been perfect apart from the pregnancy, not that I regret that even a tiny bit.

A lot will depend on you as an individual, the actual job you do and the messages you send and your willingness to discuss [or not] your intentions around returning and plans thereafter. Showing up pregnant, taking your full years entitlement off and going incommunicado while all within your rights, will send a message to your employer unless they are so large that you are just another payroll number.

Thanks - I said in my covering letter that I was pregnant and also said I would be happy to take a short maternity leave as I realised they would be waiting a good few months longer to fill the post. I do have quite a niche skillset and my employer is pretty progressive which helps. A bit of give and take from everyone and it all worked out!