Applying for a permanent job when 20 weeks pregnant

[EllaNB]

Hello everyone, I am wondering if anyone would be able to provide advice regarding me applying for work when pregnant as I do not currently know where I stand and how I should inform possible future employers of my pregnancy.

A little back ground, I have always been in full time work but was made redundant in January and my last employment in early April and working my notice period.

I am now 20 weeks pregnant, my partner works and we are just getting buy however I have been requested to apply for a job by an employer who has seen my CV online. The job is more money than my last role, provides a training opportunity / continued development and something I am really interested in. The employer has requested that I apply for the role but they do not know that I am pregnant.

I don't want to deceive them and want to be honest but I am not sure how I go about sharing this news? Should I inform them at the interview, beforehand or afterwards?

Is it likely that they will not want to employ me now knowing that I will have to take maternity leave soon? I would only take a maximum of six months mat leave but I feel that this may still be to much.

Has anyone else been in a similar situation? Or are there any employers are people who work in HR who can advise the best way to go about this is?

Thanks

You need to tell the employer that you're pregnant, but luckily, you've been sourced through the direct employer and not an agency. They can't discriminate against you because you're pregnant. The only thing to bare in mind is that you're 20 weeks pregnant, and therefore will unlikely meet the criteria for any sort of maternity pay scheme they have. You will be able to apply for SMP/Maternity Allowance, though.

I presume this organisation is private as opposed to charity or public? From my experience, the private organisations are a bit more tricky when it comes to how they follow employment law, but you should be ok. I would absolutely go for it.

Thank you Phillis,

I am aware that I won't be entitled to mat pay from the employer.

I know that they cannot discriminate but I guess they could say that I wasn't suitable for the job for other reasons when actually me being pregnant was the deal breaker.

It's not a private role it's within public services so they should follow employment law.

Is it best to share the information at the end of the interview? Or call the manager and let them know before the interview?

From my experience in public services, they would simply choose the employee that scored the highest in the interview/assessment. They would be too afraid of the financial impact and the possibility of bad press if they discriminated against you because of your pregnancy. Also, they tend to be more moral than a private sector organisation. I have worked for a private sector company that were going out of their way to fail a pregnant woman's probation period.

I would most definitely let them know beforehand. It's best to be as open and as honest from the beginning. If they try to talk you out of going ahead with the recruitment process, then be polite but adamant that you wish to continue with the process.

Thank you for your advice.
That is so horrid of the private employer treating that pregnant lady in that way.

So keeping an honest and transparent dialogue with potential employer is the best way to go from the offset?

I think I will call back tomorrow and say that after our discussion today I had done some further thinking and wanted to make sure they were aware that I was pregnant, what my intentions were and how committed I would be for the role ect.

No problem! Yeah, it was terrible. I kept trying to warn them about what they were doing, but a person higher up in HR was overruling me.

Being honest and transparent is absolutely the way to go. That all sounds great. Let me know how it goes, either by replying here or PMing me!