Was thinking about finding a part time job but have just found out I'm pregnant

[shoobaloo]

I'm about 7 weeks preg. Have one DS 18mths and was thinking about trying to find PT work to fund his nursery. Would I have to tell an employer I was pregnant? Would I be entitled to maternity pay when I left? Would you even bother going back to work before the baby was born?

I would not tell the employer until after the job is offered - you don't have to declare it. If you have 26 weeks in service (i.e. 6 months) by the time you go on maternity leave, your employer should pay your SMP.

I was 5 months pregnant when I went for a job at a posh estate agents for sunday mornings - got offered the job (were they blind!) and then told them I was pg but that I anticipated having just the 2 sundays off which I would have acrued as holiday. They said fine - verbally and then sent me a letter saying we offered you a job - you told us you were pregnant and so for that reason although we said it was fine on the phone its not so we retract our offer - so, I took them to tribunal for sex discrimination, won, got more money than I would have earnt up to that point and they learnt an important lesson.

I am from an HR background to so it didn't cost me anything to take them as i did it all myself - there should be a thread on here somewhere about it

No you dont' have to tell them during the application process.

You may be sensible to tell them soon after you start so they can do a risk assessment in case any duties may harm you or the baby. Otherwise you have to inform them in writing no later than the end of the 15th week before you are due.

You will come under the new provisions from April this year which gives you the entitlement to 52 weeks off as maternity leave.

You won't qualify for statutory maternity pay as you won't have been employed by the same employer without a break for at least 26 weeks into the 15th week before the week your baby is due. You might qualify for maternity allowance but I don't know anything about that.

I wouldn't tell an employer at this stage (and bear in mind I interviewed at 28 weeks pregnant - not much chance of hiding it then!). You can legitimately not know yet, after all (and congrats, btw).

I qualified for MA, it was 104 a week at that stage. As chocolatekimmy says, you won't qualify for SMP - as I understand it, you basically have to have been employed for one week longer than you are pregnant.