New job but want to get pregnant

[jungvinny]

Hi, I am a mother of 27 months old girl. I work at a bank and have been recently offered an opportunity to join a very exciting start up as a founding member. It is an opportunity I always dreamed of and I am really excited by it. The problem is my DH and I have been wanting to have a second baby. We have been trying for more than a year and so far no luck. I first thought I should maybe stay at my current boring job to get pregnant but I cannot just sit around wait for the baby number 2 to happen while I miss this career opportunity. I am 39 so clock is ticking too. Now my doctor gave me clomiphene to enhance our chances of second baby. What if I get pregnant as soon as I join this new role? As is a start up of 4 people it will be very difficult to give me a maternity leave or let alone a paid one. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

To be eligible for SMP then you can't be pregnant when you start a new job. Although you should be entitled to MA along with the usual leave period. Employers claim the cost back from the government.

I am just about to start maternity leave for a SME, which previously had 3 employees (myself included). However a few weeks ago one of the other people left and without me, it just leaves the owner of the company. I have felt quite racked with guilt but my employer has said that it has actually come at a good time as she can now focus on business development, rather than managing people. She's quite a practical person and when I told her she said she'd already factored all staff costs and different types of leave into her business planning. However this doesn't necessarily help you, especially if the startup is reliant on your role and they have not factored this in. It's actually not your problem though. As a business it's their job to think about these things and to factor it in.

Please also consider if it took you a couple of years to conceive. Should you put your career on hold for this time?

Personally I think you should jump at the opportunity. Put everything that you can into the role and when you go on maternity leave, be as organised as you can and do as much for them as you can. I've done a lot of business planning, a thorough handover and some of the work for this period. I know she was very grateful.

I am in a similar ish situation. I'm up for a promotion to be head of my department but want number 2. I felt guilty applying but then you can sit around and wait for number 2 to happen.

I am a firm believer that things have a way of working themselves out. Apply for the job the you want, ask the questions you want to ask. If you become a found member of a start up, you may not even want to take that long mat leave anyway. I only took 6 months. I said to myself if I got this promotion I will only take a max of three months mat leave. This is my choice and I am sure I will be judged for it by some family and friends. My attitude no matter what I do, people will judge me, I might as well do what I want.

Everyone and every circumstance is different. You have to weigh all of your pros and cons. You are the only person who holds the answer to this question!

If you’re going to join as a co-founder of a startup you need to understand that the co-founder agreement and shareholders
agreement you will have to sign (assuming the other founders know what they’re doing which they should do coming from a banking perspective) will negate any employment rights you have via what I assume you will have from a director service agreement.

No doubt lots of HR folk here* will try to tell you otherwise but the company should and will protect themselves from a co-founder leaving to have a baby.

Certainly you will lose all unvested equity but there should also be bad-leaver provisions that will make you appear as if you have never existed.

If there’s any external funding you can guarantee that these provisions will be in place.

Unless you can promise to give life and soul without any distractions to this startup for at least 5 years then don’t do it.

*I’m a serial entrepreneur and this isn’t my first rodeo. Protest all you want but it’s very easy to get people to sign away all of their rights, especially when they’re company directors.