Page 2 | Just about to go on Mat leave and applied for a new job…

EchoAlpha · 2023-02-02T23:46:07+00:00

Background: Think finance, law, compliance etc. I have been looking for a new role for various reasons - high pressure environment, toxic culture etc. I have been looking for a new job for a while now (circa 18 months) but it HAS to be the right role. I recently found something that suits me in terms of the company, role and £££ and thought it was too good an opportunity to pass by without applying. The tricky part is that I’m due to go on Mat leave very soon. I didn’t tell the recruiter who put me forward and have now been asked to come for a second interview with the hiring managers (first interview was with general HR/business development team). What do I tell them?! It’s my first Mat leave but I’m also very career driven, so happy to propose something like I will only take 6 months of Mat leave (of course it has to be with my current employer, so I get all the perks re pay etc.). Has anyone ever had to deal with this? Should I just forget the job and hope something similar comes up in 9 months? I can’t bare the idea going back to my old employer but will do, if I have to. Why does being a woman have to be so complicated?!

Dammitthisisshit · 03/02/2023 14:37

@Hoppinggreen You said “I had the nursery booked for when DD was 6 months old etc but I ended up never going back.
I am not saying you would do the same but you can’t guarantee that.
I still think you should go for it and I genuinely wish you luck but if I were your prospective employer I wouldn’t offer you the job, it’s too risky”

ie you wouldn’t offer the job as you’d be worried about her backing out. That is discrimination.

Not offering the job because you can’t wait 6 months is not discriminatory (assuming all candidates are treated the same). That’s fine. But not offering a pregnant woman a job because you think they will be unreliable and back out, purely on the grounds that they are pregnant, is discrimination. If there is something more definite to suggest they might be unreliable (eg lots of jobs left after 3-6 months) then that’s fine to base the decision on, again assuming you judge all candidates on the same criteria. But to base it on someone being pregnant? Discrimination. (Though I bet loads of companies do do this, knowingly or unconsciously).

AuroraForever · 03/02/2023 14:50

Go for it! But why 6 months? Can you start the new job sooner? I ask as I started a new job 7 days after baby #3. Could you give notice to current employer at the same time as taking maternity leave or as soon as you’ve been offered it then just start the new one sooner (if you get the job that is!)

Hoppinggreen · 03/02/2023 14:55

Dammitthisisshit · 03/02/2023 14:37

@Hoppinggreen You said “I had the nursery booked for when DD was 6 months old etc but I ended up never going back.
I am not saying you would do the same but you can’t guarantee that.
I still think you should go for it and I genuinely wish you luck but if I were your prospective employer I wouldn’t offer you the job, it’s too risky”

ie you wouldn’t offer the job as you’d be worried about her backing out. That is discrimination.

Not offering the job because you can’t wait 6 months is not discriminatory (assuming all candidates are treated the same). That’s fine. But not offering a pregnant woman a job because you think they will be unreliable and back out, purely on the grounds that they are pregnant, is discrimination. If there is something more definite to suggest they might be unreliable (eg lots of jobs left after 3-6 months) then that’s fine to base the decision on, again assuming you judge all candidates on the same criteria. But to base it on someone being pregnant? Discrimination. (Though I bet loads of companies do do this, knowingly or unconsciously).

I wouldn’t employ anyone I had to wait 6 months for, for whatever reason.
That was a separate point to the one I made about OP possibly changing her plans post birth.
Apologies to OP if it seemed her pregnancy specifically would be the issue

OdeToBarney · 03/02/2023 15:31

AuroraForever · 03/02/2023 14:50

Go for it! But why 6 months? Can you start the new job sooner? I ask as I started a new job 7 days after baby #3. Could you give notice to current employer at the same time as taking maternity leave or as soon as you’ve been offered it then just start the new one sooner (if you get the job that is!)

Are you in the UK? If so, that's illegal.

OP I work in one of the fields you mentioned. I don't think there's anything wrong in principle with what you're suggesting, but I wouldn't have felt comfortable doing it unless I specifically knew there was slack in the recruitment timeline. Otherwise I think you have to assume they are recruiting to fill a particular need now. I'm currently on mat leave with baby no 1 and interviewing for a new role. I would say that it is very difficult to know how you'll feel once baby is here and I'm doing things differently to how I thought I'd do them when I was pregnant. You may also (but hopefully not) have DC like mine who has a long list of (mostly non-major but still difficult) medical issues that require a lot of managing.

AuroraForever · 03/02/2023 16:42

@OdeToBarney Yes, I’m in the UK. Which bit is illegal?!

Princessglittery · 03/02/2023 17:30

AuroraForever · 03/02/2023 16:42

@OdeToBarney Yes, I’m in the UK. Which bit is illegal?!

@OdeToBarney you are not legally allowed to work in the 2 weeks following the birth.

Princessglittery · 03/02/2023 17:45

Princessglittery · 03/02/2023 17:30

@OdeToBarney you are not legally allowed to work in the 2 weeks following the birth.

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@AuroraForever sorry should have copied you in.

You are not allowed to work in the 2 weeks after giving birth.

AuroraForever · 03/02/2023 18:35

@Princessglittery Guidance says ‘you must take 2 weeks leave from work’ but doesn’t say it’s illegal if you don’t. I started a new one 7 days after having my baby and no one came knocking on my door, my old employers door, my new employers door! For me, the new job paid way way more than my old one and the old company was closing down anyway so I wouldn’t have had a job to go back to. In any case, I think the OP says she has to give 3 months notice (can’t scroll up to check) so she can give that pretty much as soon as she goes on maternity and start the new job when the notice ends rather than waiting 6 months surely?

Princessglittery · 03/02/2023 19:12

@AuroraForever Employment Rights Act 1996 www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1996/18/section/72

section 72 states: 1)An employer shall not permit an employee who satisfies prescribed conditions to work during a compulsory maternity leave period.

The compulsory maternity leave period is not less than 2 weeks.

Your employer broke the law allowing you to work.

The notice period has nothing to do with this. The OP can give notice when ever she wants based on when she wants her last day of employment to be.. What she cannot do is work during the 2 week period.

AuroraForever · 03/02/2023 19:24

@Princessglittery thank you but that’s what I/we did and we all lived happily ever after! I wasn’t suggesting the OP work during the two week period, only asking why 6 months and asking could she not start sooner and gave my situation as an example.

Princessglittery · 03/02/2023 19:38

You have your example suggesting the OP could start a new job 7 days after giving birth. A pp told you your situation was illegal, you asked why so I explained why.

I know in your circumstance it was fine and you did it voluntarily but the law is there to prevent women being made to return to work within 2 weeks of giving birth.