I'm starting a new FTC (maternity cover) contract tomorrow - I'm very excited about the job, it's interesting at an amazing business and it'll be great experience for me.
Obviously I haven't started there yet but if all went well then I'd really hope they would keep me on as a perm employee. They've told me this is the first contract role they've ever hired (they're about 150 people) and would consider me as much a part of the team as anyone else.
At the same time, my DS (only) has just turned 3 and we want a second baby with a 4ish year age gap. Not trying currently but want to be soon. New company offers enhanced maternity leave (12 weeks full pay) which I am eligible for.
1 - would it be very bad taste for me to get pregnant, say, immediately? And then go on mat leave ~9m into the contract. Appreciate it relies on variables but equally I don't want to hold off until the perfect time if it ends up taking us a while to conceive.
2 - what are the odds of getting kept on permanently after a maternity cover role, once the person on mat leave returns? Is this typical? They're a very fast growing financial services company and I'm experienced - management level.
3 - if I were to get pregnant and go on leave around the end of the contract (my ideal scenario), would that get in the way of my chances of being offered a perm role?
Only took this contract after being made redundant and doing a bit of freelancing, so thank you for the help even if these are stupid questions!
Financially and career-wise I would absolutely love this to be the company for me longer-term, but don't want to put family growing on hold.