2 perm job interviews. Tell them I’m five months pregnant or not?

[sellotape12]

I was dismissed right the end of my six month probation a few weeks ago. It’s a messy case of likely pregnancy discrimination but that aside, I’m also out of work and I’m due to give birth in April. A couple of lovely people from my network have got in touch saying that they have open permanent roles. So I’m going to have an initial chat with them, but should I tell them that I’m pregnant? I’ve been assuming that if I get any work it will have to be Freelance or supply until April but I would rather have permanent. In either case I will not qualify for statutory maternity pay, I know that. This is more about whether to admit it or not in a first chat? Think kind, clever good people whom I already know a little bit… It would be a reasonably mid to senior role (no management, no running a department)

After they offer you the job is the right time to have these discussions. If its a permanent job then it doesn't matter if/when you need to take mat leave and they shouldn't discriminate against you on that basis - however, I also just wouldn't give them that opportunity.

I've known people not say, and then their coworkers/bosses weren't happy when they found out. No, they couldn't do anything, but it did affect how they felt, so I guess it depends how you feel about this.
One of the ones I'm talking about was 6 months pregnant and genuinely didn't know (she's got PCOS and some other things, plus is tall, very slim and in a first pregnancy that can happen, even though many of us look definitely pregnant by 4 months!), but no one believed her.

Absolutely not. If they offer you the job, then tell them.

I was almost 5 months pregnant when I interviewed for my current job. I didn't tell them until I had been offered the job (I was not at all obviously pregnant, particularly as I wore a loose dress for the interview). Their response was to say congratulations, it will be lovely to have another baby in the department.

You could argue that by telling them you are putting them in an awkward position as they might be accused of discrimination if they don't offer you the job.

Females are paid less because they factor in the cost of maternity leave. Front loading that to the start of employment, I don’t think there’s a cat in hell’s chance of you getting the job if you announce that in the interview unless they’re very, very good employers, and I think if you announce it after you get the role, a lot of employers would be pissed off.

I would tell them especially if they are a small business. I know that legally you don't have to but I think it would be very stressful for you to begin a job when you haven't told them. Honesty is always the best policy. If they are a good employer then they won't care.

It's still protected. Them's the rules.

This 100%

Of course you dont tell them!

I thought we were discussing morality, not legality.

You tell them when you get an offer but before signing, unless you have to do an in-person interview and it’s blatantly obvious at first glance. I think it’s a good approach to state that you didn’t mention it at first interview because you didn’t want to put them in an awkward situation with potential discrimination etc.

Who are we acting positively towards, though? Is it more moral to act positively towards the employer, or towards the OP and her baby?
Given the OP might suffer a detriment if she discloses (they might decide not to hire her, but the opposite situation is they might hire her anyway) and the employer might suffer a detriment if she doesn't (they might get less work out of her, but actually they might not because parent and in particular mums are more likely to stay in the same job than young, single men) then the OP would be perfectly justified in keeping it to herself until she has an offer.

This isn't a cut and dried situation, and it isn't always wrong to withhold information, unless you are the kind of person who always tells their friends their new expensive hairstyle looks awful.

So they can make a contingency plan for when shes off.

Come on now. Its not that deep..

I personally wouldn’t tbh. I interviewed for a role while pregnant but i was only 12 weeks and it was internal. I didn’t tell them until after i accepted the offer.

I agree that you risk discrimination tbh. Although protected, i would think many employers would ‘find’ any reason to hire someone else.

Well they can do that anytime, they'll have long enough.

They can make that after the offer stage. No point making plans until the OP has accepted the job.

Any of their female employees could announce they’re pregnant at any time, in some ways it’s easier if you’re a new starter.

But their existing employees would have presumably added some value to the organisation already. Walking in off the street saying "Cheers! And oh btw, pay for me to have a year off, see you in 2027," is not admirable. It might be legal but it's not exactly going to pave the way for respect & good relations with her peers and management. Most people will see it as taking the piss, regardless of the law.

No one is paying her to have a year off. The company won't pay any maternity pay at all.

But if they have to pay someone to cover for her, why not just hire that person in the first place? They'll be back to square one in a year instead of building on the cover person's experience in the role.

Poor old employer. Let me find my tiny violin.

It’s not reasonable to expect an employer to hire someone who is heavily pregnant and who is of 0 value to the company for at least a year.

If they wanted to hire someone in a year’s time they wouldn’t be recruiting now.

5 months isn't heavily pregnant.

But somebody with a disability isn’t going to disappear on leave for 9-12 months shortly after starting, requiring a replacement to be sought.

A disabled person will be continuing to do the job with adjustments.

So yes, answers will vary.

Also, if it was for a temporary role, I think the answers would be saying not to tell.

If she is five months now, before any interviews have taken place, it's unlikely she would be onboarded for another 4-6 weeks even if everything goes smoothly.

Still not heavily pregnant though is it. They'll get a few months to see what shes capable of and have the time to arrange cover.

Id be so disappointed in my time to hire if it took 4-6 weeks to recruit someone immediately available. Embarrassed really. Assuming its not a role needing full background checks prior to starting.