Changing jobs while pregnant

[argento]

I'm TTC at the moment, but my current job is not really compatible with pregnancy/ML and I wouldn't be able to return to it once I have the baby. Ideally I would like to change jobs at around 3 or 4 months pg.

My questions are, am I under any obligation to disclose I'm pregnant when applying for jobs? Would I qualify for smp? And would I have any right to return to the job after ML if I'd only been in it for 4 or 5 months beforehand?

You don't need to tell prospective employers when you are applying, no.

You wouldn't be eligible for SMP if you move during your pregnancy, you need to be continuously employed by the same employer for 26 weeks by the 15th week before your due date, which basically means you can't get pregnant until a couple of weeks after you've started a new job to get SMP.

You get the right to a year maternity leave from day one even if you are already pregnant, including the right to return to the same job after 6 months leave and a similar job if you return later than that.

Worth bearing in mind that if you leave your current employer after you are 25 weeks pregnant, you will still get SMP from them, even after your employment has ended. So if you get pregnant soon, stay working for your employer until at least 25 weeks pregnant, you will then be entitled to SMP for 39 weeks and can worry about a new job afterwards.

Read here all about maternity rights.

The only problem with waiting til 25 weeks is that if I look pregnant it will make it harder to find a new job.

Even if not entitled to smp, I'd still be entitled to maternity allowance - is that right? Which is basically the same thing except for the first 6 weeks.

I think Flowery was suggesting that you looked for another job after you'd had the baby. It's another option to consider if you wouldn't want to go back, stay until your leave, take the SMP and then find a new job afterwards...

Ah, I see. That's definitely a possibility too, but I think I'm going to need/want to leave my current job by 4 months, so it's a case of whether I can afford not to be earning for a couple of months before maternity allowance kicks in.