Looking for advice re Pregnancy and new job?

Hi there. I am currently 12 weeks pregnant but haven't had the scan yet so i haven't told anyone at work.

Anyway i was approached yesterday by a manager asking was i interested in a new internal position here and was basically told the job was mine if i wanted it. It would have to be advertised internally so anyone can apply for it. I am interested in this job but am afraid that when i tell them i'm pregnant they may change their mind about giving it to me and just tell me that they found someone more suitable.

I need to go back and talk to him tomorrow to let him know i'm interested so i plan on telling him then. Just wondering really if you have any advice for me. If there are any employers out there how would you deal with this.

I will be going on mat leave in December all going well so would probably only be in the job for about 5 months max before then.

thanks

Congratulations!

You are under no obligation to tell them anything at this point.

You might be better to secure the new role, if that is what you want, before telling them anything.

Employment law (check nera.ie or equality.ie) protects the rights of pregnant women. However there is a danger that the employer will not respect that, and it may be hard to prove. The last thing you need is the stress of a dispute. If the offer has already been made and / or accepted its harder for them to back out.

You should not be discriminated against for this so my advice is to protect your interests and don't worry about any impact on the employers.

I'm presuming you have nothing in writing therefore if your employer wanted to and was that way inclined, he could always say there was a minunderstanding. Likewise if the role has to be formally advertised internally and he says you will get it, it coupld occur as part of that process that a more suitable candidate becomes available, whether it is genuine or not

A lot could depend on your plans after the baby(congrats by the way) and if you plan on returning to work. If you don't, why would you stress yourself out with a new job.

This is an internal move, so it's different than moving to a new company altogether. I mean that you will be taking mat leave anyway, whichever position within the company you are in.

it's early days in you pregnancy, so you are not expected to tell anyone yet. Go for the job. Not going for it (assuming you want it) gives the message that you are somehow less capable due to the fact that you are pregnant.

In your position, I would go for the job and not mention the pregnancy and see how things pan out. You are under no obligation to inform your employer at this stage and your rights are protected. It is also very early in your pregnancy anyway.

Just out of interest, is a women legally obliged to tell employer she is pregnant? or could she just wait until it was obvious?

I agree with one of the previous posters - go for it. Someone obviously feels you are capable for the job and pregnancy is a side issue at this moment. You might be pleasantly surprised at how your news is eventually received too.
A friend of mine was in a similar position 2 years ago and after having successful interviews for a new role, she had a chat with her prospective new manager to tell all. At that stage she was wanted on board anyway on merit and ability and there was no issue about the pregnancy. She worked the same as always up to her mat leave - made her mark in the new role - and came back as planned and continued in her job - she was sorely missed!
And no need or obligation to tell anyone until you're good and ready - as far as I'm aware the relevant legislation only obliges you to inform your employer in writing a number of weeks before the birth due to the leave taking.
I'm heading for 14 weeks myself and no one knows in work yet. I'll only have to tell so I can take the allowed time off to attend ante natal appointments - so far though there has been no need, maybe in a few weeks.

Thanks everyone for your advice and quick responses!! I do plan on going back to work after the pregnancy (no choice financially!) and i would give my job the all in the meantime. Unfortunately though i won't be able to keep it quiet for much longer as i'm already showing and this is a semi state where things take quite a while to process!!! So it looks like i have no choice but to tell him. My other thought was to mention it to HR before i talk to him - maybe they could protect me??

I would repeat the advice to tell him later, and not while you are negotiating a new position. A couple of weeks will not make much difference, and most people are less observant than you think.

If a little voice inside your head is telling you that there is a danger of him withdrawing the offer due to your pregnancy, listen to it.

And yes, when you do tell, write a note to HR - they are the ones that need to be informed.

DavyJones said:

Just out of interest, is a women legally obliged to tell employer she is pregnant?

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If she wants to take maternity leave - yes:

Notice: You must give your employer at least 4 weeks' written notice of your intention to take maternity leave and you must also provide your employer with a medical certificate confirming the pregnancy. If you intend to take the additional 16 weeks’ maternity leave you must provide your employer with at least 4 weeks' written notice. Both these notices can be given at the same time.


Early birth: If your baby is born more than 4 weeks before your due date, you will have fulfilled the notice requirements if you give your employer written notice within 14 days of the birth.

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You DO NOT have to tell them at this stage (not for at least another 20 weeks or more, depending on when you want to take leave), even if you were, pardon the phrase, the size of a house.

Are you sure there isn't a small part of you that is dying to tell them the news?

You haven't had a scan yet, its early days, you possibly haven't even told (all of) your family and friends - so why tell an employer? They have no right to know.

Do a search on maternity on these boards and you will see some threads that will discourage you from trusting employers to behave legally and honourably.

IMO it would be better not to tell them yet.

Personally I wouldnt tell until you know if you have the job. I was in a slightly different situation where I didn't find out I was pregnant until the day after i had signed the contract for a promotion. Once word got out I was pregnant it didnt go down too well with the boss. I had to tell them at about 10 weeks because I had to go into hospital for an emergency scan due to threatened miscarriage and the first thing I was asked when I got back to work was when was I going on maternity leave (not how are you is everything ok with baby etc). Also got loads of comments about going on "career break" fat jokes etc. I got the job fair and square and was not pregnant when i got it but still got lots of negative vibes about maternity leave. In the end I didnt get put into new job until I was 5 months pregnant through no fault of my own and I had to fight to get wages backdated to the day my contract started.

Finally I have to say that people knowing so early meant that the pregnancy seemed longer cos people kept asking how long I had left and "are you STILL pregnant?" etc so in any case keeping it quiet for as long as possible is better. Everyone thinks they are showing more than they are. It was the constant vomiting I found hard to hide!

Congratulations on your pregnancy by the way - its a wonderful thing.

You will find that there is a responsibility on the employee under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations 2007 Chapter 2 of Part 6: Protection of Pregnant, Post Natal and Breastfeeding Employees Regulation 148, Chapter 2. This Chapter applies to a pregnant employee placing the onus on her to notifying her employer of her condition as soon as is practicable after it occurs.

This is particularily evident if you are working shift work, working with chemicals listed as tetrogens (can casue damage to the unborn fetus), ionising/non-ionising radiation or ergonomically unfavorable conditions - this can be as simple as sitting at your desk for prolonged periods of time.

I do not see any reason why you shouldn't go for this position and tell your employer your pregnant.......December is a long way off yet!

You will regret not taking the opportunity. Go for the job but do not tell them you're pregnant yet. You're only 12 weeks! Just barely out of the danger zone - why on earth would you tell them yet? There is no requirement to do so unless for safety reasons. Tell them when you're good and ready - don't worry about showing, you can disguise it, even if they notice, they won't be sure. What odds if they do notice before you tell them anyway.

As you say yourself, you'll be there for 5 months, plenty of time to do some work. When you go on maternity leave, time marches on pretty quickly, you'll be back in no time and you'll be glad you're going back to your new job and not your old one.

tk23 said:

Anyway i was approached yesterday by a manager asking was i interested in a new internal position here and was basically told the job was mine if i wanted it. It would have to be advertised internally so anyone can apply for it.

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If you are feeling particularly brave, you might want to point out how unfair this approach is. You'd hate to be one of the other internal employees applying for a new position and going through a charade of an interview process, when the job has already been promised. Do you really want to work for a manager who treats employees like this?

On the pregnancy issue, I think you've got a lot of good advice on the thread to keep schtum until you secure the position.