New Job - Pregnancy?

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AileenF

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I am due to switch jobs and will begin my new job next month in a small private IT company. However, I want to start having a family Just wondering how this would effect my job if i became pregnant? I dont want to put my life on hold for my career as thats what I have been doing for the past 4 years.

Let me know your thoughts?
 
Re: New Job - Pregnancy??

It wouldn't affect your job per se, but if you are on probation then you may not be entitled to the normal maternity benefits available to employees who are permanent. Having said that I would assume it would take you at least a few months to get pregnant in the first place, adding 9 months to that is a year so you'd have time to get used to the idea.

On the other hand just wait until you're made permanent . . .
 

just wondering - did you not think of your need to start a family prior to getting new job - surely it would have been better to stay at old company for a few more months then leave.
 
ney001 why should she have thought about it before moving jobs? The two are not related unless Aileen has concerns about entitlements.

Aileen I wouldn't worry about getting pregnant after starting your new job. You are entitled to have a job AND get pregnant AND be protected by anti discrimmination laws.
 
Re: New Job - Pregnancy??

lff12 said:
It wouldn't affect your job per se, but if you are on probation then you may not be entitled to the normal maternity benefits available to employees who are permanent.
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I thought normal maternity benefits were based on previous prsi records. If the OP paid prsi in her previous job, then what might she not be entitled to?
 
If you mean Maternity Benefit payable by Social Welfare then yes they are linked to PRSI payments. Not sure if lff12 was referring to other maternity related benefits provided as part of the employer's contract of employment though?
 
I'm in the same situation, I just started new job on monday & i'm dying to start trying, but going to hold off until my probabtion period is up, which is only 6 months. I know they say you cant be discriminated against if you do get pregnant, but its better to have peace of mind and know that you will havea permanent job to go back too after the maternity leave. our probabtion period will fly by. (if your on one that is)
 

I guess I am just thinking from the point of view of the company who hired her - seems a bit unfair that a company would spend money advertising a post/interviewing candidates or paying agency fees only to have to do it again months later.
 
ney001 - thats life! And without pregnant women there would be none...
 
It cost the company nothing to hire me. They headhunted me so they didn't have any agency fees or anything else.
 
Lauren said:
ney001 - thats life! And without pregnant women there would be none...
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yeah yeah yeah I know all that - I'd just try to be fair to everybody that's all - I come from a family who have small businesses and I work in a small company now and I know the expense that goes into recruitment and the effort of finding people - I've had to do it myself - therefore it would annoy me a bit if somebody promised sun moon and stars at interview only to get pregnant a month later - I know that's not 'pc' and it's a womans right ................. I would just try not to do it that way!
 
Hi - I find ney0001's comments interesting and I agree whole heartedly with Lauren..
Being a fairly successful career-focussed employee since finishing university 13 years ago and only recently being fortunate enough to start a family (bun still in this oven!) I have found that sometimes as an employee you just have to focus on your own life and not the new client take-on implenentation plan that management have presented to you or the fact that your company is understaffed and that senior management are quite happy to allow that status quo continue as they know people will "cope" (don't we always!!). (and ney0001 I am not implying that your circumstances/family businesses are in anyway like this).
Personally we had been trying for a family for a long time before hitting the jackpot, and during that time I changed jobs, - my point is that you can't put your life on hold indefinitely for it to happen - it can take years for so many people. Usually there never is a "right time" for these things to happen.

AileenF - re your entitlements - if you have paid sufficient "stamps" you will be entitled to the statutory benefit no matter what. Some employers (such as mine) have a clause in their contracts that stipulate a minimum service period (and successful probation completion) before you are entitled to the company-specific maternity benefits of the rest of staff. Read your contract carefully.
 

Many women will be in the workforce for 40 years and surely taking the few short months off to whihc you are entitled as maternity leave would not impact that mush on any company.

Should the OP become pregnant immediately she will still be able to remain working for 8.5 months before taking maternity leave.

If she intends to return to work then I am sure the company will not fold while she is on maternity leave.
 
everybody is entitled to have children that's fine and yes you are entitled to have them whenever you want. All I am saying is that personally speaking I would try to be fair to my employer i.e I would not apply for the job knowing that I would be trying to get pregnant almost straight away even though it's allowed and there's nothing wrong with it! - i'd stay were I was until I had more of an idea of when I'd be having a family. Again from the point of view of a small company we don't have middle management and upper management - it's a very small group of people and if you go to the trouble of hiring someone new - you take into account their personality as well as their ability and you try to fit the new person into the existing group - now if that person then goes off within 6-8 months of hiring them and you have to go looking for a temp etc it does cause difficulty! you have to re-interview and pay for advertising. Just my opinion nothing against mothers to be or working women having children etc.
 
Hi Dont agree Ney001, if a man was changing jobs, he wouldn't have to think of about the difficulty he may cause a new company....... so why should a woman have to think of the "difficulty" she would cause a new company!

Also, are u suggestion that she should stay put, have a baby where she is, take the maternity benefits and then leave?
 
Exactly boots

You are either "unfair" to the present employer or the new one.

And irrespective of the scenario a temp will still need to be recruited no matter how long you are with the company - 6 months or 6 years!
 
<<I would not apply for the job knowing that I would be trying to get pregnant almost straight away even though it's allowed and there's nothing wrong with it!<<

I don't think I would either and I do see where you're coming from.
I can see how it causes mayhem in some companies but the solution is not for women to plan pregnancies at their employers convenience, that's what it boils down to.
It's not possible anyway as women don't know how long it will take them to get pregnant. Supposing it takes years - should they stay put job wise that whole time?
There must be another way for employers to somehow cope.
 

No a man wouldn't have to worry about this but then again he can't have babies and as a previous poster said thats life............ you can't use the man/woman thing forever!

Yes I do think stay put for the time being inform your employer that after maternity leave you will be finishing up with the company that way when they are recruiting for someone to cover your maternity leave they can look for someone with long term prospects who will remain on!.
 
westsider said:
Exactly boots

You are either "unfair" to the present employer or the new one.

And irrespective of the scenario a temp will still need to be recruited no matter how long you are with the company - 6 months or 6 years!
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Yeah but it's a lot better to recruit after 6 years then having to pay out twice in the same year
 
There is nothing 'unfair' about having a baby...As I said earlier its life..and as someone pointed out if the OP got pregnant now she would still be working for the guts of a year! The company could recruit someone NOW who could simply leave after a few months! It happens all the time..
 
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