Made Redundant @ 11 weeks pregnant

debeast

Hi there,

Thank you everyone for replying and letting me know the info. She wasn't on a massive wage and its great that she will be able to get something (MA).

The temping is definitely a must for us to survive these days.

thank you again

/beastie

Smi1er

debeast wrote: »

Yes thanks she will be getting redundancy pay but we were counting on having a job to go back to.
Apparently kids are expensive little things

Expensive yes, but have you thought on trimming your current lifestyle to cut back on things?

You say later your Wife wasn't on a massive wage so perhaps look at cutting back on things and let her enjoy being a Mum

JimmyTheWig

Good point, smiler. Kids can, to some degree, be as expensive as you make them.
Breastmilk is free.
Clothes and equipment can be picked up in charity shops, NCT sales, eBay, gumtree, etc.
If people want to buy presents then ask for Johnson's (or equivalent) type stuff rather than getting endless outfits that the baby will hardly wear.
Nappies are about the biggest expense in the early days. Sign up to all the baby clubs and use the vouchers. Obviously look out for special offers. Don't be afraid to try supermarket own brand.

nesssie1702

You could always try real nappies for the wee one when he/she comes along

http://www.realnappycampaign.com/index.html

If you've managed to get yourselves debt free in the past, then do your best to stay that way when the baby comes along. All the best with the wee bundle!

foreversomeday

Yes, there is a thread somewhere around here about having a baby on the cheap!

Lunar_Eclipse

debeast wrote: »

Hi there,

Am looking for any help on what to do and where to go .
My wife has been with a company 7 years and her entire department is being closed down as her company has merged with another one

However she is 11 weeks pregnant.

So we are now not going to get any maternity leave
and
we are now going to be financially screwed unless anyone can suggest a way forward for us :O(

spent years getting out of debt , balancing credit cards , stoozing and joining this site many years ago and now its seems it was all for nothing.

Any help appreciated?

Congratulations. And sorry to hear this news.

A few thoughts:

- Your wife will get Maternity Allowance.

- Redundancies usually have a fairly long employee consultation periods (laws govern this) so she will hopefully still be working for 12 (?) weeks minimum from when she heard and then receive some redundancy compensation. HR could advise her on the timeframe.

- She may also receive payment in lieu of her notice period, in which she could probably find some (temping) work to effectively double her salary during this period. If this is not offered, she could always request it - maybe using her pregnancy as an 'excuse' due to financial considerations.

- Finally, companies get very nervous making pregnant people redundant (even when it is all above board as this case appears to be, ie takeover and whole dept), so I suggest she makes them aware of this and asks them to ensure that she does not lose out financially because of the redundancy. She may very well get an enhanced package to cover what she could lose in salary pre-baby and then maternity pay equal to what she would have received. Her position on this should be along the lines of the fact that she is unlikely to find work of a similar level (pay) whilst pregnant - that is (or could be) the harsh reality, forgetting discrimination law supposedly to ensure it doesn't happen.

If she is uncomfortable about doing this, I recommend some quick free legal advice before approaching her employer. And sorry to mention this, but the last thing her employer would want is any comeback from something detrimental happening to your wife or unborn child due to the financial stress this situation might cause. She can also rationally point this out to them. So they may very well be willing to consider a 'compromise agreement' due to her exceptional circumstances which in case you haven't heard of them, is effectively an exit contract whereby they pay your wife a certain amount of money in return for her quiet departure with no future comeback. Early pregnancy is delicate.

I really think this could work to your (financial) advantage, depending on how large an organisation your wife works for.

Good luck.

whitewing

You need to speak to ACAS; they will tell your wife everything she needs to know.

Smi1er

foreversomeday wrote: »

Yes, there is a thread somewhere around here about having a baby on the cheap!

It's not necessarily having them on the cheap.

A couple I know were recently worried about how they would survive whilst they lost a wage on a temporary basis....

I then pointed out that they should do their sums, to which they replied that they had and they simply couldn't afford things on one wage.... until I pointed out that if she gave up work then

One of the two cars they have could be sold, meaning less insurance, tax, fuel. Less work clothes are needed, don't have to buy all those lunches, tax on savings is no longer taken, was it really necessary to eat out three evenings a week? Cut back from 2/3 holidays a year to just one.

They actually sat back down and did the sums again and realised that if they cut back on the material items they could quite easily live on just one wage.

melg1973

I was made redundant at 11 weeks pregnant too and only got £600ish redundancy and we were panicking like yourselves. I went onto jobseekers allowance contribution based until 11 weeks before the baby was due when they make you start the Maternity allowance early as you aren't at work. We went down to one car, I joined all the baby clubs, stocked up on nappies and wipes when on offer, I didn't bother buying any maternity clothes as not at work (just wore hubbies t-shirts when got too big!), got baby stuff donated from friends who already had kids (they were just glad to get rid of the stuff they weren't using anymore) and luckily got bought loads of stuff when baby born.

When the baby is born you get child benefit and child tax credit so for the first 6 months of the babys life I will be receiving nearly £160 a week (would have been 9 months if hadn't had to start the maternity allowance 3 months early). Its not as bad as you first think. Good Luck

helly352

Hi! New to this posting lark so hope this works.

Just a bit of advice, when I was pregnant first time round my friends very kindly organised a baby shower for me. I got stack loads of very useful gifts such as toiletries for the baby, bibs, blankets and (thank the lord) nappies!

As for second hand stuff, if you have any friends that have recently had babies you may be able to borrow/buy things off them such as baby walkers and swings or baby carriers/slings. As the previous post says you will find that they are probably more than happy to de-clutter!

Another lesson learnt was that we bought all the baby's furniture before he was born but you don't need to do this. All you need is a moses basket and associated bedding as they sleep in your room in their moses basket for 6 months, during which time you can save up for the furniture. As for the furniture spend your money on a good cot and mattress, we picked up our wardrobes and drawers from IKEA and they have been brilliant.

Just remember that you are about to receive something more precious than all the money in the world, make sure you enjoy your time with your new baby and try not to worry too much!

H