Telling my employer I am pregnant

jacqhale

Thanks for all the support. I do have a letter stating how pleased they are with my performance which I didn't think about but will be useful if I need to fight anything. It's hard because I think it's my word against theirs so how do you know who is telling the truth? It's doubly hard in these tough times because I know if they get rid of me it's because I'm pregnant but they can say times are tough etc and it sounds believable ......

I'm worried that they will be fine with it like in the other girls case and then do it with no notice when I think I am returning to work so it will be hard to plan for the future with it hanging over me. I need to return to work about 6 months after baby is born and don't want to find another job but if I don't look while on maternity leave and then it happens I'll be back at square one too late. They hired me before they had paid off the guy before me and I'm sure they will have no scruples about doing it again! It certainly is a dilemma!

I just need to pluck up the courage now so will let you know how it goes.

doodlesmum

Hi,
Firstly congratulations .Dont know if it has been mentioned because i not gone through whole thread but have you tried ACAS they would be able to give you good advice.Discrimination against you because you are pregnant could land your employer in hot water so he needs tread carefully.
Good luck dont let him bully you everyone is entitled to get pregnant if they so wish without having to consult their employer first .

Doodlesmum.

jacqhale

OK, I had my 12 week scan yesterday and all is good so I couldn't put off telling my boss anymore to be fair. I have told him and he was shocked but at least didn't tell me to pack up my desk! We will try and work out a way of making it easy on the company, I said I'm prepared to work however needs be to lessen the impact so we shall see what agreements we can come to.
I just hope now that no 'redundancies' are looming but there's not much I can do about that until it happens so will relax and try not to think about it.
Thanks again.

daska

Now would be a really good time to start assembling anything that can support your assertion that you are performing the job well. The letter is a good start but is there any other evidence that is job related, call stats, sales figures, letters from customers/clients. Also start a diary. Note exactly what has been said to you previously and what gets said from now on. And ring ACAS for advice on how to handle the boss. Make sure you include in the diary about telling you all that x is going to be made redundant - she might find it useful.

I understand about small businesses struggling with staff taking time off but this is a legal requirement and should be part of the business plan. The other option is that women won't be able to enter the workforce until they're sterilised or they're over childbearing age - and given the progress on that front we'd have to wait until retirement age... I know I've missed out on jobs because of this, the last time I was asked I was very cheeky and asked if the interviewer asked all the men the same question - the interviewer said no and I got the job, was it because he realised that he'd messed up, well, no actually, it was because I came across as the most honest of all the people interviewed.