MSE Pregnancy Club 24

whowants2brich

Well, it's official, we're having a baby next month!!! Oh how the time as flown by, we're almost half way through 2012...

Onto the cheery post of the day, my DW's former employer has rejected all of her claims and is saying that there was no discrimination, nothing unfair, and that she has not got a claim. So now the fun begins... I mean, great, but we're almost 36 weeks pregnant now, we don't really want to be fighting this... but we can't let him win, can we?

whowants2brich

PS in the last few weeks of pregnancy, discharge is normal, isn't it? And really powerful and tight braxton hicks over the whole area of the bump? If so, apparently we're coming towards the end of pregnancy... :j

fluffnutter

whowants2brich wrote: »

PS in the last few weeks of pregnancy, discharge is normal, isn't it? And really powerful and tight braxton hicks over the whole area of the bump? If so, apparently we're coming towards the end of pregnancy... :j

Sounds perfectly normal to me.

Re. your claim against your employer, I raised a grievance with my ex-employer just around the time I fell pregnant. I've missed the actual detail about yours (if you've ever posted it) but mine was an equal pay grievance.

They dismissed mine too so the next step would have been a tribunal. I think it's standard practice to not uphold your claim, so if you do feel you have a case don't be put off. It was easier for me, because I was offered a financial compromise agreement (which I took) which amounted to pretty much what I could have hoped to have been awarded at tribunal (had I even won).

I know how you feel though. I couldn't face the thought of a protracted battle and a court case

whowants2brich

On Monday morning, week 23, my DW emailed her boss to ask for a meeting re maternity leave, plans, and to work out what was going to happen. By Wednesday, he'd created a plan, did not give her any notice of a disciplinary hearing, did not let her have any witness with her, and he did not address her request for an appeal to the "gross misconduct" claim that led him to get rid of her.

Oh, and the claim for misconduct was because a client did not instruct her to do any work, so she didn't do the work. But how anyone can do any work for a client without their explicit instruction is beyond me...

turtlemoose

Argh wrote you a massive message whowants2brich and then the iPad ate it. Too hormonal to type it again now, all my effort is going in to not chucking the bloody thing out the window! :eek:

I'm going through an employment tribunal at the mo and will post my comments later when I've calmed down lol

savageHK

OK, a dumb bump question. I'm pretty petite and usually like my clothes fairly tight fitting. While most of my tops are stretchy and can allow for a bit of 'bump' growth, I'm starting to struggle with my trousers/jeans/etc. In fact, most of them are now only comfy if I leave both button and zip undone! If I get one of those bump bands, are they tight enough that my trousers won't fall down?? Or do I need to get inventive with a hair-elastic around my buttonhole as well just in case? Also, any recommendations for online maternity shops welcome. I think I like the Isabella Oliver style but I don't usually like wearing synthetic materials at the best of times and she is a bit pricey!

PS: currently 15 weeks and a size 8!

norabatty_2

Well hello there everyone!

So the big due date is tomorrow - can't believe it really! I'm so excited. Started getting period pains yesterday evening - were constant for about an hour, and then came and went every 15-20 minutes. I managed to get to sleep and everytime I woke up for a pee during the night, I'd invariably get another one. They were pretty mild though. Got up at 8.30 this morning and they suddenly stopped around 11am. Noticed in the shower that the top 3-4 inches of my tummy can now be pushed in - I'm guessing this means the baby has "dropped" and the head is starting to engage? Also taking plenty of trips to the toilet so I'm hoping things will get going soon....Finally finished packing my hospital bag this morning, can't believe it took some false labour symptoms to get me organised!!

Whowants2brich, might I suggest a trip to a solicitor? Usually all it takes is a solicitor's letter or two to make the culprits appreciate they can't get away with what they are doing and they will settle pretty sharpish. One relative of mine had an accident at work, involving faulty machinery that he personally had warned his employers about. They did nothing, 2 weeks later it collapsed on top of him, he couldn't work, they dismissed him, didn't give sick pay or anything. After 3 letters from a solicitor, he was offered 5 years salary as compensation!! A former boss of mine was awarded £70K for "constructive dismissal", also settled after a few months, a few letters and one meeting. At most, employing a solicitor to send a few letters will cost £200-300. On the grounds that if they didn't follow proper procedures in terms of written warnings alone, I would have thought your legal costs would be refunded but the fact that your wife was pregnant means they would have to have considerable written evidence to dismiss her. It may sound like going to tribunals etc is a lot of hassle, but in reality for one day's (in total) work of meeting a solicitor, chasing them up with the odd phone call, etc, and agreeing on a settlement where possible, I would have thought it would be an excellent hourly rate in terms of financial compensation! Very few cases actually go to courts or tribunals, the vast majority are settled between the employer's and employee's solicitors within a few months of the first letter being sent.

whowants2brich

norabatty wrote: »

Whowants2brich, might I suggest a trip to a solicitor? Usually all it takes is a solicitor's letter or two to make the culprits appreciate they can't get away with what they are doing and they will settle pretty sharpish. One relative of mine had an accident at work, involving faulty machinery that he personally had warned his employers about. They did nothing, 2 weeks later it collapsed on top of him, he couldn't work, they dismissed him, didn't give sick pay or anything. After 3 letters from a solicitor, he was offered 5 years salary as compensation!! A former boss of mine was awarded £70K for "constructive dismissal", also settled after a few months, a few letters and one meeting. At most, employing a solicitor to send a few letters will cost £200-300. On the grounds that if they didn't follow proper procedures in terms of written warnings alone, I would have thought your legal costs would be refunded but the fact that your wife was pregnant means they would have to have considerable written evidence to dismiss her. It may sound like going to tribunals etc is a lot of hassle, but in reality for one day's (in total) work of meeting a solicitor, chasing them up with the odd phone call, etc, and agreeing on a settlement where possible, I would have thought it would be an excellent hourly rate in terms of financial compensation! Very few cases actually go to courts or tribunals, the vast majority are settled between the employer's and employee's solicitors within a few months of the first letter being sent.

Critical point number one: my wife is a solicitor, so was her employer. He is representing himself and has no costs to run up.

Critical point number two: we have instructed solicitors, racked up bills, and the ex employer is digging heels in and saying he did nothing wrong.

We have already filed for an employment tribunal, he's responded to our claims and said that he's done nothing wrong and sees no reason why we have any claim against him...

Maybe if we ask for the appeal meeting, the penny will drop as to why we think he has not followed the ACAS code...

fluffnutter

I was lucky. My grievance was fairly straightforward (pay me what you pay men, please), plus my union gave me legal advice and would have represented me at tribunal had it got that far.

As a result it only cost me the price of a couple of stamps (plus union subs I guess).

fluffnutter

How about this for instilled behaviour..

As some of you no doubt know, it's been a long journey for me and the OH to get our lovely baby. I'm sitting here at gone 36 weeks and I've started getting some griping lower back pain (it's not bothering me, I get it now and then).

But it really feels like the start of period pain and I've become so conditioned over nearly 10 years to feeling bad about the start of my periods because they meant I wasn't pregnant that my first instinctive thought was 'oh no, here comes my period again'

Then I looked down and saw this enormous great bump and instantly realised 'fluffnutter, you dozy twat. You're going to have a baby this month!'