Pregnant Again and still on Maternity Leave

campsa

Hello
Wondered if anyone had some advice for me, as you can see from the title, i am pregnant and still on maternity leave from my first baby, i am due back to work in October and the new baby is due in Feb 2006.

Does anyone know where i stand with regards to returning to work after maternity leave but also being pregnant again!! will they offer me my old job back or an alternative position?, which i am aware that regulations govern, or are they able to tell me to get lost!! Also if i was to seek employment elsewhere i imagine that i am obligated to inform them that i am pregnant, can anyone confirm that this is the case?
Thanks

keatergreyhound

Hello as fare as I know you have thr right to return to your old job. You can take the normal 26 paid leave with baby number 2 the same as with number 1. Again that can statrt from 29 weeks as long as you put that in writing. If you have any questions I belive the answers may be on the maternity alliance website. If not why not give acas a ring. They were very helpful to me. Your in a very common situation. Ive know someone who took a year with thier 1st and ran her 2nd lot together if that makes sence
Congrats on the pregnancy hope its me soon

jenpoptab

Congratulations, you are brave, I left it a year before I got pregnant with no 2. I went back to work when no 1 was 6 mths old and this time still got 26 wks maternity etc as I had worked for 26 wks in the 15th wk before baby was due.

You should be able to go back to usual job at usual terms but as you are pregnant you would need to tell them that you are pregnant again, i think.

Good luck with new baby.

Savvy_Sue

If you decide to apply for another job you are under no obligation whatsoever to tell them you are pregnant, nor that you are currently on maternity leave (although that's likely to come out in your references if it's not clear on your CV / application form). If you get another job you can keep your pregnancy quiet for as long as is practical, just don't expect to be Employee of the Month when they find out!

I've known people not mention their pregnancy until they were 6 months or more gone: the one I remember best gave only a very little notice that she was about to take maternity leave. I believe she had had difficulty conceiving and carrying a baby so didn't want to advertise the fact, in case it all went wrong again.

And I've appointed a few people who took the job and then told me they were pregnant, or accepted the job and then found they were pregnant so turned it down. As one of them said, I've been trying for so long I can't put my life on hold, it's finally happened so that's my focus now.

I never held it against them, but then I'm a woman and this was in a company which gave good benefits and treated staff right. Not all bosses / companies are like that!

Worth looking into whether changing your job would cut you out of SMP as well, via the sites suggested.

All the best.