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Pregnant and starting a new job
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Pregnant and starting a new job
At what point do I have to tell my new employer I'm pregnant?
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As we understand it, and as we say in the article, it would be sexual discrimination if your employer used your pregnancy against you to dismiss you during your probationary period.
To qualify for maternity leave, you need to tell your employer about your pregnancy by the end of the 15th week before the baby is due.
Hope that's helpful
I was offered a new a new job (a government one) in early March however the process has been delayed due to the Covid-19 virus. I have an offer letter which I have signed and returned but the formal contract has yet to be issued. (Contracts are only issued after checks on the applicant have been completed successfully).
I am now 27 weeks pregnant and I've just learnt that things are still progressing but the contract will be issued when a start date has been agreed.
I have made several parties aware that I am pregnant but my onboarding cannot progress any faster.
My question is, can I legally start a job but be on maternity leave from day 1? Could my employer retract the offer on the basis that I can't start the job straight away?
My concern is not SMP (I know I am eligible for allowance though) but retaining the job until I can come back to work.
Any advise or pointers will be greatly appreciated.
Can we suggest you contact Maternity Action who might be able to answer your questions? Please do let us know how you get on?
I struggled to get through to Maternity Action after several phone calls but I did speak to a senior executive at a large multi national corporation a few weeks ago.
In short, if you have a offer of employment (not a necessarily the contract) or something in writing to say they intend to hire you they must honour it unless:
A) your references don't check out or
the job itself is no longer available due to something like company redundancy.
They can't decline you employment if you are on maternity leave and offer it to someone else.
I hope that helps.
Thank you for your questions, but we're afraid we're not qualified to answer, and we absolutely do not want to give you incorrect information.
Can we suggest you contact Maternity Action who might be able to answer your questions? Please do let us know how you get on?
I have a new job and I am awaiting my start date. I’m also 6 weeks and 3 days pregnant. Will I be entitled to SMP