being pregnant and applying for jobs/starting with a new job

[lemoncloud]

Hello,

I'm new to this forum. In the past I lived and studied in various countries and am currently applying for various graduate positions in the UK amongst other countries. In my profession the number of graduates flodding the job market is very small, but the amount of positions is not really huge either and applying internationally is a prerequisit to find a good job.

Anyway, it might take a while to find a good job. In the meantime my partner and me really want to have a baby now as I'm slowly getting older, and my partner is almost 40 years old. It's difficult to first wait for the right job. Besides, many trainee positions only start late next year.

What I'd like to know is what the position for mothers in in the UK is. In my country of origin it is very difficult as a woman to find a job because employers are afraid women will get pregnant and stay home. They can do so for (I believe) 2-3 years while the employer has to give them the old position back afterwards! I'm not surprised women are not wanted. So what about the UK? I would like to give birth, stay home for a very short period of time only and continue working afterwards while my parter will take care of the little one. He's self-employed and won't have much income/work in the beginning anyway. Is it a bad idea to apply for a job with a big belly?

Looking forward to any bit of information that makes the decision easier for me.

Lemoncloud.

 

[leckershell]

There's a lot of questions there

Every company is different but they can't discriminate against you because you are pregnant. You should have any time off paid for if you are ill with a pregnancy related illness or need to attend midwife appointments or scans.

That said though, I personally wouldn't have felt comfortable going to a job interview with a huge belly. Even though they shouldn't discriminate, I know that *I* wouldn't give me the job, so I wouldn't expect anyone else to knowing I would work there for a few weeks and then take up to a year off.

Also if you are only with a company for a short time I believe you are entitled to less maternity leave/pay? I'm not quite sure how that works as I had been with my company for over a year and was entitled to the full whack of what they were offering. Same for paternity pay - I think a company only has to offer paternity leave if he has been there for over 10 months (my OH wasn't entitled to it).

I hope that helps a little?

I'm not 100% on a few things, but that reply is a rough thing to go by. For reference have a looky at http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/ ... /index.htm . There's loads of info on there that should help you.

michelle x

 

[Minime]

I worked for an agency when pregnant and made it clear at interview I was pregnant. Employers cannot discriminate against you on the grounds of pregnancy (however proving that was the case would be difficult!) I had an interview for a placement and told them at the end, they appreciated my honesty and I got the job. However that was only for temporary work in the first place so dont know how you'd go on if applying for a permanent position.