Pregnancy related issue in employment

[BestBeast]

I don't know exactly what I'm asking for: advice, support, experience?

Long term EDF user, but didn't want this to be attached to my user name, as I know quite a few people on here and don't want this to define me. And it makes me feel like an idiot to be honest.....

I recently left a short term contract job after only a few weeks. This was partly because I couldn't manage it (and the very long daily commute) during horrendous sickness, headaches and insomnia. These were all pregnancy related, I found out about a week before starting that I was pregnant. I don't think they handled this properly, in terms of communication to me and discussions about how to ameliorate this situation, but I was also keen to put it behind me and wanted to move on because I felt utterly unable to cope. It was a maternity cover contract too and I felt paralysed by feelings of guilt, letting people down, and - yes, I know seems ridiculous in the cold light of day - shame in the fact that I was in the situation in the first place.

But there were other reasons to let the job go and why I didn?t fight to keep it ? i.e. it certainly wasn?t my dream job, wasn?t going to give me great experience I could use (as became clear in the first few days), but it was money and potentially my last source of income before having a baby in October (I don't see many people employing me at the moment). And, had I known what I know now from HR, I certainly would NOT have resigned when I did....

So, related to that.. ..I have only just received (a month after my resignation) the first communication from HR about various things relating to the job (didn't have any commnunication from them before this related to the pregnancy, sickness or resignation). And a lot of it doesn't add up to me, although I don't want to go into it here. I don't know whether I'm being oversensitive or ignorant (probably both - and I know I'm more likely to feel vulnerable at the moment) but, to be honest, I feel a bit hard done by, upset by the whole thing, and lacking confidence to pursue it further.

I don't have the resources (now I don't have a job) to consult a lawyer at the moment - i.e. I kind of want to know whether I have real legal basis for my feelings before I went down that route and risked making my financial situation far worse. And, at 16 weeks pregnant with still very bad days re illness, I don't know whether I have the emotional resilience to pursue this so I would want to get some idea of what getting involved in a dispute would actually mean. I also want to settle these feelings so I know, if I am being unreasonable in my expectations, I can square things with the organsiation and just move on.

Is there anyone out there who has been in a similar situation (I know, mine's quite niche), knows their way around pregnancy related issues in employment, or who can offer a perspective from any personal/professional (even HR) experience? I know I'm relying on community spirit here, but I can offer a bottle of wine, or several coffees/cake, in return?

[midivydale]

Sorry to hear that you are in this situation, especially at what should be such a nice and happy time in your life. Whilst no direct experience of resignation during pregnancy I did consult Acas for advice during my maternity leave. They were great as a first reference point. Another idea would be to check if you have legal cover under your home insurance?

Wishing you all the best for the rest of your pregnancy!

[IlonaM]

Hi,

Maternity Action is a charity which offers a lot of advice and information on their website (www.maternityaction.org.uk) and through their free advice line: https://www.maternityaction.org.uk/advice-2/advice-line/

'Maternity Rights Advice Line

Have you just found out that you are pregnant and want to know what your rights are at work?

Do you think that you are being discriminated against at work because of your pregnancy or because you have been on maternity leave?

Wondering which benefits you could claim whilst you are pregnant and once the baby?s born?

The Maternity Rights Advice Line offers free, confidential telephone support and advice.

Our team of specialist advisers can offer advice and information to help you understand and take up your rights and entitlements throughout your pregnancy, maternity leave and return to work.

If you have questions about your maternity rights, call us on 0808 802 0029 to talk to our advisers. Calls to this helpline are free from landlines and mobile phones within the UK and do not appear on itemised bills.

Our advice line is open:

Wednesday 10am ? 2pm

Thursday 3pm ? 7pm

Friday 10am ? 2pm

We are currently experiencing very high call volumes and we know that this can make it very difficult to get through to an adviser, but we do our best to answer as many calls as we can so please keep trying. You may also find the answer to your question in the frequently asked questions below or in advice section of our website.

Unfortunately, we are not currently able to offer any advice on maternity rights and benefits by email.

Frequently asked questions

Our information sheets cover a wide range of questions and answers about pregnancy, maternity, father?s rights to leave and pay and benefits for families. For example, did you know that?

You do not have to repay your Statutory Maternity Pay/Maternity Allowance if you do not return to work (but check your contract if your employer pays you any occupational maternity pay). See the information sheet: Maternity Pay Questions

You can resign during maternity leave; the notice period in your contract (or statutory notice if you don?t have a contract) applies. See the information sheet: Resigning during pregnancy and maternity leave

All your normal terms and conditions apply during maternity leave including accruing holiday. See the information sheet: Discrimination during maternity leave

You have the right to ask for changes to the hours, days or place of your current job. Your employer must consider it reasonably and can only refuse for good business reasons. See the information sheet: Child-friendly working hours

If you have more than one job you may be able to get SMP from each employer as long as you meet the conditions in each job (you cannot add up your earnings from different employers for SMP but you can for Maternity Allowance). See the information sheet: Rights for parents with more than one job

If you fall pregnant whilst you are on maternity leave you have the same rights from work to maternity leave and pay. You are entitled to another period of maternity leave of up to 52 weeks and may qualify for Statutory Maternity Pay as long as you are paid more than ?112/week around weeks 18-26 of your pregnancy. See the information sheet: Pregnant during maternity leave

You may also find these resources from other organisations useful:

Gov.uk Parental leave checker

Turn2us online benefits calculator

Citizens Advice template grievance letter

If you work with pregnant women and new families, we also offer training workshops.

More about the Maternity Rights Advice Line

Service standards

The Maternity Rights Advice Line is run by a team of advisers. We offer a free, independent and confidential advice service to anyone contacting us. For more information please see our Service Standards.

Privacy and data protection

If you contact us by telephone, email or by completing an online form we will collect and store your personal information in line with our Privacy Policy. We will not pass your information to other organisations without your consent and we will never use your name without your consent.

Complaints

If you are unhappy about any aspect of our services at Maternity Action please tell us so that we can try to put things right and prevent it from happening again. The Maternity Action complaints policy outlines how we will handle complaints and how to contact us.'

Maybe worth a look and a chat.

With best wishes,

Ilona

[BestBeast]

Thank you both for your kind and helpful responses. I will investigation both routes.

I cannot handle even the basic confrontation at the moment. Every email feels like there's someone in my face screaming at me at and that's NOT the tone of them (although I wonder about the intent in the gaps between the sentences if you know what I mean).