u/permanentreverie-

Hi!

31f, 10 weeks pregnant.

I’ve just received a verbal offer for a new role. I’ve had to move - despite stat mat implications - because my current role is FTC only and requires a LOT of 3hr + travel which is eating up budget and time. My new salary is a great increase and my commute will be 8 mins door to door and my working hours are perfect.

At the moment I’ve not had a 12week scan - that’s mid July - and I’ve not told anyone yet. As such, I didn’t say anything during the process. I guess I wanted to see if all was well at the scan first.

I received a verbal offer today, and a contract to follow tomorrow. I plan to sign the contract, hand my notice in and then start the new role in 3/4 weeks.

My question is - in the UK - what would you do about telling your new employer? They have great policies, are extremely family friendly and literally make baby products but I do not want to be naive.

I feel a bit uncomfy about it even though I 100% know it’s the right role for me. I don’t want them to think I’m a bad person, or put myself at risk!

What do you all recommend? Thank you so much x

Hi,I am looking for some advice please!

UK, 31f.

Current situation is that I’m in a role that is a FTC until Jan 2027, it is a maternity cover position I took after redundancies at my old role where I’d been 9yrs. It’s in an industry I love, people are nice and it’s been lovely for the nearly 7 months I’ve been there so far. It is 2 days per week in London and I live in the North, so it’s an overnight stay and travel can cost me around £500 a month, sometimes £600 now prices are increasing. Travel is a mix of a 3:30hr drive and 20 min train/20 min tube or a 20 mins ride and 2hr train and 20 min tube. It was a large pay bump from my previous role so it felt worth it to get into an industry I loved and get a position that would be great for my CV.

So role 1:
9:00-5:30 working
2 days per week in London meaning lots of travel and travel expenses - also extra travel for shoot days and events which is a contracted requirement
£5k less than new one
FTC only til Jan 27 (though they have vaguely mentioned ‘wanting me to stay’ and ‘seeing what can happen’
Would qualify for stat pay due to timings I believe

The thing is, I’ve found out that I’m pregnant with my first. Which is amazing, and exciting (and scary!). Very early days at the moment - 10w. It is something we’ve wanted for a long time. Still keeping it to ourselves right now but had an early scan last week.

Whilst I was digesting that info, a place I interviewed for but missed out on a year ago got back in touch. It’s a position that is very similar to my current one, but in a different (still nice) industry which is actually all geared around mothers so they have great family friendly policies and benefits and discounts. It’s a big business in my town, and a 10 min drive away from the house we own. It would also be permanent. It feels similar to my current role in terms of intensity, and the tasks will be very similar.

Role 2:
+£5k starting
8:30-4pm working
3 days per week in office a 10 min drive away from my house - shoots happen in on site studio
Permanent
Would not qualify for stat pay

Now I wouldn’t have considered a move before they got in touch, I was sort of hoping my current role would offer me a permanent contract maybe and I could try negotiate a position where I’m in far less, perhaps 1 day a week with no overnight? (They don’t do fully remote). But when the company HR called I still had the number saved and remembered how much I really wanted the position last time, and so I went to the interview, met the CEO, and I have one more ‘informal’ chat with the team and then they have stated intention to offer.

I just don’t know what to do. I’m worried because I know I won’t qualify for stat maternity pay if I move, so it would be maternity allowance which is lower. But then I will be able to save the whole amount I’m spending on travel, which would be a great savings bump. We do have savings etc so would be ok but it’s just a scary time and I’m not sure if I should jump or stay put. The travel in my current role is quite tough in my first trimester and I’ve had some really rough days being sick in train toilets haha, so I can’t tell if I am just being reactionary to move, or sensible to want to plan for a more local future? Is it silly to move from somewhere where I passed probation to be slightly on shakey ground again? I just feel all over the place!

I also don’t know if it’s a bad thing to do to not tell my potential new employer about the pregnancy until I get an offer, as does that seem fair? They seem really family oriented but naturally it wouldn’t be ideal for them and I don’t want to be naive. I also feel quite bad dipping on my current role before the other woman gets back from maternity leave but I guess these things happen.

Basically, any advice would be appreciated from
a pragmatic perspective! Thanks so much.