Returning to work pregnant

noshi11

hello ladies

I just found out that I'm pregnant again! I have a 9 month old and I was supposed to return to work in December. This pregnancy wasn't planned but we are happy nevertheless. I'm 6 weeks pregnant and in December I will be 3 months pregnant. 

Please help me me figure out how I announce this to my employer. Do I tell them before returning to work? Should I tell them after? Can I get fired? Are there loopholes where an employer can fire me. I will be taking my maternity leave at the end of April. We really need EI in order to support our family as my husband is studying and currently we are using our saved money and EI to pay bills. 

mrsrep123

Congrats @noshi11. I guess telling your employer depends on what it is you do. If your job can put you or your baby in danger, by all means spill the beans. If not, I wouldn't necessarily lead with it. Just my humble opinion. Good luck. 

vrj0522

Are you in Canada? If so, I would really look at your leave laws and see if you would be eligible again so soon. I would also look at what the law around protected leave is. In the US, you need to be back to work for a specific number of hours before you can start earning leave time again so look to see if there is anything like that where you live. 

Luckyu317

We need more info. What country are you in? Where do you work/what do you do? Lawfully, no, they cannot fire you specifically because you're pregnant.

Amybee5

You need 600 hours in order to be eligible for Maternity EI in Canada. Which is 15 weeks if you work a 40 hour work week. 

I don't think there would be anyway they could fire you!! 

FatPony

Be careful if you're on a contract. I was on one and it expired while I was on mat leave. They were like 'oh well, we're downsizing, see ya'. I couldn't do squat bc I wasn't a permanent employee. 

noshi11

Sorry ladies. I'm in Canada and it's a full time permanent office job. 

Amybee5

As long as you're back to work for 15 weeks between maternity leaves you should be fine!