Best time to tell your boss you're pregnant

babysnov · April 2020

Hi all!
I'm starting my 12th week (due nov 4) and was planning on telling my boss I'm pregnant. However, since Covid-19 and working from home, people being laid off left and right at many companies, I've been getting mixed opinions on whether or not I should tell them right away or wait until I'm back in the office. Thoughts? We may not be back in the office until June. Also, I'm in Canada where maternity leave is a year so if I do get laid off I will probably be out of a job for at least 1.5 years and my husband and I just purchased a house.

When did you tell your work?

krystrist2014 · April 2020

My personal opinion is that it won’t matter one way or the other. While they can’t legally fire you for being pregnant, they have plenty of reason to justify layoffs with covid right now. Whether it was a legit layoff or not, I think they have plenty to be able to hide behind if they were trying to let you go due to pregnancy, so I don’t think it will make too much of a difference in the end. I personally intend to share with my employer sometime around 12 weeks or so (I’m only 9 weeks right now).

bserena · April 2020

Hi Knottie! Welcome! We usually try to avoid one off threads like this, not because we don't like the question, but because otherwise the board gets very cluttered. This question is perfect for "The Great Question Thread" or "Announcement Planning".
Also, if you haven't already, please introduce yourself in the "Introductions" thread and check out the "If Your Name Starts With Knottie" thread for instructions on how to change your screen name so we can all get to know you!

Ecat504 · April 2020

I also plan to tell my boss around 12 weeks, will probably be after my next appointment in May. Trying to figure out how to tell him and what to say is another thing, I know he’ll be upset because I’m due in our busiest time of the year but I can’t fix that now.

csardaszz · April 2020

I wanted to wait until 12 weeks, but I didn’t.

I told my boss at seven weeks. I had taken the previous day off for the OB appt where they confirmed the pregnancy and did the US. My boss and his boss were really upset because there was no coverage for me and because I hadn’t seen a couple of patients with a specific type of Medicare, the company lost a lot of money. I kind of tore into my boss (hormones?) for getting so upset without expressing any concern for my vaguely explained absence. I said, “Do you want to know what I was doing yesterday?” Then I whipped out my phone and showed him the US image. He immediately admitted he had been an ass.

I then had to sit through a video call with the regional manager who went on and on about how my taking a day off was such a bad thing. My boss then told her why I had taken the day off and she completely changed her tune.

A week later I quit, after we were all told that we would have to treat patients who were positive for COVID-19 without proper PPE. I didn’t want to risk it. They said they understood, and that they’d love to have me back when I’m ready.

kerriec93 · April 2020

I wanted to wait until I was out of the first trimester, but that didnt happen. I am a bank teller, and right now my branch is split into 2 teams and we alternate weeks that we work. So I haven't seen my boss since the middle of march. I told my team at 6 weeks because we are working in close proximity and I didnt want them to panic if they knew I was throwing up. Once I told them, they suggested I tell my boss, said maybe they wouldn't want me working and being exposed to covid. I'm a STM, and I am very careful to keep my pregnancy secret til the 13 week mark. I'm not the type of person that wants to discuss a miscarriage, if I should have one. But after thinking about it I decided to email my boss to fill him in. He immediately emailed back that he was happy for me and that it was good news to hear in these uncertain times. So that put me at ease a bit
Now I'm just waiting for my ultrasound monday to confirm things are going well!

lurvleybunchococonuts · April 2020

I thankfully have the coolest boss in the world so she is actually one of the first people I told. I am very blessed to work for a small, private company though. She was one if the first people to know when I was pregnant with DD too.

wychets · April 2020

I told my manager at about 7 weeks and only because they wanted us to come on site once a week and I didn’t want to. I haven’t told anyone else at work and would’ve probably waited until we went back in the office at the end of May, I would be around 16 weeks then.

kitkatz1990 · April 2020

I was going to wait until after my next appointment, but I already told her. My circumstances are a little different though, I’m closer with my boss than people normally are. We only have 20 employees and are more like a family than most workplaces. My boss was my coworker for a few years before she took over as director too, and we also went through our daughters’ pregnancies together (delivered 2 weeks apart, our daughters are best friends and have been together since they were about 8 weeks old until now at 5). We got pretty close during that time and over shared a lot, lol. I knew she’d be happy for me and supportive as much as she likes to feign complaining about us all getting pregnant and then going on maternity leave (it is kind of tough on us when we have people out just because of meeting ratio and those kind of things). We were texting last week and I just went ahead and told her. I’m going to tell the rest of my coworkers after my appointment on May 11, want to hear that heartbeat first.

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