I was speaking to a friend of mine at work who is 24 weeks and is starting to get verrrry tired (retail, on her feet ALL day)... She had thought/planned/assumed that because of this she could go from full time to part time and just take less hours when she wasn't feeling up to it, but now she's been told that she has to stay full time right up until she takes maternity leave, or otherwise they won't be able to offer her full time after her leave is up - she has to return as part time if she leaves at part time.
I'd always thought of our work as being fairly lenient and fair, and this doesn't sound right at all.. They're basically forcing her to do full time work when she isn't up to it, and because of her financial situation she can't leave work early all together... so she's going to have to work way too hard for too long just because our stupid (multi million dollar corporate) company can't accomodate a pregnant woman. And she's such a quiet little thing that she's accepted it, and I'm really upset for her. She's potentially endangering her (and her bubs) health and they honestly don't care.
Also now that I know of her situation I'm going to have to rethink my arrangements and either put off ttc a little longer or find a more caring employer!
Does anyone know if she is entitled to more than this, or if there is anything I can do? I'd hate for her to have something happen to her because of these 'people'..