Freaking out cause another girl PG in my office....

I am not even 5wks PG and I am already freaking out cause one of the girls in my office is already 17wks PG and my boss was expecting me to help out in her job whilst she's on maternity leave and now I've found out I'm expecting too and more than likely we'll be off at the same time!!!

I have told my girlfriend and she's very excited we can spend some time off together cause we're very close but I don't think my boss is going to see it like that....

I don't know how I'm going to be able to tell him and I don't want to loose my job.

xxdd :smt022

As far as I'm aware, it's illegal to lose your job because you're pregnant. I am sure your boss will understand

Thanks kyliealysha, I'm more sure he'll have no choice in the matter cause it is what it is but not so sure about the job thing maybe I'm being too hard on him - with the whole new workplace reform thing going on it just all makes me nervous....Hmmmm don't know perhaps I should just try and put it out of my head until I need to worry about it but since this is my second I'm already starting to feel my tummy shape change like the body knows where to go so why wait until later lets just all pop out now!!!arghhh....

I'm sorry you are in this situation... but legally you are not obligated to tell your boss for months and months yet, so take a deep breath, and realize that this is not your doing, not your problem, and your boss will figure something out... YOU have done nothing wrong... this is great that your expecting - enjoy it and congratulations (stuff work for a while... you are going to be a MUM)... yeah!

Cee Cee's right. If you lose your job over it, take him to the cleaners - there's plenty of precedent for doing it, too! It's just one of those things and they are legally obliged to accomodate you in your temporary state :)
You don't have to tell him right away, but if you feel like it will make your workload easier to have special considerationn, then it's a good idea to let the boss know about it.
You're not the first and you won't be the last woman to find herself in this sort of situation. The laws exist so that women can stop feeling guilty for being so 'unreliable' as to have children! And, unless the business goes belly up while you're on maternity leave, you have the right to return to work at that same workplace.
You will feel SO relieved when it's all out in the open!

Hey doll - hang in there - i know its not easy but he can't discriminate against you in any way - i am worried too about telling work - won't do it will after Xmas when i will be 12 weeks - and i am almost sure my assistant will hand in her notice immediately but its not my concern - thankfully for me i am definately NOT coming back to this job after maternity leave so couldn't give a toss really - good luck with your pg - and he may be disapointed a little but i am sure he will be happy for you really...

Thanks to you all so much, I know I shouldn't but I can't help but be anxious over it.

This is the deal you see: He made a comment to the other girl in here when she gave him her details of what she wants to do...meaning she said she wants to take 6 months off maternity leave and then come back part time until the end of the 12 months. He then said he didn't know about her doing that and then she told him but I am entitled to the full 12months off really I thought it would be better for me and the company to come back p/t earlier and he then told her that the laws were changing in relation to the maternity leave thing and he didn't think what she was asking for was really going to be able to happen.....

I can hear some of you now including myself just going over this stuff again and you know I think if I get any problems from him I don't know what my problem is I'll just get another job and it would be his loss cause that would more than likely mean he'd loose two people not just one....

Thanks everyone, I think I just needed to think out loud to get some strength, now all I need is to hold on to the strength #-o

xxdd

Oh I forgot to say that I realise that legally I don't have to tell him I'm PG for awhile but it isn't gonna be that difficult to figure out with the way my belly wants to tell the world already, I figure I've got about hmmmm.....maybe about 3 or 4 weeks tops before I start to become really noticable in my clothes.....

xxdd

DD: Leagaly you actually don't have to tell your boss at all! the only thing you have to do is hand in a letter to say you will be taking maternity leave - the maternity leave law has changed - before it was 12 months then you had to come back full time. Now it is one year - with and option of going part time at the end.

I hope you boss is good to you.

Luckily for me i had a boss who was over the moon about me being pregnant - so it wasn't hard to tell him at all

Good Luck with it

Ok, dd, this occurred to me after I posted. Maternity leave may be up for negotiation under the new IR laws, we'll see what happens.
HOWEVER (and I'm not shouting at you, I'm shouting to vent at the confusion the stupid IR laws will cause and the employers who will exploit that!), unless Howard has done something sneaky, our anti-discrimination laws have not changed. Unfair dismissal in a small business will not exist UNLESS (and this has been stated by the govt, I don't know how much they wanted to advertise it) there is a discrimination case. You cannot sign away your right to a discrimination-free workplace, I don't care what contract you sign.
Check the date of your contract. By the time you want to take ML, you may still be covered under your existing contract and that still stands until the end of its life.
The other thing is that it will still be against the law to discrimintate against someone on the basis of union membership...so if you want union help to help you sort out your next contract, as a current employee, you will be able to.
The IR changes are sinister in intent - just get a feel for how insecure people now feel!! Howard's govt urges all women to procreate, then shakes up their source of income that they will use to save up for it! Grrr. THEN, we'll be forced to find a job after 5 years in a job market that won't want us because there'll be plenty of women with no committments who will work for less and for more hours with no family to go home to. Good one, Barnaby!
There, I've vented.
Anyway, dd, remember, anti-discrimination laws have not been changed.[/list]

IK - I am going to go and read that now! Bloody Howard!
Also - i'm with you on the 5 year work thing!!! bloody rediculous!

Thanks guys, well it sounds like I could be screwed although I don't think I would be sacked more pressured into leaving.....anyway, I think it's all too stressful for now....

Yep, cross your bridges when you come to them, but be aware that pressure to leave, if you document things from now on and can prove bullying, consitutes unfair dismissal...and if you can convincingly show that the pressure to leave and the pregnancy are directly related (such as, no compaints about your work so far), then you've got unfair dismissal on the basis of discrimination. There are ways and means, so don't worry about it so much now. Wait to see if it even happens. It's important to know where you stand legally, though, because that can decrease stress on your part.