Help - medical required before new job offer and pg!

Arrrrrgggghhhh - I applied for a job back in May and finally I am at the very last stage before an offer is made, however I need to undertake a medical. I have just received the forms I need to complete. It is VERY thorough (13 pages long!). Anyway my biggest stress is one very simple question: 'Are you pregnant - Yes/No'. I didn't think I could be asked that??? Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated. This is a very large Australian wide employer. Great - another stress!

hmm, i dont think there really is any advice for this one except i think you should answer it honestly.

you can see from an employers point of view why they would ask. It wouldnt be a great situation for them to hire you not knowing they were PG and then have to look for someone else again in 7 months time, that is assuming you will be taking maternity leave, do you know what you want to do when baby comes yet?

Hi there, an employer is not allowed to discriminate against you because you are pregnant. I know that they can get away with it by just not rating your interview performance highly (i.e. they don't say it's because you're pregnant, but they see your bump or you tell them at interview so they find other reasons to knock you back for the job) but now you're at the stage of getting the offer, if you are healthy you can't be knocked back. I think you have to be honest on your form, otherwise that is grounds for your dismissal!

Min - My thoughts were that it is actually discriminatory to not offer someone a position based on if they are pregnant. Of course in reality we know this does happen. Because of my previous m/c I'm taking this pg one day at a time!

yeah i know it is considered disciminatory, but i dont agree with that. just my opinion, didnt mean to upset anyone. i just meant i can uderstand it being discriminatory to fire someone already in a position if they fall pregnant, but i can understand why someone would not want to hire an employee they are just going to have to replace. i think some of the laws are too hard on employers.

All i was saying that it would make you look dishonest if you didnt tell them the truth on the medical form, and honesty is something that most employers would regard pretty highly.

Soph, welcome to my world!

Will the job require you to do physical stuff like lifting/etc?

Has your doctor confirmed your pregancy?

Firstly, if doc hasn't confirmed your pg, then you aren't "officially" pg, you've just had a positive test that "could" have been evaporative etc...

If the job requires physical skills, then the employer can discriminate against people who aren't able to do those things. Eg fire brigade has the same physical skills requirement for men and women because they have to have the same skill set.

If it is a public service type job (office etc) then they cannot discriminate against you on the basis of pregnancy.

How sure are you of getting the job? If you are positive you will get it, but the only thing holding you back is the pg, then tell them "yes" and sue them later.

But if you're not sure (and haven't confirmed with the doc) then it's a "no" and you find out next week!!

Or pre-date the form. You didn't know you were pg last week (or the day before you went to the doctor)!

Mind you, you DID NOT hear this from me! NO LIABILITY ACCEPTED!!!

(it's not illegal until you get caught...)

:funny: :chairfall:

Great advice divvy - trust a lawyer ;)

I agree with what Divvy has said, plenty of people don't know their pregnant till much later, and unless you've been to a doctor it unprovable that you found out before you filled the form in!

A very tricky one as obviously if you and a similar candidate are placed side by side, and you are pregnant, it could mean you miss out and they never have to admit it!

You said Medical? do you mean this form is all? If it were me I would say no if you just have to hand that in. I actually applied for an increase on my credit card allowance at 34 weeks, just wore a baggy top (didn't have such a big bump!) and when she asked me if my circumstances were going to change (ie was I going to lose my income) I said not that I'm aware of..and smiled sweetly! I got the increase and later I was in the same bank and she said hello and Felix was in the pram, not sure if she connected them together, but never mind! :)

Ahhh Great advice Divvy, I was actually going to ask you about it but you beat me to it! Yeap it's definately a desk job and I have a letter saying I have been succesful in everything so far and now just need to satisfy pre employment checks. So I guess if I don't get the job now watch out! They do other tests and examinations (all very intrusive in any case) so I guess they would argue that they ask the question to avoid any harm the tests may cause.
Will keep you all posted on how it goes.
Katanya - how brilliant you were with your baggy top!

Hey Soph

I agree with the girls.If you really want this job then you can deny that you knew you were pregnant when you applied.I know for a fact that with a previous employer at a bank that the manager didn't hire a girl because she LOOKED like she MIGHT be pregnant.This is completely against the law and I also went for an interview once with another bank and they asked me if I was planning on getting pregnant soon.....soooo none of there business!!I was told that they are not allowed to ask but if its on the medical form then I guess they are especially if it restricts you in your job e.g there is lifting or other diffcult manual tasks.If it hasn't been confirmed by a doc yet then you don't know for sure(even though hpt are 99% accurate!).Tell them in a couple of weeks after you get the job.Yeh its a little unfair to the employer but are they not going to discriminate against you for it and just make up an excuse as to why you didn't get the job?

Hello Kirsty my pg buddy!
YEah I wish I hadn't been to doc's yet but I have had it confirmed by gp and ob, plus they do an abdominal exam (and in some cases even an internal but I will say absoloutley no way to that!) so I don't want to risk anything to bubs. Oh well will see what happens I guess

Hey Soph

Goodluck and let us know how you go...............................am [-o< for you to get it!

Soph, can you pre-date the form to the day before you saw your doctor?

=; Your kidding... for an office type job they do abdominal exams & possibly internals!?

Crikey's are you sure you want to work there!?

It sounds like it's torture!!!!

Best of Luck Soph, I hope it all goes fine for you...

I told my boss & simply said I will be off for 5 months max! So she is cool, she calls me every second morning (our offices are a good 30 min walk away from each other) to see how I am!

GOOD LUCK! I'd lie, after all, a company only looks after itself, you have to look after you, so what will they do if in months time they find out? Too late, they cannot sack you then!

I agree with the other guys about lying that you are pregnant on the medical certificate. However, my concern is that you may need to let them know you are pregnant because if you need tests such as x-rays for the medical exam you need to notify them you are pregnant for this type of test. If you refuse to have a chest x-ray, the company will wont to know why and if you told them you weren't pregnant then it wouldn't look good for you. (If you know what I mean). Just a thought.

Nic

I agree with the other guys about lying that you are pregnant on the medical certificate. However, my concern is that you may need to let them know you are pregnant because if you need tests such as x-rays for the medical exam you need to notify them you are pregnant for this type of test. If you refuse to have a chest x-ray, the company will wont to know why and if you told them you weren't pregnant then it wouldn't look good for you. (If you know what I mean). Just a thought.

Nic

I guess it all depends on when you "find out" you are "definitely" pg!!

It sounds like this company is serious about knowing if you are pg.

While on the subject of discrimination, my old role included hiring people for data processing work and I work for a large government organisation. We had three temps on assignments and two were very emotional and needed time off quite regularly. The other was so big when she left that I had to support her when I walked her out on her last day.
When I interviewed the next temp she told me straight away that she was six months pg. Given the history on the other women, I did not want to risk it and almost didn't give her the job. Well, how wrong was I. She turned out to be the best temp we ever had and had no problems with her pg. She worked almost to the end and apart from her bump, you would never know she was pg. She was such a no fuss person who enjoyed her pg and her productivity was double to some others.

This was probably the one if the biggest lessons I have learned and apart from being against the law it is wrong.

So my advice is not to tell them, you never know when people (like me)may discriminate.

Gemma.

Also just thinking out loud, but your employer is not in the room when you have Medical as far as I can gather...

I wonder if you could say that there is a "chance" you could be preg & so therefore no xrays or similarly intrusive examinations?

I guess they'd have to mention it to the emplyer? Okay, so my out loud thinking might not be so good, Ok back to work you lot!

Hello Everyone and thank you all for your comments.

Well I had the medical today with the loveliest doctor and talked to him about the question. He was very adamant that it would not change anything and he has to write his recommendation that I have nothing that would prevent me from doing the job. So I am not so worried now but I should know the outcome in a week or so anyway. Fingers crossed!

GOOD LUCK

All the best with your pregnancy also.

GOOD LUCK Soph!!! :luck: :luck:

Just thought I'd update you all - got a call this morning and got the job!! Now I just have to see if I am entitled to mat leave at all.

=D> Congratulations! Thats great news! I hope you can get mat leave!

That is great news, Congratulations =D>

Congrats Soph - sounds like you handled everything every professionally. Kudos to you!

YAY!! Congratulations Soph!! That is great news! =D>

CONGRATULATIONS Soph!!!!
Thats so good about the doctor being so nice about it.

Update girls!!! Just found out 2 great things - the job is actually in the city office which is fantastic for me (thought I was going to have a tricky train and bus journey). Plus I get paid mat leave!!!!! Fantastic! Today has just been so good. Now we just need bub to keep doing as it should - grow baby grow and keep that heart beating!!!

Congratulations Soph.

That's all great news!!!

Yay for you Soph!

I'm just stunned they make you go through such an extensive medical for a desk job!

That's fantastic, Soph! I'm so pleased to hear that things are going well for you!! :D

Thats fantastic!! It just keeps getting better! YAY!

Hi Soph,

I find myself in the EXACT same position you were in when you wrote this thread.
I have been advised verbally that I am the 'leading candidate' for a position Ive applied for and that I will recieve the paperwork in regards to a pre-employment medical this week.

I want this job VERY much. It too is mainly a desk job but it will involve some driving to work sites and taking photos on occasion.

I was wondering if I could email you or message you directly somehow to ask about your experience and subsequently how your new employer received the message about your impending birth.
I know all employers are different, Im just hoping that because mine will be a Council / Government that they wont take it as personally as perhaps a small firm might.

Any assistance with how to handle this and show my new employer that I REALLY WAS the best candidate would be greatly appreciated.

Justine - from Tasmania justine.brooks@live.com

LOL This thread is over 2 years old but I hope Soph responds for you Justine :) I'd like an update! :D