This is an anonymous post from an Elpha member.

Switching employer in mid of pregnancy

Joel149·Jan 11, 2022

Posted in:Product Family & Relationships Career Growth Parenting

I am pregnant and planning to switch to another organization during my second trimester. Is it a good choice? Has anyone done this and when did you break this news to your new employer?

My new employer has a min 3 month employment policy as an eligibility criterion to avail parental leave.

shaunalassche·Jan 12, 2022

I wish this was not a question that had to be asked but here we are in 2022. First, congratulations on your little one! Such a blessing and I hope you are feeling well in your second trimester. :) If it is a dream job, then career me thinks that you shouldn't pass up something great! You will have to vet your new employer very very well to make sure they treat pregnant women and working moms well but I am sure you would do that anyway! If you choose a great company/team/boss, they will be more than happy for you and will accommodate however is needed. The 3-month minimum is great, but you will want to make sure you are not cutting it too close since babies come in their own time. It is likely you would not qualify for FMLA so you will want to make sure to know like ramifications if the baby comes early and what that means. Get everything in writing, protect yourself, have the hard conversations with your future boss, and hopefully it works out! Best of luck!

Joel149·Feb 07, 2022

Thank you Shauna. Sorry for the late response. I wasn’t very active on Elpha due to my morning sickness that happens the entire day. Luckily, there is this big giant I was interviewing with and I got offer from there too and I was open with the hiring manager and the recruiter about my pregnancy once I got the offer. They don’t have a 3 month policy and they are very open to welcoming me. Thanks for your kind words and motivation to stick to what’s correct.

Saranne·Jan 12, 2022

Not sure if this is helpful but my partner recently switched jobs (I am pregnant and in my second trimester) so during his negotiations he had to tell his new work, and that he also wanted to take 3x months parental leave (we live in Canada). His new company technically only offers paid parental leave after 1,5 years but he negotiated that and they are making an exception for him so he'll get a 100% top-up those 3 months :) He broke the news in the final negotiation talks! His new manager was so understanding and even encouraged taking the 3x months of parental leave, as he said he only took 5 days with his child and really regretted it.

Joel149·Feb 07, 2022

Saranne, Your husband is a great negotiator. I might not qualify for FMLA but I am in discussion with my recruiter to see if they can make any adjustments as I have seen the employers tweaking the policies. For eg, my current employer gives a 20 days 100% paid leave and 3 months STD at 60% payout only after 6 months of employment.