Please please help me

LegacyUser

Please help me!

I have just found out i am 5 weeks pregnant, which came as a massive shock to me as it was not planned. The bigger problem now arises as i am pregnant by a person i work with, i am his supervisor! he is ok with this but quite shocked and scared but can anyone help me find out will i loose my job if this gets out?

i am in the company over a year.

can i be sacked as i am his direct supervisor?

please help as i am very stress over this and dont want to cause any harm to my baby by stressing.

Nevyn

Congratulations.

What does you company have in it's policies and your contract about relationships with those you are positions over ?
Can you check your hr policies online or in your employee hand book or in the copy of your contract ?

bostonian

drink orange juice. lack of folate in the first trimester is linked to birth defects.

does the company have a rule saying "no fraternization between employees"? you should be ok otherwise.

Carrigart Exile

bostonian wrote:

drink orange juice. lack of folate in the first trimester is linked to birth defects.

does the company have a rule saying "no fraternization between employees"? you should be ok otherwise.

Firstly, does teh company know about your relationship? Per se having a relationship with a colleague is not a sackable offence and it would be a very foolhardy employer that sacked you for getting pregnant

karen3212

When did companies become so powerful that they can dictate who we can and cannot see/have sex with. Sorry op, i know that's no help to you but I shudder to think that they are supposed to be able to control your private life. Take care of yourself, I really hope your company doesn't have the power to fire you.

Anti

unless your contract specifically says you are not allowed to get knocked up* by a fellow employee you are fine

* sorry for lack of tact. And congrats btw.

Marksie

karen3212 wrote:

When did companies become so powerful that they can dictate who we can and cannot see/have sex with.

for many years now actually. It depends on the company rules

NextSteps

Anti wrote:

unless your contract specifically says you are not allowed to get knocked up* by a fellow employee you are fine

They'd be mad to even think about sacking a pregnant woman for being pregnant, for how she got pregnant, or for anything related to the pregnancy. The law would be entirely on your side and it would make them look very, very bad.

Relax, look after yourself and take folic acid.

Knockoff Nige

Investigate to see if the company have already dismissed someone for this before your time. If they have and the management is the same, they will probably have to do the same with you. If it hasnt hapepend before they might be a bit more lenient.

However, if there is a policy (read your contract) about this they may think that by letting you off, they are opening up a window of opportunity to the whole company which is a situation they wouldnt want to be in (if there is actually a compnay policy).
Might seem straight forward -she's preggers, go easy on her. But should you have signed a contract to say you wouldnt hook up at work, you breached that contract.

Manic Moran

karen3212 wrote: »

When did companies become so powerful that they can dictate who we can and cannot see/have sex with. Sorry op, i know that's no help to you but I shudder to think that they are supposed to be able to control your private life. Take care of yourself, I really hope your company doesn't have the power to fire you.

In order to avoid the perception of 'favouritism', a prohibition on relationships within the same chain of command is common enough.

There might be an option for one or other of you to transfer to a different department in the same company, that oftentimes appeases most people.

NTM

ceidefields

I think most companies would only have a problem with the fact that she's going out with someone who reports to her for the obvious reason that she controls salary increases and promotions of the person she's dating. Not that she's pregnant.

Not dating anyone who works for the same company usually ends up being unenforcable and I don't see the practical logic behind it.

My company has a policy that you can't be on the same team but you can transfer to another team.

Jack B. Badd

ceidefields wrote: »

she controls salary increases and promotions of the person she's dating.

I'd be very surprised to find any company that gives that kind of responsibility/authority to an employee that has been with them less than 2 years tbh.

Consult your work contract regarding fraternization between employees and your maternity rights, OP, and then approach your own supervisor with the issue.

Good luck.

SarahSassy

This may be a stupid question but why do your company need to know who the father is.....

You dont need to tell them and the father can choose not to as well...

SS

PS Congrats!

pretty-in-pink

They don't need to know do they? It's not like you're going to let the relationship affect your work. So long as work and personal lives remain seperate, they can't really do anything. Congrats btw!

Knockoff Nige

pretty-in-pink wrote: »

They don't need to know do they? It's not like you're going to let the relationship affect your work. So long as work and personal lives remain seperate, they can't really do anything. Congrats btw!

I'd say if its a large company and its the hr department who'd have a problem then sure they dont need to know. If its a small company, there is no way you could hide it and seems like a silly idea to keep such a secret in a small company. Saying that small companies generally dont have these rules. In fact, often is the case where they are all shagging each other (not calling you a slut op).

Colonel Sanders

annom wrote: »

Please help me!

I have just found out i am 5 weeks pregnant, which came as a massive shock to me as it was not planned. The bigger problem now arises as i am pregnant by a person i work with, i am his supervisor! he is ok with this but quite shocked and scared but can anyone help me find out will i loose my job if this gets out?

i am in the company over a year.

can i be sacked as i am his direct supervisor?

please help as i am very stress over this and dont want to cause any harm to my baby by stressing.

why do you have to tell them

radioactiveman

pretty-in-pink wrote: »

They don't need to know do they? It's not like you're going to let the relationship affect your work. So long as work and personal lives remain seperate, they can't really do anything. Congrats btw!

+1
don't worry it'll all work out. It can't be that uncommon, especially when you think about all the couples that get together in larger companies. they have to have some understanding:)

Carrigart Exile

Marksie wrote: »

for many years now actually. It depends on the company rules

I would like to see that challenged in court

cazzy

Its none of their business who you are going out with.

If your married/in serious relationship in some professions you would not be able to work with your partner or other close relative for fraud/security reasons (ie generally in banking partners would be sent to different branches or in accountancy onto different teams) but they would just move employees not fire them and they definitely would not get into trouble for socialising with each other.

Dont worry about it .... have a good pregnancy. Decide yourself if and when you want to tell them.

embee

bostonian wrote: »

drink orange juice. lack of folate in the first trimester is linked to birth defects.

There is no folic acid in orange juice. You need to take a supplement of folic acid to top up that found in your diet (which comes from dark green veg mostly, as well as fortified cereals). A deficiency of folic acid in early pregnancy is linked to neural tube defects, most commonly spina bifida. There are specific supplements out there for pregnant women - I found Pregnacare the easiest on the stomach.

Orange juice is better used in conjunction with iron tablets, as Vitamin C aids absorption of iron.

Congrats OP!! Unless there is some specific clause in your contract regarding getting involved with employees, you'll be fine.