possible pay rise but they dont know I'm pregnant.

knobblyknees

I have been working in a position for the past 3 years. There has been a pay freeze in my company since that time so my wages have not changed since day one. I would consider myself a diligent hard worker with lots of enthusiasm for the job and am always eager to please.
I work on a small team and yesterday my supervisor with whom I have a good chatty open relationship suggested that it was about time, he proposed to our boss, that I should get a payrise. He did this today and although nothing was agreed, he felt it was possible that I may get a rise. The problem is that I am pregnant for the first time. I am only 7 and a half weeks gone and as is the norm, Im at least going to wait until 12 weeks to tell friends and work. The problem is I feel like I am being dishonest letting my supervisor push for a salary increase for me while I have this big secret. Am I overreacting? I'm trying to see this from my main bosses point of view. When I go to him in 5 weeks time to say Im pregnant and will be taking maternity leave, I'm worried he will think I was being sly getting a pay increase or that my supervisor who is going out on a limb for me will be pissed off. Please can you let me know your thought? Im a bit torn. Should I be feeling guilty?

Victor

Congratulations in both respects. I don't want to spook you, but don't count your chickens on the pregnancy the size of the pay rise.

knobblyknees wrote: »

Should I be feeling guilty?

No. You are getting a pay rise because of your hard work and ability.

Depending on you contract, two scenarios could play out:
* You are only entitled to Maternity Benefit - it saves your employer money while you are on leave.
* You are entitled to Maternity Benefit and a top-up from your employer - the pay increase means your employer is paying you a few percent more than the are now. No huge deal.

Neyite

Dont feel guilty. You are a hard worker and deserve it. You have months and months left in the job yet before maternity leave so you can go to them in 5-6 weeks time and say that you didnt say anything earlier because it was the first trimester, and present proposals as to how you will ensure the role runs smoothly in your absence.

I was a bit concerned that my supervisor would get worked up because none of the team can do my role, so I prepared a training programme for my role with handouts to show them that I was diligent about the job no matter what. Turns out she was genuinely delighted for my news and told me that she knew I would ensure they were not left in the lurch, not knowing how to do my job.

The Lorax

I agree with Vincent. Proceed as normal, and then simply tell them after 12 weeks. It shouldn't affect anything in that regard.

knobblyknees

Thank you both for your advice. I will definetly take you up on it.
I suppose my worry stems from the fact that I work with 90 percent men and I know they have not dealt with a pregnancy in the job for a long time so I'm hoping they will take it well.

okiss

You have worked hard for your employer over the past 3 years and it is good that they know this. I would not say anything in regards to your pregnancy until you are at least 12 weeks gone or longer.
You don't know if you have a pay rise yet so wait and see what happens in this regard. When you tell your employer you need to find out if you will be out on full pay or just get maternity pay. Maternity pay is based on your salary for last year and it has a max limit - see the social welfare site for more information and find out when you have to apply for this.
Also if you go as a public patient to have your baby there is no cost. If you go as a private patient no health insurance policy will pay the full amount for this and you will have to pay a few thousand costs for this. I would ring you insurer to see what costs you would have before making a decision. I had a friend who worked for one of the health insurers and this was a common question for her.