Telling my boss tomorrow...

I am sooo nervous !! I went to see my GP to get things confirmed today, get a referral for a midwife (going with Domino midwives), and booked in for a scan to see exactly how far along I am.

I know I can't be fired for being pregnant, but I've also only *just* started this job and am in our second week of training. They were also really good in letting me have three and a half weeks off over december / january because of the trip we have planned to see my rellies in Canada.

I guess I'm just scared that they will have a bad reaction, and not necessarily do anything silly like make it hard for me to work, but I know that bad feelings can be just as stressful, and I know also that stress is the last thing I need when I'm pregnant !!

Maybe I will be proven wrong and they will be fine about it and maybe even happy for me, but part of me can't stop feeling a little panicked.

Any advice ??

when I told my boss I was pregnant I told them I wasn't sure what I was during Re: Maternity Leave etc. But if you are open with them and let them know asap (because its a new job) if you are planning on going back after baby is born (you get up to 52 weeks maternity leave) then you can all sort something out.

Will bump the Parental Leave post for you - good information in there!!

Good Luck Jax

Hope it went well today Jax!

Ooh I am totally clueless about what to do about parental leave and maternal leave and rah rah rah its so confusing! Who would I call to talk about it?

re - the parental leave thing, Ring IRD and have a talk to them about it - you can either get paid parental leave - if you have been with your employer for 6 months or longer... it's a flat rate payment of $345 (i think) a week for up to 13 weeks, that's before tax.   OR, you can get the parental tax credit from IRD - which is the $1200 pay out after baby is born (may be less, depending on you and your partner's combined income).. plus family assistance on top of that as well etc - but as i said, give them a ring and find out your options - they can send you out a booklet to help you calculate what will be the best option for you. hope that helps a little

hey there, here is some information for you...
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Employees who are eligible for parental leave may also be entitled to a taxpayer funded payment for up to 13 weeks of the parental leave they take, increasing to 14 weeks on 1 December 2005. The payment can be taken by one parent, or shared between two eligible partners.

The payment for parental leave replaces an employee’s wages or salary up to a maximum amount. Currently, this is $357.30 per week (or $18,579.60 per year) before tax for jobs that the parent takes (qualifying) parental leave from. If you have more than one job, you are entitled to up to the maximum rate in total, not on a job-by-job basis. Like wages, the payment is taxed.

Information on calculating your previous earnings for this purpose is available in fact sheet “Calculating Wages for Paid Parental Leave Purposes”.

You are eligible for the payment if you have been employed by the same employer for the previous 6 or 12 months and you worked an average of 10 hours per week, including at least one hour per week or 40 hours per month, for that employer during that period. Information on calculating your hours is available in fact sheet “Calculating Hours Worked for Paid Parental Leave Purposes”.

In the case of a birth, the primary eligibility for paid parental leave lies with the mother. If her partner is also eligible then she may transfer part or all of her entitlement to her partner.
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hope thats helpful.. otherwise look here...
http://www.ers.dol.govt.nz/parentalleave/general.html

Jax I had the same reaction when i told my bosss and I'd been in the job 6 months. The first words out of her mouth after a long silence were " Was this planned"

I mean really!Some people need a good attitude adjustment!

Still this is my sencond to last day hooray! Maternity leave here I come! Whooooppppeeee!!!

My boss asked virtually the same thing, and added "because you didn't mention it in your interview" !!! I wasn't impressed.

I might be being pessimistic about this or whatever, but if they try to pull any stunts, or insinuate that I was purposely planning this behind their backs, I'm not afraid refer them to my lawyer or even to go to court - large corporation or not.

I'm pretty sure they can't actually do that without good reason, or at least not based on the pregnancy anyway. I reckon even if they did it would be too suss and I could take legal action. Hopefully it won't come to that.

i have an interview for teaching certificate next week i think, and I'll be HUGE!!! i wonder if they'll mention it?