The Pregnant Newbie

Now let's fast forward, by now I have been in my new role for a couple of weeks, and I am 7 months

pregnant.

I reached out to our HR department to put everything in place for my maternity leave (I will probably make a post about this too, because why is this process so cumbersome in every industry!!), and my HR partner tells me that I do not qualify for paid leave.

I’m like whhhhaaattttttt!

So once I got over the initial shock, I asked why. She then explains to me that the company’s policy is that you have to be an employee for 90 days before you qualify for paid maternity leave, and by my due date, I would have only been an employee for 76 days.

At this moment, I felt scammed, I felt like an idiot, I felt defeated, and my hormones had already heightened all my emotions. In addition to my not qualifying for paid leave, my family's health insurance was also at risk! At this point, I did not know what else to do but cry.

Mind you, by this time, our house was already on the market, and although relocation was included in our package were a ton of expenses that came with relocating with a family that we had to cover.

My mind started racing!

Eventually, I settled down and shared the news with my husband. He reassured me that, from a financial standpoint, he would find a way to float everything. I felt so bad for bringing on this additional stress on myself and my family. I start thinking to myself, maybe I will just take 6 or 8 weeks of maternity, so it won't be so bad.

As all of this was going on, I was also scared to bring this up to my boss, for all I knew, he could have been in on it too!

But do you guys remember the woman I interviewed with, who I mentioned was a tough interviewer?

Well, during one of our 1:1’s she noticed something was off and asked if I was ok. I broke down and just told her everything. She was shocked and was honestly more upset than I was, and urged me to tell my boss and escalate this immediately.

The next day, I had a meeting with my boss and shared with him what was going on. He was surprised and apologized, and honestly had no idea that was the company policy. He immediately escalated this up; he mentioned that he can’t make any promises, but he will try his best.

A few weeks had passed, and I had just come to terms with my reality. Then, 1 week before my maternity leave, I get a phone call from my HR partner, and she explains to me that this has never happened before, but triggered the HR department to conduct a benefit analysis and compare this policy with similar policies are other companies.

They realized that most companies within our industry have moved away from this and don’t have any minimum days worked before your full benefits kick in. She explained that our HR department has decided to change the policy, but it will not go into effect until next year, but I will be given an exception and will receive my maternity leave benefits.

You guys, I just busted out crying tears of joy, and I was so proud of myself for saying something.

Not only did this impact me and my current situation, but because of my actions no woman at my company will never have to experience this ever again!

This experience is actually what inspired me to create this blog, because so many women reached out to many just to get advice after having similar experiences, and it felt so good just being able to share my story and give some advice and tips.

Never be afraid to speak up for yourself, and don’t ever see having a child as adisadvantage or burden in the workplace.

** I have included a free checklist with just some items to consider if you or anyone you know may be going through a similar experience. I also made a comprehensive guide with additional insights.