During pregnancy, it is more necessary than ever to increase the family budget. After all, there is so much that the baby needs to buy as a dowry. Therefore, many expectant mothers are wondering: how to find a job for a pregnant woman.
Employers do not always, or rather almost never, want to employ a pregnant woman, since she will work less than she will spend on maternity leave. Moreover, it will have to be paid for, and no one wants such losses for their company. Therefore, it becomes more difficult for a woman in this position to get a job, but it is quite possible.
Labor guarantees provided for by law for pregnant women
The Labor Code of the Russian Federation provides the following guarantees:
- Prohibition on establishing a probationary period. If a boss who knows about the employee’s situation offers her a vacancy and assigns her a probationary period, then such an action can be regarded as a violation of human rights.
- Limitation of labor on heavy objects that are directly related to negative conditions. The boss is obliged to transfer the employee to light work in this case.
- Prohibition on going on business trips , on overtime work, at night, on weekends and on holidays. In addition, management is strictly prohibited from recalling an employee from vacation.
- Prohibition on terminating a contract between an employee and an organization against the will of the former.
- Transfer of funds provided for by the law of our country.
Official employment
It is advisable to start looking for a job immediately after you find out you are pregnant, rather than waiting until you have a baby bump. When employed, a woman has the right not to talk about her pregnancy, unless she is required to undergo a medical commission. By law, an employee is required to report her situation before the 30th week of pregnancy, which is quite a long period. Of course, this will be noticeable much earlier and it will be better if you inform management about it yourself, and not when they notice it.
If you said at the interview about your pregnancy, then this is not a reason to refuse you. Even if you receive a refusal, but you know for sure that the desired position matches your education and professional skills, then you have the right to demand an official refusal. After this, you can go to court, since according to the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the employer does not have the right to refuse work due to pregnancy. If the result is positive in court, you are required to be employed and paid compensation for moral damage. And the employer must be punished, there is even criminal liability for this.
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Therefore, when officially employed, a woman has the right to all benefits due to her.
For which categories of citizens is a medical examination required when applying for a job?
In some situations, the boss undertakes to organize a medical examination at his own expense, both for existing employees and for those just hired.
For certain categories of citizens, a medical examination is mandatory, since without it their placement is unacceptable. These categories include:
- minors;
- workers engaged in heavy work and work with harmful and (or) dangerous working conditions;
- employees of food industry, public catering and trade organizations;
- water supply workers;
- workers of medical and preventive institutions and children's institutions;
- persons recruited to work in the Far North and equivalent areas from other areas;
- persons hired for work performed on a rotational basis.
Even if an employment contract was not concluded between the employee and the organization, payment for the medical examination still occurs at the expense of the latter.
At the end of the medical examination, an official report is issued indicating the suitability of the employee. If the conclusion is negative, management refuses to admit the person and such a decision cannot be appealed in court.
When the fund refuses to reimburse expenses for maternity benefits
The Fund will refuse and it will be impossible to win the dispute in court if there are clear signs of fictitious hiring or fictitious labor activity.
When submitting documents for reimbursement of expenses for maternity benefits, the fund will be suspicious if:
- the employee had no work experience in her specialty or specialized education,
- the position was created for her appointment, and then removed from the staffing table;
- the employee was hired just before maternity leave for a position that was created specifically for her with a salary that was “excessive” for an ordinary employee of the organization.
- An agreement was concluded with the employee, the execution of which is not confirmed by any documents.
As an example, look at the resolution of the Administrative Court of the North Caucasus District dated August 4, 2021 in case No. A32-38286/2016.
This situation is especially dangerous for a company that:
- For a long time before being hired, the pregnant woman did not pay or paid minimum insurance premiums;
- In reporting on the number of personnel, less than one or one employee without wages was shown.
What benefits does an expectant mother receive when getting a job?
The birth of a baby and all the upcoming preparations for this important event require large financial investments, and besides, the fairer sex will remain at home for some time after giving birth, and therefore will not be able to work, which will cause the family budget to suffer certain losses.
Naturally, a married mother can rely on the help of the child's father , but mothers who have to raise their child alone have no one to rely on and for this reason they try to provide themselves and their baby with all the necessary things even before giving birth.
When looking for a job, they are motivated by the fact that they need to work hard before the birth of the child in order to be entitled to monthly payments and not worry about not having enough money to buy certain things.
Benefits available to expectant mothers:
- Maternity benefit. It is accrued for maternity leave at the place of employment on the basis of a certificate of incapacity for work, which is provided to the mother at the antenatal clinic. The sheet must be provided to the accountant, after which no later than 10 days from the date of its presentation, the funds must be issued. You can apply for such a payment within 9 months and no later than six months after the end of maternity leave. The amount of payments is the amount of the average salary, however, there is a limitation: the maximum amount cannot be more than 38,583 rubles. These funds are not awarded to mothers who are not officially registered.
- Federal benefits for working pregnant women. A representative of the fairer sex who registered before 12 weeks has the right to such an allowance, which is 400 rubles. To receive it, you will need to fill out documents and take them to the accounting department.
- Monthly compensation payment. It is paid from the birth of the child until the age of 3 at the place of employment and its amount is 40% of the average salary for the last year, before the start of the vacation.
Is it worth it for a pregnant woman to join the labor exchange for the sake of payments?
If your search is still unsuccessful, contact the employment center for help. There you will be offered suitable vacancies. And if there are none, they will be registered as unemployed.
By registering with the employment center, you will receive unemployment benefits, the minimum amount of which is 890 rubles, and the maximum amount is 4,900 rubles. You will receive these payments until maternity leave.
But remember that a woman registered as unemployed does not have the right to receive maternity benefits; the employment center does not provide such payments. In addition, after you bring a certificate of incapacity for work to the labor exchange employee, you will no longer receive unemployment benefits. These payments will only resume when you are ready to look for work again and start working on it.
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The most unsuitable jobs for a pregnant woman
During the period of bearing a baby, a mother is obliged to worry only about the health of her baby, and therefore positions associated with regular stress and excessive physical activity should be refused or chosen part-time, because during the period of bearing a child it is strictly forbidden to lift heavy objects and experience negative emotions.
The following vacancies are unsuitable for such people: bank employee, postman, salesperson in the wine and vodka department , because here you will need to have great endurance in order to resolve various disputes with clients.
Also, employment in the police is not suitable for such ladies, since the position of an operative, interrogator, investigator or criminologist will make her experience discomfort and stress, and besides, the contingent will begin to cause irritation over time.
Also, working as a pathologist and surgeon is not suitable for such representatives of the fair sex.
Employment Center
If you are unable to find a good option, you can contact the employment center, where they will select appropriate vacancies for you. If there are no vacancies for you, then you will be registered as unemployed and monthly benefits will be calculated.
The amount of benefits varies in different regions, and mainly depends on the cost of living. But you will receive benefits only until the birth. You will not receive anything from the employment center during maternity leave. And when you bring a certificate of incapacity for work to the exchange, payments will stop altogether. Payments will resume only when you are ready to go to work.
It is possible to find a job while in this situation, but you will have to spend a lot of time and effort on this. If you want to tell the whole truth to the employer, then you need to prove yourself as a good specialist, different from all candidates for this position.
Where to find a job for a pregnant woman
When looking for an official job, you need to focus not on your professional skills and knowledge, but on the physiological state during pregnancy. In order to preserve the health of both the woman and the child, it is advisable to find a job with a stable schedule, without night and overtime hours, with the least physical and nervous stress.
Suitable professions for a pregnant woman are working with children, paperwork in an office, library or archive. It is necessary to exclude from the list jobs that require great physical exertion, nervous tension, and financial responsibility. For example, working in law enforcement, trade, courier service, banking, or a warehouse is not suitable for pregnant women.
You need to understand that a pregnant woman is in somewhat cramped conditions, since she cannot choose a job “to her liking” or in accordance with her existing professional knowledge and skills. Of the options offered on the labor market, it is advisable to pay attention to those vacancies that will cause the least harm to health, but at the same time will be official, that is, they will allow you to receive maternity and other social payments. From the available offers, you need to choose those that are suitable for the health of the pregnant woman and have the highest possible salary. After this, you can send your resume to employers and go for interviews.
In which field is it realistic to find a job while pregnant: my recommendations
In fact, it is much easier for pregnant women to find a job in the early stages as long as it is not noticeable to others. In the later stages, this is much more difficult to do, but it is possible, subject to certain conditions of the employer:
- informal employment;
- work under a civil law contract;
- labor contract.
All options allow the employer to painlessly terminate the employment relationship at the time of childbirth, freeing up space for a new employee and eliminating additional personnel and accounting work.
The vacancy option depends on the qualifications and level of training of the applicant, but you can always apply for the simplest and most popular vacancies:
- Sales Manager;
- administrator;
- salesman;
- dispatcher;
- secretary or personal assistant;
- clerk
