Are you seriously suggesting that a person secures a nanny over a year in advance? Also take into account that up to a quarter of all pregnancies end in miscarriage.
It's a well known fact that it's not all that easy to find child care, so yes, I would suggest to make arrangements and plan ahead as early as possible instead of whining afterwards. Also cutting a deal with an employer beforehand might be easier than after the fact.
Dude. For serious.
And of course, keep in mind all the failures of modern birth control that result in unplanned pregnancies.
Mark used the word 'people', which I do hope means parents, both dad and mum. Why the groans? Having children is such a huge step in so many ways- so discussing future arrangement during the latter stages of pregnancy does make sense, surely? Society at large should support people who want to help children, and this does make even more sense in an ageing society. However, both partners should discuss and organise childcare provision together in good time- and share emergency care. Partners will not of course employ a Nanny in advance, but beginning to look at possibilities, cost, agencies, law, etc, etc to begin to get organised is perfectly sensible, no?
So if someone is terminated because they cannot find childcare, how does that relate to performance and how is it coded in the reference?
It cannot be reflected in a reference letter, and if it is then the employee does not have to accept it, has every right to reject it and ask for it to be rewritten with accurate terms that reflect their job PERFORMANCE.
Further, this is one of those countries where kids are sent home from school for lunch and a parent is expected to be there. That employers cannot be reasonable in accommodating a work-life/family balance is absurd. You're only asking for a 10% difference. And you said you could get service from 8:00 to 5:00. That's 9 hours. Do you have to have a 1 hour lunch break? The law only requires a 0.5 hours. How long is your commute? Maybe they should offer on-site child-care services? It is a multi-national afterall. You could have some sort of work-from-home or blackberry while commuting arrangement. It's 2012. Physical presence 100% of the time is no longer a requirement to be productive.
I seriously get more and more frustrated with Swiss labor practices with each passing day.
And like Saharanz said, most likely will result in a woman loosing her job even before any conception was made. Why a woman should jeopardize her career for wanted to have kids? Considering how some companies are little minded when it comes to pregnancies and kids (like the op's situation) I can understand a woman not wanted to let her company knows her project.
But I'd have no problem telling a prospective employer that I ended my job because of pregnancy or having a small child. As a mum of three I will only work for an employer that can handle the fact that I am a mum of three, and I guess I am lucky that I am seen as extremely valuable (in part because of being an experienced mum!) and the 'package' includes the fact that I am only available part time, and I do take days off when my kids are sick.
But then again, I'm an in-your-face up-front kind of person, and that means fighting pretty hard to organise life so that everything runs as smoothly as possible...with an extremely supportive husband
[general reference, performance related]
We regret Ms. X's departure ( note: this is normally a very positive thing in a reference ), but understand that she has had to prioritise her young family's needs. We wish her and her family all the best for the future."
What makes you think that the OP didn't do all this discussion? The reality still remains that contracting for childcare is realistically done after your baby is born. Given the brief maternity leave here, it's not a lot of time.
I think most parents know it'll be tough but hope that it will somehow work out. There's simply no guarantee until baby comes and you're faced with the immediate need to secure childcare. All the talk in the world won't do more than present options, which you still have to secure after the birth.
but if nothing can be done, in your position, i would let them fire me to avoid unemployment benefit issues when resigning 'voluntarily'.
If you really decide to leave / terminate, then make sure you print off and keep all emails from your line management that praise your work; and negotiate a glowing reference from your employer.
Cheers,
Nick
If you aren't planning a long maternity leave then it is worth looking while still pregnant.
Cheers,
Nick
Granted, I know of one person on this forum who tried to do that, but then the person they were meant to hire was shafted when circumstances unfortunately changed. You can't have someone holding out for a nanny role for months on end that might not materialize. It's not how most companies operate and certainly not how childcare contracts operate.
I don't disagree with planning and looking at options. But you still have to wait for your wee one to arrive before you can be fully certain of childcare.
The reference must be agreed. Find someone savvy and you can have all subtexts (if there are any - I'm not convinced this isn't an CH-urban myth) removed.
Tom
What happened was I DID find childcare. It was 8-5 so only 45 hrs a week but since I have to work 42 hrs a week I also need an hour each timebafk and forth to work so needed some flexibility. My boss wld not allow me to be leaving at 1630 everyday. And to be getting to work at 0730 etc wld only just cover my hours. I needed a slight decrease to accommodate the childcare till I had a place in creche in august but he wld nit budge on 100% working hours. So I would be killing myself and barely seeing my baby and exhausted and doing both jobs badly. I applied for all creches and maman de jours when pregnant they only take apps once you past 12weeks.