How to best respond to a pregnancy announcement in your business

Key takeaways

• How you respond sets the tone for the rest of the parental leave transition, so it’s worth getting it right. 

• Make sure you’re up to date on your legal obligations and employee entitlements. 

• Adopt a flexible mindset early on. 

• Keep an eye out for any unconscious bias.  

Many parents say that their manager's response can really set the tone for the transition to working parent. If they respond well, it can set them up for constructive, open conversations about the upcoming transition. When they respond badly it can have a negative impact on future conversations. That's why you need to be prepared to handle this conversation well. 

While we can't do much to control your tongue in the moment, we can equip you with the knowledge and tools you need to have a respectful – and helpful – conversation with your employee* after they announce they're expecting (that means dads as well as mums!) – regardless of whether you have children of your own. 

This first conversation has the power to set the tone for the rest of the parental leave transition. It's absolutely crucial that you get this conversation right.  

Must dos  

• Show you care   
• Say congratulations  
• Have an understanding of parental leave entitlements  

Don'ts  

• Make assumptions about what they can and can’t do, or what they want 
• Leave them to navigate this work-life transition by themselves  
• Be negative or talk about performance  

How to respond to the announcement  

As an employer, you can't shy away from difficult conversations, but you can make your employees feel more at ease by engaging with curiosity and listening more than you speak. Your employee may have found it nerve-wracking to share their baby news with you. And many parents-to-be often delay this announcement because of job security worries, or feel anxious about not being supported in the lead-up to parental leave 

For adoptive parents, it can feel even more nerve-wracking, as often there’s very little – if any – time between finding out they’re having a baby and going on leave.  

As employers, how you react and respond to an employee's baby announcement really matters.  

Practice your response by completing our simulation for responding to a mum announcing a baby.

Practice your response by completing our simulation for responding to a dad announcing a baby here.

Here’s how to make sure those conversations go well. 

Demonstrate care  

Even if you’re happy for them, you might quietly be thinking that your employee's announcement is lousy timing for the business. Regardless, you’ll need to put any fears aside and offer heartfelt congratulations. For many expectant parents, the journey to parenthood isn't easy and they can have a lot going on personally. Ask how they are feeling, and respond with empathy. If the talk turns to logistics, focus initially on the employee’s early thinking, and don’t jump into talking about the impact their leave may have on the team. Chances are, they’ll already be a little worried about that, and there’s plenty of time later to cover off how to manage this well.   

Be informed  

Spend time familiarising yourself with policies for expectant parents and carers (and not just mums) ahead of time. Before leaving this meeting (or shortly afterward), ensure your expectant parents know how to access information about your organisation's parental leave policies and resources. Not there yet? Follow this guide to write your parental leave policies.  

Plan ahead  

Please don't wait until your employee is about to leave before planning how you'll cover them. We recommend setting up at least three meetings over the next few months to ensure adequate planning for their transition and subsequent return.  

In instances where there's no time to have three meetings, make sure you spend time on the plans and policies contained within our kit to help support your employee through this transition. 

Plan, but be flexible to change 

In this early conversation, you don't need to cover any specific details of the planned leave. Often, parents-to-be may be quick to commit to working until the end of their pregnancy or rush to say they want minimal time off. 

Your employees may not feel like this closer to going on leave. Or the baby may have other plans! And you might want time to think through the implications for your business without committing to a particular plan just yet. To ensure healthy, productive conversations that allow you to plan well for the upcoming transition, we recommend being proactive in the planning process.  

If you are in this situation, it's ok to arrange a separate time the following week to start discussing the details.   

You can use the Parental Leave Toolkit to help you plan next steps more intentionally, including the handover process, ongoing meetings and what needs to happen in the business.  

Challenging unconscious bias 

Many employers get these early conversations wrong, not intentionally, but because they don't know otherwise. And it isn't their fault. Until now, there has been a real gap in training and support for leaders navigating parental leave.  

Entrenched attitudes, behaviours and stereotypes about pregnant employees, parents returning from parental leave and flexible work can lead to unconscious bias and discrimination from managers and staff. You can mitigate this with manager training, implementing best practices, and understanding parental leave details such as keeping-in-touch and flexible working arrangements on the return to work. 

There is more to parental leave than time off; the more informed you are, the better you can support people through this transition. By supporting your expectant employees you are more likely to retain valuable skillets, experience and create a culture of support to help your organisation continue to thrive.  

Next up: Read about why a handover plan is so valuable in promoting your employee's mental health.  

_{*If you employ casual and contract workers, be sure to familiarise yourself with your obligations under the law regarding parental leave. Of course, as an organisation, you can choose to offer parental leave above and beyond your legal obligations.}