{"id":539931,"date":"2026-06-17T13:38:11","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T13:38:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/539931\/"},"modified":"2026-06-17T13:38:11","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T13:38:11","slug":"im-ready-to-start-a-family-but-my-job-situation-is-really-getting-in-the-way-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/539931\/","title":{"rendered":"I\u2019m ready to start a family but my job situation is really getting in the way \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m a woman ready to start a family. I have stable <\/b>housing<\/b><\/a> and a stable relationship, but my <\/b>job<\/b><\/a> situation is really getting in the way.<\/b><\/p>\n

I\u2019m <\/b>on a temporary contract with an education and training board and won\u2019t be able to apply for a permanent one for several years, when I\u2019ll be at least 35.<\/b><\/p>\n

Ideally, I\u2019d like to start my family before then as I\u2019m worried about fertility issues if I hold off.<\/b><\/p>\n

What are my maternity leave options like on a temporary contract in the public sector?<\/b><\/p>\n

Ideally, I would like to keep this job long term but I\u2019m not sure if I\u2019m hampering my chances of being offered a permanent contract if I get pregnant during my temporary one.<\/b><\/p>\n

I feel incredibly torn as I do not want to put myself in a difficult financial position in order to have a child, but I\u2019m also afraid that if I wait too long I\u2019ll miss my chance at becoming a parent.<\/b><\/p>\n

The reader\u2019s scenario is one many workers are facing amid high childcare and housing costs, resulting in couples opting to delay having children until the time is \u201cright\u201d, work experts say.<\/p>\n

Sarah Geraghty, head of the careers division at The Communications Clinic, regularly meets workers who feel caught between competing priorities.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey might want to start a family but they\u2019re also navigating probation periods, housing costs, childcare expenses, future earning potential and the pressure to establish themselves professionally before taking time away from work,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

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For many, Geraghty says the question is not whether they want children but if the timing will \u201cever feel secure enough\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe difficulty is that perfect circumstances rarely arrive. Many people find themselves weighing the risks of starting a family now against the reality that there may never be a point when everything feels settled financially and professionally,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Geraghty advises the reader not to make a significant life decision \u201csolely on whether you\u2019ve achieved perfect career security\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn today\u2019s labour market, permanent contracts, affordable housing and complete financial certainty can feel perpetually out of reach,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cInstead, focus on whether you have enough information, support and financial planning in place to make an informed decision that\u2019s right for you and your life.<\/p>\n

\u201cA useful question is often not \u2018is this the perfect time?\u2019 but instead: \u2018Do I have enough information, support and clarity to make this work?\u2019<\/p>\n

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Liz Cummings, a HR business consultant at HR Buddy, says aligning aspirations for a family while pursuing professional goals \u201ccan be tough\u201d.<\/p>\n

However, the \u201cgood news\u201d, she says, is that workers on temporary contracts are not prevented from accessing maternity protections or maternity leave entitlements.<\/p>\n

\u201cA common misconception is that only permanent employees are entitled to maternity protections. That\u2019s not the case,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Employees on fixed-term contracts are entitled to the same maternity leave rights as permanent staff, she says, so if the reader becomes pregnant while employed, they are entitled to take the statutory 26 weeks.<\/p>\n

That is provided the contract remains in force, Cummings says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is important to note, however, if your temporary contract reaches its natural end date while you are on maternity leave, your employer is not legally obligated to extend the contract,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, it is discriminatory to end or revoke a contract because of your pregnancy or maternity leave.\u201d<\/p>\n

Noting that the reader works in the public sector, one advantage is that such employees generally have access to top-up payments, though this entitlement ceases from the date the contract expires.<\/p>\n

Given that the reader does not expect a permanent opportunity for several years, Cummings says choosing to start a family should not come at the expense of career progression.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom an employment law perspective, there is no requirement to delay starting a family to protect your rights at work,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cUltimately, while only you can decide the right timing for starting a family, the reality is that careers can often be built and rebuilt over time.<\/p>\n

\u201cFertility, unfortunately, doesn\u2019t always work to the same timetable. However, Irish employment law provides significant protections for employees who become pregnant while working on temporary contracts, including in the public sector,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

If you have work-related questions, from how to deal with burnout to running your own business, The Irish Times Work Q&A column is here to help. You can use the form below to submit your question. Please limit your submissions to 400 words or less and please include a phone number. Your name and contact details will be confidential and only be used for verification purposes. Any details about your employer will also be anonymised.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I\u2019m a woman ready to start a family. I have stable housing and a stable relationship, but my…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":539932,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[73],"tags":[79,18,19,17,20828,162346],"class_list":["post-539931","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-eire","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-work-from-home","tag-work-q-a"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116765727650569970","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/539931","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=539931"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/539931\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/539932"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=539931"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=539931"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=539931"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}