Are you worried about maternity or paternity discrimination? Do you need advice on flexible working? Perhaps you need to take legal action against an employer but don’t know where to start? Or are you returning to work after a career break and worried about how to get back in the game? If so then take a look at the new forum I am moderating called #Workitout. This free forum, created by Joeli from Pregnant then Screwed and Anna (aka Mother Pukka), is a place where anyone can go and discuss their woes, get advice from experts or simply share their story. All you have to do is sign up and start talking.

And don’t worry if you feel embarrassed, or are concerned about your boss seeing you by accident, you can chat on the forum anonymously if you want.

There are some fab people on the forum too who can help you, including employment lawyers and HR professionals, not to mention Anna and Joeli of course.

If you don’t know much about Joeli from Pregnant then Screwed, check out a previous blog I wrote here on her: https://pitterpatterpither.com/2017/09/10/pregnant-then-screwed/

In a nutshell, Joeli was fired from her job the day after she announced her pregnancy, hence why she set up the Pregnant then Screwed movement. The key thing is that it’s not only about those who get pushed out of their job that join the movement, it’s for anyone from pregnant women to working parents who face bullsh*t from their employers or colleagues. From unsteady mental health, to employers refusing flexible working requests, to fathers encountering ridiculous bias if they want to spend time with their kids, to people who are considering starting a family and wondering how they can protect their career, it’s all covered.

When I asked Joeli about why she started #Workitout she said this: “Mother Pukka and I have been in touch for almost three years. I first came across her when she did a post about Pregnant Then Screwed on her blog in 2015 and I thought it was hilarious. Since then I have admired her work from afar and we have shared learning and information to do with flexible working and parental discrimination in the workplace. We have been looking for opportunities to join forces as we both know that working together makes us all stronger and it transpired that the from was something we had both been thinking about doing so we decided to do it together.”

In terms of how the forum can help, Joeli explains: “Lurking on the forum are some of the brilliant experts we have met along our journey – Danielle Ayres is a specialist employment lawyer from Gorvins Solicitors who runs our free legal advice line, Anna Ives is a specialist in flexible working requests from HR Puzzle, you will also find some of our mentors including: Charlotte Scoular, Rika Lennard and Jen Jones.”

And I’m sure Mother Pukka, needs no introduction. If you don’t already follow Anna on Instagram then you must do immediately as she is simply hilarious. Her real approach to parenting and honest tales of daily life are just brilliant. But there is a serious side behind all the comedy though, which is her Flex appeal campaign, encouraging flexible working across Britain.

I’m so pleased to be involved in something like this and to be a moderator on the forum. Since I started my blog the number of people who have shared their woes and concerns with me has been crazy and that’s just scratching the surface! The more we can talk about this and share advice the better in my opinion. Time to #Workitout.

Sign up here: https://www.workitout.org.uk/