Facing Job Insecurity During Pregnancy: How Can She Navigate This Unfair Situation?

Dear Friends,

One of my colleagues' wife works in a private sector concern in the software department, which she joined 6 months ago. Her confirmation was due this month. Till this period, there were no issues for the management regarding her work. Even her appraisals, which took place in September, were quite good, and her reporting officer herself personally told this lady that the performance is quite satisfactory, and she has a lot of potential to grow further in the organization.

However, 2 months back, she informed her reporting manager that she was pregnant because she had already undergone a miscarriage earlier, and the doctor had advised her to be very careful this time and not overburden herself. The manager did not seem to have any issues with it for the last 2 months. However, just on the date of her confirmation, the management seems to give all silly reasons as to why they cannot confirm her and why she should leave the company.

The same management who did not have any problems with her work or attitude during her probation suddenly seems to have issues during her confirmation. Now they feel that since the workload in the department is not much, the responsibility can be handled by the existing employees in the department. Then they state that the higher-ups were against the idea of creating this position, but they were forced to bow to the wishes of the then-manager who left the company subsequently. When they realized that these allegations/reasons don't hold any water, they broached the subject of her leaves. She has 20 leaves to her credit during her probation period, but as per company policy, an employee is entitled to only 2 leaves every month; the rest are encashable. She has taken 8 leaves so far. If leave was an issue, it should have been broached during the appraisal. Probationers at the managerial level have taken as much as 22 leaves, but they have been confirmed this month.

I have the following questions:

1) Can a company ask a lady to resign if they are notified that she is pregnant, and her date of delivery is after 6 months?

2) The management does not state the reason for maternity leave clearly but is now accusing the employee of non-satisfactory work. If this was the issue, it could have been broached during the appraisal or any time during the probation period; why wait until the confirmation date?

3) There is no use talking to the management as it is a highly centralized setup and the decision of one man rules.

4) She is not in a position to search for a new job right now as no company will be willing to employ anyone who will go for maternity leave in 6 months. She cannot sit at home because of financial compulsions. These tensions are having an adverse effect on her health also.

What should this lady do under these circumstances? Is there no law to take such management under the scanner for gender discrimination? Please advise as this issue needs to be addressed urgently.

Please, friends, this is urgent because the organization might not give her much time to react and might ask her to leave.

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In the corrected text, I fixed the spelling of "b'coz" to "because" and added commas for clarity. I also separated the text into two paragraphs for better readability.

Hi Tittli,

The answer for your first question is "A BIG NO".

I don't think that there is a law to take such management under the scanner for gender discrimination. If she is a confirmed staff, we can try something. How is the company's financial position (is it a reputed company)?

My suggestions to your friend: please tell her not to get worried during this stage, all that happens will end well. My prayers to God would be there.

Regards,
Arjun

Dear Arjun,

Hi Tittli,

1. The answer for your first question is "A BIG NO".
2. I don't think that there is a law to take such management under the scanner for gender discrimination. If she is a confirmed staff, we can try something. How is the company's financial position (is it a reputed company)?

My suggestions to your friend: please tell her not to get worried during this stage; all that happens will end well. My prayers to God would be there.

Regards,
Arjun

Dear Arjun,

Thank you for your reply. The company is a medium-scale software firm, and you know the effects of recession. I have mentioned that she has been dragged into this issue only during her confirmation. So, is there no way to get out of this?

It is illegal to terminate the service of a female employee solely on the grounds of her pregnancy without any reason to demonstrate gross misconduct on her part. Therefore, it is advised not to resign from service abruptly. If there is pressure from the management, there are mechanisms in place to resolve the issue. She can seek assistance from the District Labour Office for intervention. Additionally, she can approach the Office of Women's Rights Commission or other relevant bodies for addressing mental harassment in the workplace.

Regards,
Madhu.T.K

Hi Tittli,

Ask her to give a try to console the management. At a later stage, as a last attempt, she can make use of the Maternity Benefit Act through the local labor officers. Ask her to casually notify her boss about the Maternity Benefit Act regulations.

C. Madan

Hi Titli,

The situation that you have described is no doubt delicate, but believe me, it happens with women very often these days. The lady you are talking about is not a confirmed employee, and that makes it even more difficult for her to fight the battle. I agree with Mr. Madhu that it is illegal for any organization to terminate an employee based on the ground that she is pregnant, but here the management can cite 100 other reasons for not confirming her, and they are never going to talk about the issue of pregnancy.

She has little or no choice in this situation. Moreover, if the top management is also involved in this game, then they will make her stay difficult in the organization. Considering that she is pregnant and has already had a miscarriage before, she should be extremely cautious about her health right now (suggestion as a woman, not as an HR) and just take this incident as a lesson in her life and just let go.

In simple words, I am asking her to put her weapons down, but I feel it will be beneficial considering a greater cause.

I hope this makes sense to you.

Hi Titil,

Madhu T.T. is giving the right suggestion. I think you should go to your local labor office and lodge a complaint against that management.

Best Regards,
Rajendra Kumar Sahoo (rajendra_33377)

Dear Friends,

Thank you for your comments. The situation is exactly as Indrani put it. The management does not broach the topic of pregnancy/maternity leave, etc. They are citing all other reasons that I have mentioned in my original email, i.e.,

1) Non-satisfactory performance on the day of confirmation after giving good ratings in PA just 1 month back.

2) Lack of work in the department even though the department boss also knows that at present even the other people in the department as well as other departments have little work.

3) A vacancy that was created without giving it much thought.

And any other reasons that they can fathom.

Under these circumstances, it seems that the lady has made a mistake by revealing her situation to her superiors, but she was forced to because of stressful physical working conditions in the department 2 months back.

So it seems that the lady can only keep quiet about it and let management have their way because she is not confirmed? Taking legal recourse as Mr. Madhu suggested will also consume a lot of time, and she fears that her chances of employment with other firms will also be affected if the new employer becomes aware of this case.

So is only keeping silent and bearing it the only option?

Hi,

I completely agree with Mr. Madhu. If the female employee has completed 80 days of service with the employer, she can avail of maternity leave as per the law. It is immaterial whether she is in a probation period or not. She can approach the Labour Commissioner, and the employer has to sanction the paid leaves for 12 weeks. If she produces a medical certificate from the doctor after delivery for additional leaves, the employer should also sanction these additional paid leaves.

Thank you.

Well, it's all dirty politics sometimes HR plays, and sometimes they become victims. When they play, they take pleasure in seeing others cry, and when they themselves cry, everyone pours their sympathies as if they haven't hurt a flea in their life.

Your friend has already suffered a miscarriage, and the doctor has advised her to be careful. So, if she follows the advice of Tk. Madhu and pursues her case in the labor courts, the management will further get angry with her. Even if she wins the case, how can you work in an environment where the entire management is hell-bent against you? Mentally, you can't work; that's human nature. Moreover, there is a warning given by her doctor regarding taking tension in this case. It's better to remain quiet.

All we can suggest is about the duties and rights. This is up to the victim to decide how she would move ahead in the circumstances. Let her decide. Maybe despite her right to take paid leave, she may choose to leave the organization without any objection. Alternatively, she may choose to take the legal route and go to court against the company. Our discussion is aimed at making her aware of her legal rights. Of course, the decision on what steps to take and how to deal with the situation depends solely on her, and whatever course of action she chooses should be firm and forward-looking. The outcomes will depend on her taking the appropriate steps, and if needed, assistance can be provided.

I agree with Anurag that the final decision-maker is the victim. She has to consider her health before making any decisions and has to look for a smooth route. As management wants her to let go based on performance rather than the reason of being pregnant, she has to bow her head down, although she has the right to fight back. As mentioned by our friends, management can present numerous reasons to indicate that the issue lies with her performance. It is not advisable to fight back unless she has the proper evidence.

I advise her to review all the opinions shared by our friends before reaching a decision.

Regards

Considering the fact that only she has everything to lose and nothing to gain in the whole process, as the opinions suggest, I think she should not throw in the towel. Instead of her entering the fray, let us help this colleague through any local NGO to approach the National Women's Commission and the concerned labor authorities on her behalf. If we all pull together, I see a ray of hope. Otherwise, the management will get away with murder and will not learn any lesson in the process. I believe the intervention of the Women's Commission is going to help; the issuance of notice itself will scare the management. The management is likely to come up with the plea of non-satisfactory service, but given the other facts, the position becomes obvious that this is only a ruse to somehow get rid of her. The provisions of the Maternity Benefit Act can also come to her aid.

I request all HR professionals to look for an NGO to take up this matter.

Regards,
KK Nair

Titti,

1) Market down.
2) Maternity leave is applicable for only 12 weeks.
3) She has to apply for leave two months before delivery.
4) Management, financial issues, and politics. These are the major issues that could happen in this case.

Thanks & Regards,
Parthasarathy

As other members have suggested, since the company is trying to obtain her resignation based on non-performance, it will be difficult for the lady to prove that the management is taking these actions because of her pregnancy. Therefore, she should concentrate on her work and strive for perfection (which I know is challenging given the mental trauma she is experiencing) so that the management lacks a basis to prove her non-performance.

God will take care of the rest.

Swati

The management is not willing to give her any time. It wants to make her resign and leave as soon as possible.

Are labor courts fast track? I mean, is the decision given fast, or does it drag like the rest of the legal proceedings?

What can a Women's Rights Organization do to help her in this case even if she approaches them? How can she prove that it is based on maternity reasons rather than performance that the management is accusing her of now after her good appraisals just a month back? The management does not explicitly state this as the reason but has been mentally disturbing her now.

The opinion of K Ravi is right. I agree. It is not that I have not considered the negative impact of approaching government authorities. But, if you leave the organization accepting the 'charges,' it will lead the employers to take similar action against others also. If this is the case, there could be no young women employed in the private sector.

If the new maternity policy applicable to government employees, which allows 6 months of maternity leave, is made applicable to the private sector as well, will there be employment of women? Or will they appoint only unmarried women, and will their service be terminated after marriage (some months in advance, so that there will not be any interpretation of termination due to pregnancy!)

It is not the right culture that in order to take care of customers, an employer needs a woman employee. As long as she does not ask for any benefits, her appraisal is very good. But once she declares that she is pregnant, she becomes an excess employee with poor performance. The advocates of HRD (I believe in the Personnel Management concept, and I call myself an employee and not a 'Professional' as is referred to under the new system) should realize one thing.

Human Resources should be developed, and it is for finding out the possibilities of utilizing the resources in each human being employed that the HRD is set up. If one employee is not fit for one job, give her another and use her resources. If she is not fit for any job, it is a shame to HRD itself which selected her!

Regards,

Madhu.T.K

Dear all,

Mr. Madhu has provided a comprehensive overview of the case along with suggestions, and other HR experts recommend leaving the company without involving the Labour Office. If you do not wish to include your experience at this company in your profile, then proceed with the legal option.

Regards,
Shish Uniyal
Executive HR
J.S. Furnishings Ltd.

During the probation period, services can be terminated without assigning any reason. This service term is clearly mentioned in the appointment letter of the new recruit and cannot be challenged.

However, in your case, it appears that the management does not want to grant long leave to ensure that office work does not suffer, and they are trying to replace her. I don't think any persuasion to management will result in her confirmation. It is the organization's behavior that is reflected in your case. It is advisable to look for another job after delivery.

Regards