Facing Pressure to Quit for Maternity Leave: How Should I Handle This?

Hi, I'm in the marketing department, and I would like to avail maternity leave, but my organization is forcing me to leave my job and asking me to rejoin whenever I'm ready for work. I need your suggestions.

How is your health condition? Are you regular in your office? I am not aware unless an employee gives enough reason. Any company would not force or coax a person to leave. It seems they are giving you some break or sabbatical. From your query, one can't find why they are taking such a decision.

Employee Rights During Pregnancy

As per the rule, an employee cannot be terminated during pregnancy and is entitled to maternity leave with pay. You need to first read the company handbook and the contract/appointment letter you have signed. Are you in full-time/part-time/temporary employment, on probation, on a contract, or a confirmed employee?

Please do not get distressed. Get to the root cause and work it out with your HR people and supervisor, as all such matters must be handled amicably to ensure a good reputation at both ends, paving the way for a long-term relationship.

Good luck,

Runa

If you have completed 80 days of service in the company in the 12 months preceding the expected date of delivery, you are entitled to maternity leave under the Maternity Benefit Act 1961. An employer cannot terminate your services while you are on maternity leave. This is the legal position. However, try to work out an amicable solution with HR as Runa has suggested.

Regards,
B. Saikumar
HR & Labour Law Advisor
Mumbai

Thank you so much for your suggestion. I have been working in this company for almost 5.5 years, and I also have 120 days of unutilized leave. In my company, they are cutting down the manpower. So, if I take leave, their business would be affected, and they can't hire a new employee for my position while I am on leave.

If I leave my job, they can hire a new employee for my position to generate business and not have to pay my salary for 3 months. That seems to be their intention, and they are not allowing me to utilize my leaves. Can I approach them legally? Whom should I contact for this?

Thanks in advance.

Regards,
Asha

No company or organization can ask an employee to leave the job during pregnancy. Legally, you are entitled to your maternity leave as per the Maternity Act. You may approach the labor inspector of your area and file a written complaint against the company. They will be forced to give you the maternity benefit. Please tell me where your company is located and what business it is into.

Regards.

While you can go and complain to the labor department, that rarely does much good. It is a pity that you are working for a company that is not interested in supporting employees who have worked for 5.5 years. If you do go and complain, you can no longer work for them as they will make life miserable for you after you join. You will also have a problem getting another job as you cannot provide a reference (naturally, anyone calling them will receive a negative reply about your history, which is a bad thing).

You need to decide if you want to continue with such a company after you are ready to work again and make a decision based on that. At times, it may simply be a good idea to say goodbye to a bad company and move on, even if it means a financial loss in the short term.