Feeling Stuck and Insecure at Work While Pregnant: How Can I Protect My Job?

Dear seniors, I require your advice and guidance on the matters below on an urgent basis.

Introduction

I am a 30-year-old woman working as an executive assistant in the water purifier industry. I have a total of 5 years of experience in the same field and 2 years of experience in HR. For the past 5 months, my role was changed to Technical Coordinator, where I had very few activities since I did not have any technical background or technical knowledge.

Role Change and Current Situation

This role change happened because our previous MD was replaced, and the present MD does not want an Executive Assistant. My educational background is in English honors, and I completed my Postgraduate Diploma in HR from Repute University. When asked by our present MD, I told him that I am interested in an HR or Admin job, but he did not pay any attention to my request. My question is, why did he ask me?

Current Challenges and Concerns

At present, I am pregnant and going through tremendous mental pressure for the following reasons:

1. I do not have role clarity, which makes me feel insecure about my job in the organization. I have highlighted this to Management and HR several times, but no action has been taken. What should I do in this case?

2. I have requested a role change or asked for additional responsibilities related to admin work, which was completely denied.

3. Currently, I am reporting to the GM – Operations, who is very helpful, but he is also worried that my job may not be secure because he cannot assign me any other technical work due to my limitations in technical knowledge. Shall I request him to speak to the MD directly about my situation?

4. My MD also revised my appointment letter after 1 year and gave me the position of Technical Coordinator, which I did not accept.

5. I am afraid that if I ask for maternity leave, he will find some reason to ask me to resign. What should I do? Can I take legal action if he asks me to resign?

6. Shall I directly speak to our new MD about my job security, or can I seek legal help to protect my job until I find a new one? Because in this condition, it is very hard to find a job, and I need this job desperately.

Regards

Without knowing about the necessity of your employment, it is not appropriate to suggest alternatives. However, from your post, I understand that you need to remain employed in this company for some more time for obvious reasons.

Therefore, you may convince your kind-hearted GM to use his good offices to talk to your MD and persuade him to allot you any work that aligns with your general educational qualifications. Alternatively, get an appointment with your MD and politely explain your difficulties in performing technical work with which you are not at all conversant, and ask for some other work. If there is no positive response, wait patiently until your delivery and decide later about switching to a new job.

You know well that an expectant mother should have peace of mind in all respects. So, avoid negative thinking and be optimistic.

Thank you so much for your valuable guidance. I really appreciate your feedback, which I find reasonable enough to follow at this point in time. Today, I am processing my maternity leave application, and let's see how management reacts to this. However, I have two more questions at this point:

1. Can management issue another appointment letter after one year of employment to an employee with a role change? In that case, can the employee take legal action? I am aware of employees in our organization whose roles and responsibilities were changed, but management did not issue another appointment letter to them.

2. If an employee does not accept the modified letter, what will be the consequence?

I am requesting your valuable input on this matter.

Understanding Employment and Transfer Processes

Insofar as the initial employment of an individual in a particular organization is concerned, appointment is a subsequent process to recruitment subject to certain conditions. The acceptance of these conditions by the appointee is indicated in his/her joining a specific post/job allotted, thereby creating an employer-employee relationship that lasts until termination by either party.

Any other form of deployment of the individual within the same independent organization, effected by the employer, would not signify anything more than a transfer. Therefore, orders that contain such a subsequent change should be construed as orders of transfer, regardless of their form. Whether an employee willingly accepts it or not, it will not affect his/her continuity of service or the consequential benefits arising from it.

Thank you, sir, for your feedback. I shall surely work on my English. I believe my role wasn't changed because of my English but could be for another reason. They want me to leave. Anyway, today after applying for maternity leave, HR called me and asked me to leave. The reason they have shown is that they do not find my growth in this organization. I have requested them to consider my condition and provide me maternity leave.

Guidance Needed on Maternity Benefits and Employment Terms

Please guide me, sir, on the following:

1. Can I claim my maternity benefit? I had joined the organization on 15.07.2014.

2. In my previous appointment letter, the notice period is mentioned as 2 months. In the present scenario, if they ask me to resign, can I get 2 months' salary in advance?

3. In case they agree to give me maternity benefit, when will my maternity leave start? My due date is on 23.09.2014.

4. If I ask the company to terminate me after my maternity leave is over, what are the monetary benefits I shall get from them?

You might be thinking why I am asking so much; it is just because I require maximum monetary benefit.

Regards.

You are entitled to maternity benefits if you have actually worked for not less than 80 days in the 12 months immediately preceding the date of your expected delivery. So, do not resign now at any cost, even if they compel you to do so. You must issue a notice of claim for maternity benefits and payment, stating the date from which you will be absent from work. However, this date should not be earlier than 6 weeks from the expected delivery date. Since your delivery date is 23-09-2014, your maternity leave will start from 12-08-2014.

You will receive leave salary based on the average daily wages of the immediately preceding 3 months you worked for the 12 weeks of maternity leave, meaning the period of absence will be treated as duty without deduction of any other leave from your credit. Additionally, you will receive a medical bonus of Rs.250/= if prenatal confinement and postnatal care are not provided by your employer.

As you joined on 15-07-2012, resigning within 5 years since then will not entitle you to any terminal benefits other than the cash equivalent of the accumulated earned leave in your credit. If the management retrenches you, they are obligated to pay retrenchment compensation at the rate of 15 days of average wages last drawn for every completed year of service, along with one month of notice pay and leave salary for any leave at credit.

Regards,