Can Employers End Fixed-Term Contracts for Pregnant Employees? Seeking Advice on Maternity Rights

I need some help on maternity rights for a woman on a fixed-term salaried contract. One of my friends was working with an organization that employs individuals on fixed-term salaried contracts. According to her appointment letter, she has almost every benefit that an employee gets except for gratuity and a clause where either the employer or employee can terminate the contract with one month's notice.

My friend had been working with the organization for over one and a half years before she became pregnant. She informed her manager of her pregnancy. However, to her surprise, her manager did not renew the contract and gave her one month's notice, as per the contract, stating that her contract would not be renewed because the project was over.

Now, my query is, can an employer terminate or choose not to renew a contract even if they know that the woman is pregnant? I am seeking serious advice as she is very much disturbed.

My dear friend,

Was the employment on a contract where both the tenure and salary were fixed? If so, what was the duration of the tenure?

Prima facie, the reaction of management is incorrect.

As requested by the learned member above - what was the duration of the contract?

Probably the person can approach the labor commissioner for redress in case of incorrect or illegal termination.

Except that the salary and tenure are fixed, the employee on FTE is eligible for all legal benefits subject to fulfilling the conditions under the respective Acts.

In the past, discussions have been held on similar subjects many times on this site. For your information, I am providing online links in two cases as follows:

- https://www.citehr.com/521552-matern...-download.html
- https://www.citehr.com/531118-regard...y-benefit.html

You can search for more threads on this site where similar subjects have been discussed. For further clarification, it would be better if you could kindly indicate the nature of the "organization" in which the female employee was working. Is it a private establishment, PSU, or Government Office?

Contractual Employment and Benefits

The employment was on a contract with a fixed tenure of 1 year, which keeps getting renewed annually. The salary offered was fixed, with a proper breakdown, including Basic, HRA, Conveyance Allowance, Phone reimbursements, Medical reimbursement, and medical insurance. There were also deductions and contributions from the employer for EPF. The organization where my friend works is a public-private organization.

Seeking Legal Advice in NCR

I searched the site for similar threads but couldn't find concrete answers. That is why I initiated this thread. I would be grateful if you could please suggest a good labor commissioner or lawyer in NCR with whom we can discuss the complete matter.

Regards

You must visit the local Labour Commissioner under whose jurisdiction the organization falls.

The matter of hiring a lawyer should only come up as a last resort since legal remedies can be time-consuming and more expensive than the amount you may receive as Maternity Benefits, which were denied.

I feel there may be no legal grounds to take action against the employer or manager, as the employer fulfilled their duty by providing a one-month notice to the employee. Additionally, as it is a fixed-term employment (FTE), the employer has the right to terminate based on the project period and its limitations.

However, on humanitarian grounds, it is inappropriate to terminate a woman who has disclosed her pregnancy, especially if the termination seems linked to her pregnancy and eligibility for maternity benefits.

Regards, Sarisri.

Under the contract of employment between the employer and the FTE contract employee, the employer can terminate the employee by giving one month's notice at the close of the tenure—agreed. The contract has been renewed in the past, and the intimation of the employee's pregnancy was the reason for the refusal to renew the contract, citing the apparent ground of project expiry. These facts need to be juxtaposed for analysis.

Maternity Benefits and Employment Contracts

The right to payment of maternity benefits provided under Sec. 5 and the restrictions on the dismissal or discharge of a woman at any time during her pregnancy imposed under Sec. 12 of the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, will certainly prevail over the terms of the employment contract. If I remember correctly, the poster raised a different issue based on the same facts in another thread, and our learned friend, Mr. Harsh Kumar Mehta, offered his views in the form of certain counter questions to the poster.