Facing Maternity Leave Denial in a Small Company: What Can My Friend Do?

Hi, I have a friend who is working in a private Indian company with an employee strength of 48. She has been an employee for 1.3 years. Currently, she is 3 months pregnant and will require maternity leave in the future, around 5 months from now, as her employment will reach nearly 1.8 years with the same company. The company is managed by the owner in the position of Managing Director, and he is directly involved in decisions regarding long leaves.

However, the management is pressuring her to resign. They claim that since the employee strength is below 50, they cannot afford the cost. I advised her not to submit a formal resignation letter. I am also curious to know what steps she can take in this situation. Despite facing challenges, she has effectively managed her office. Currently, she is open to compromises such as taking a 3-month leave followed by 3 months of work from home.

Company's Leave Policy

The company's leave policy, as shared by the owner (MD), does not mention maternity or paternity leave. It is concerning that many startups do not have clear maternity leave policies and resort to forcing female employees to resign when they require such leave.

Please advise on how she can navigate this situation effectively. Thank you.

Dear Manashi, a lot of discussion has already taken place on issues similar to yours. You may check the past threads:

- [Maternity Leave Dispute - Giving False Reasons Such](https://www.citehr.com/588745-maternity-leave-dispute-giving-false-reasons-such.html)
- [Company Deny Give Maternity Leave Forcing Resign](https://www.citehr.com/587381-company-deny-give-maternity-leave-forcing-resign.html)
- [Maternity Leave Pay Not Given Asking Me](https://www.citehr.com/588912-maternity-leave-pay-not-given-asking-me.html)
- [Maternity Issue - Director Wants Me Resign Rejoin](https://www.citehr.com/589497-maternity-issue-director-wants-me-resign-rejoin.html)

Check the replies of the experts as well as my replies. Make an action plan of how to handle the situation. Upload the action plan here. Some seniors like me will correct it.

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

Hi Manashi, it is so sad to see that some employers are still considering human resources as just 'cost'.

Statutory requirements for maternity leave

Coming to the statutory angle, it doesn't require any internal policy to claim maternity leave.

Management challenges and potential solutions

Now let's look at it from a different perspective. Being a boss-driven company, the 'management' may play all sorts of games to make your friend leave the company and save money to be paid during maternity leave. A fight with this kind of people will drain her energy, and it can affect the baby as well.

1. If there is an option for her to work from home, it can be a relief. After delivery, she may not be able to return to work immediately after 6 months, and she may take a couple of months more to get into a comfortable stage (and it depends, some can quickly return to work).

2. If her decision is not to work with this kind of soulless organization, recommend her to negotiate for good notice pay. Let the company pay for it. The experience gap during maternity is not considered a huge issue nowadays, and we are seeing a good number of women rejoin the industry post-delivery.

3. If the company is not willing to give 3 months leave and then WFH or not ready to give a reasonable notice period to quit, probably your friend should talk to the National Commission for Women, India.