Facing a Dilemma: How Can I Get My Experience Letter Without Paying Two Months' Salary?

I was on maternity leave until October 2018. Due to my baby's health issues, I received one month of paid leave on medical grounds and another month on loss of pay. However, my company did not agree to extend my leave on loss of pay any further, leaving me with no option but to resign. Now in January, my company is requesting me to pay two months' salary to obtain my experience letter since I was unable to serve the notice period. I am unable to pay this amount at the moment as my daughter's treatment is currently ongoing.

Please advise on how to avoid any potential legal repercussions in this situation.

Dear Ms. Shruti, from your own narration, your employer seems to have acted with much reasonableness and consideration by granting statutory maternity benefits and all the leave you required in the wake of your delivery. We cannot expect an employer to be constantly considerate regarding the personal needs of an employee, however genuine they might be.

A working woman's work-life balance becomes all the more difficult with childbirth. Some women make the bold decision to relinquish their job/career for the sake of their newborn children. This decision is, of course, a matter of individual financial position.

Therefore, you can request a waiver of the notice condition due to the costly treatment being given to the baby as a gesture of humanitarian consideration from the management's end. Alternatively, you can ask the management to defer the formal acceptance of your resignation for some time so that you may withdraw it if the baby recovers in the meantime.