Can My Company Fire Me for Taking Sick Leave Despite Proper Notification and Medical Proof?

Leave Request Due to Back Pain

I am working in a company where I have been suffering from back pain. Due to this, I went on leave. On the second day of my leave, I informed my supervisor with a proper email, attached with a medical certificate, requesting a one-month break. I also sent a leave email to HR. However, after some days, my supervisor sent me an email stating that my leave was rejected and asking me to report to the office immediately.

I explained to HR that I was unable to come to the office due to my illness. Despite my request to join after 10 days of rest, HR insisted that I report to the office. Now, they have sent me an absconding letter and are pressurizing me to join immediately. Can the company terminate me even though I have informed them and have been regularly communicating with them?

Kindly suggest what I can do in this matter.

Employee Leave and Absconding Policy

Failure of an employee to report forthwith for duty on refusal of his/her leave applied for cannot be treated by the employer as absconding. Absconding from duty requires the elements of secrecy and non-communication.

If the employer suspects the medical report based on which leave is required by the employee, what should be done is to refer the employee to a Medical Board and decide the matter accordingly as per the report of the Medical Board only. Without following this, if the employer decides to treat the issue as abscondence and terminate the services of the employee on that score, certainly such an act would be unjustified and illegal too.

The reply by the learned member Umakanthan covers all the aspects. HR is either professionally lacking or under pressure to terminate and get somebody else. Persons who have a medical issue, which is documented, need to be treated sympathetically. Please inform the company of full details with all medical documentation. Probably use the services of a lawyer and draft a letter covering all aspects of your medical problems. But do not speak of having to take legal recourse in case of termination, which in this case, as per what is written, would be illegal.

The suggestion of Mr. Umakanthan is justified. Has your sick leave, as advised by the treating doctor, required you to be on bed rest for a certain period?

Your HR department simply cannot declare you as absconding when you have provided intimation. Laws and rules come into play when you fight termination on the grounds of absconding, but management may act as they wish.

In my suggestion, you should go and report for duty with all medical papers, and on the second day, you can request further leave to satisfy their ego before facing the threat of termination.