Financial help for the medical expenses to a year old employee suffering from cancer

Just to apprise you of this case, there is an employee who has been working with the organization from past 1 year but in oct 19 we got to know that she is suffering from cancer and she would be on long leaves to get her treated for the same. Since she had a leave in balance but management decided to help her financially so that she can borne her medical expenses since she was a sole earner. Management advised us to keep her salary rolling for next 6 months and she can avail mediclaim facility as well provided by the company. She is still recovering and her last salary was credited for the month of march. so I have below mentioned queries from all labour law and HR Experts.

1. If we stop her salary from april, is there any legal obligations my organization may fall under.

2. We are ready to give her leave with out pay , can it be done whereas as an employee she can still avail our mediclaim facility.

Morally we will support her and financially as well at our personal level but i want to keep my organization from any compliance and legal complications.

Please guide

Dear friend,

In the first place, the gesture of your management is highly laudable though the unfortunate employee afflicted with cancer happens to have just a year of service in the organization.

Coming to your queries, I think that by this time all her leave would have been certainly exhausted and the inevitable option of leave on LOP would be in place in view of her short span of service and longer duration of treatment. Therefore,

(1) Stoppage of salary from April,2020 onwards for her absence,if any due to her continued treatment of the disease will not at all be illegal; better you get a formal leave application for leave on LOP from her.

(2) Leave on LOP for a genuinely serious disease like cancer cannot affect the right of the concerned employee to Avail of company-sponsored mediclaim facility or vice versa.

Thank you so much @Umakanthan.M for your response.
Also is there a policy in place where in we cannot stop paying an employee or terminate him/her during the lock down??

The Govt has sent an advisory to all employers not to terminate employees during lock down and to pay them wages without any deductions even though they are on leave or the work place is non functional due to COVID 19