Pregnant and Facing Silence: What Are My Rights If My Maternity Leave Isn't Approved or Paid?

I am a doctor working in a private hospital for the last 1.5 years. At present, I am pregnant and have informed the same via email to the medical superintendent and COO of the hospital one month ago. I also informed them that I will be proceeding on leave at 32 weeks as allowed to me by the Maternity Benefit Act.

However, now that I have reached the said 32 weeks, I have emailed them again regarding the fact that I am proceeding on leave. However, they have neither replied to my email nor approved the leave till now. Also, I would like to know what my rights are in case they don't provide me payment during the leave period and what to do in case they don't.

Dear Dr. Fanconi,

You mentioned that you informed the hospital authorities about your pregnancy a month ago. During this notification, you indicated that you planned to begin maternity leave upon completing 32 weeks. Now that the 32 weeks have passed, it implies that you informed them at the completion of 31 weeks, which is a bit delayed. Typically, pregnancy notification is expected after the first trimester. While delayed notification doesn't negate your right to maternity leave, it assists employers in organizing a replacement and maintaining operational continuity.

Upon informing them, you should have promptly completed a leave application and submitted it to the relevant authorities for approval. Securing approval well in advance would have been the appropriate approach. Nevertheless, you can still submit the leave application now, referencing your initial email.

Regarding verbal notification to the authorities about your pregnancy, there are visible signs that may have gone unnoticed by HR professionals or your superiors. In some instances, when female employees do not officially communicate their pregnancy, HR professionals proactively engage with them to guide on the next steps.

There could be various interpretations for the lack of response to your email. However, there's no need for speculation at this point.

This advice should suffice for now. If the hospital authorities show willingness, it's excellent. Otherwise, further steps will be advised as the situation evolves.

Thank you,

Dinesh Divekar

Dear Dr. Fanconi, it seems that you have already informed about your pregnancy and your intention to avail maternity leave effective from the 32nd week via email. Although you are a doctor yourself, you should have enclosed a medical certificate confirming the pregnancy by a registered medical practitioner. No problem. Please obtain a medical certificate stating the expected date of delivery and submit it with your leave application to proceed on leave. It is important to note that the prenatal leave period should not exceed 8 weeks before the expected due date mentioned in the certificate.

Dear Dr. Fanconi,

You have written that "@DineshDivekar Sir, ever since the start of my pregnancy, I am registered as a patient in my own hospital. All my scans and reports are also from the same hospital. This has been the case for 6 weeks of the pregnancy.

You have been availing medical facilities provided by your hospital. However, availing medical facilities cannot have a trade-off with timely official communication. This is because the roles of those who provided medical treatment to you and those who are going to approve your maternity leave are different. Both work independently. While the former dealt with you as a patient, the latter would have dealt with your application from the administration's point of view. Their concern is on arranging your replacement and maintaining continuity in the services to the patients of your department.

In your case, how come your HOD or the HR department have not guided you is not understood.

Anyway, now your pregnancy is just a few weeks away. Even now, fill the leave application and get it approved. Please do this on priority.

Lastly, what the previous member "Glidor" has written merits attention as well. Are you a paid employee of the hospital or work on a consultancy basis? Provisions of the Maternity Benefit Act (MBA) are applicable only to employees and not to those who work as consultants.

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

Legal Action for Maternity Benefit

You are entitled to institute a civil suit before the Civil Judge (Senior Division) of the area where you were working in the hospital for the recovery of damages equivalent to 26 weeks of maternity benefit not extended to you, which the employer was obliged to pay you under the Maternity Benefit Act.

Regards, S. K. Mittal

[Phone Number Removed For Privacy-Reasons]

Dear Mr. S. K. Mittal,

Regarding the denial of maternity leave, it is premature to suggest filing a lawsuit against the hospital. Any weapon, whether physical or legal, should be used sparingly. This is because the opposition may retaliate, potentially causing harm. Those resorting to weapons must consider the consequences of such actions and their ability to endure them.

Let us await a response from the original poster. This situation appears to stem from a lack of communication between the individual employee and the hospital administration. Therefore, pursuing a legal course of action may not be necessary at this point. Additionally, it is unclear if the doctor is a regular employee.

Typically, doctors in hospitals operate as independent practitioners. Consequently, they may qualify as "workmen" under the Industrial Disputes Act of 1947. In such cases, lodging a complaint with the labor office would be more appropriate than initiating a civil lawsuit. Nevertheless, it is premature to make definitive statements on this matter.

Thank you,

Dinesh Divekar

Maternity Benefits Act: Ensuring Entitlements

The Maternity Benefits Act is a welfare legislation designed to protect the rights of expecting mothers. A delay in official communication cannot and will not impact a woman's entitlement to benefits under the Act. If there are issues with non-payment, the Labour Commissioner is the authority to approach. However, it is not yet time to take this step.

Steps to Take for Leave Application

Submit a leave application along with a medical certificate, specifying the leave period from ----- to -----. Ensure that this application is acknowledged by the concerned authorities. The individual should remain calm and only consider further action if there is continued indifference to the official leave application. The health of the child is of prime importance.

Consultation for Legal Advice

It may be beneficial to consult a lawyer for accurate information regarding her rights and the nature of her employment, whether it is contractual or permanent.

Thank you so much for such valuable inputs. I am a regular employee on the payroll, working for the last 1.5 years. Since I am a gynecologist, I am aware of the usual procedure for applying for maternity leave in my hospital. I write the eligibility criteria for the same for all the staff nurses who are under our care and are also employees.

As per my knowledge, there does not exist any separate form for maternity leave application in the institute. Once eligible for leave according to the expected date of delivery, we mention the same on the patient's OPD paper. This is countersigned by the HOD of the department and sent to the Medical Superintendent, who forwards it to HR. HR then adds those leaves to the online platform (Employee Portal) that is available to all employees, where they can claim the leave.

Hence, when I informed HR of my pregnancy by email almost one month ago, at around 25 weeks, I felt that it was enough.

I have emailed them again, stating that I am going on leave, with the relevant prescription and reports attached.

Medical Documentation and HR Procedures

As a beneficiary of the entitlement, you cannot sign your own medical documents. Another doctor has to sign your OPD documents, as you are already aware. Simply take a screenshot of the OPD card where the expected date is mentioned and forward the same to the medical superintendent (as mentioned in your last reply). Include a copy of the previous email and also forward the same to HR.

HR Documentation Requirements

The HR department follows its own set of documentation, which is employee-based. They are not supposed to seek patient records from their own hospital. The application may be correct, but without supporting medical documents, they remain silent. Even after you submit the documents, they will have to arrange an alternate for your department during your leave period. This can be resolved through a short discussion.

Dear Dr. Madam and colleagues,

The lady doctor is narrating a sequence of events relating to communication with the hospital authorities in bits and pieces. This is leading to unnecessary assumptions, crisscross, and haywire views. Apparently, she seems to have followed the procedure of communication regarding her pregnancy and request to proceed on maternity leave. The hospital authorities are bound to grant her maternity leave as per the Act.

Please have patience until the communication is received, or else take it up once again with the decision-makers and prepare to proceed on maternity leave with due intimation and supporting documents. It is a case of procedural snag and will eventually get sorted out. Therefore, there is no need to panic.

Regards,
Vinayak Nagarkar
HR and Employee Relations Consultant

Maternity Leave Notification

The doctor employee has already informed HR one month ago about her intention to apply for maternity leave. Currently, she has emailed the authorities again, stating that she is proceeding on leave and has attached the relevant prescriptions and reports. This should be sufficient for now.

As an employee, you must have received approval from the authorities to proceed on leave. Have you received it, doctor?

No, sir. That is exactly my concern. I have informed them repeatedly, but have received no communication from their side. There has been no confirmation that they have received my request, nor any approval or denial. In such circumstances, if I proceed with leave, the hospital system will automatically mark me absent, and leave without pay will be deducted.

Dear Dr. Fanconi,

As stated by one of the senior members earlier, you have been providing information in bits and pieces. Now you say, "I have informed repeatedly... But have received no communication from their side..." The expectation from a person of your stature is to provide complete information in chronological order. If you had done that, the thread would not have been protracted.

Anyway, I recommend submitting the application to the highest authority of your hospital. Explain in sequence the communication done in the past. Please submit in person the hard copy of the application to the secretary of the Director or Managing Director of the hospital. Do not send it through email. Obtain the signature of the recipient on the duplicate copy. Wait for 1-2 days, and if no reply is received, then ask for a personal interview with the highest authority.

If the Director/MD calls you personally at any time, carry with you the copy of the application and also the leave application, duly filled. Ask whether he/she would like to approve the leave application or if some other senior authority would do it. If the latter, ensure that you carry a letter addressed to that authority on the approval.

While submitting the application, keep the HR department in the loop by marking CC of the applications to them.

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

Power of Inspector to direct payments to be made

(1) Any woman claiming maternity benefit or any other amount to which she is entitled under this Act, and any person claiming that payment due under section 7 has been improperly withheld, may make a complaint to the inspector.

(2) The Inspector may, of his own motion or on receipt of a complaint referred to in subsection (1), make an inquiry or cause an inquiry to be made and if satisfied that payment has been wrongfully withheld, may direct the payment to be made in accordance with his orders.

(3) Any person aggrieved by the decision of the Inspector under sub-section (2) may, within thirty days from the date on which such decision is communicated to such person, appeal to the prescribed authority.

(4) The decision of the prescribed authority where an appeal has been preferred to it under sub-section (3) or of the Inspector where no such appeal has been preferred, shall be final.

(5) Any amount payable under these sections shall be recoverable as an arrear of land revenue.

Hi Madam, you have every right to avail of maternity benefits, including leave with salaries, as per labor laws. You can file a complaint letter with the Assistant Commissioner of Labor in your area. The authority will then issue a notice to both parties, and your management should pay your benefits promptly upon receiving the notice. Once you have received your salaries, there is no need to attend a joint meeting at the labor office. You can simply send a withdrawal letter if you have been duly compensated.

Please do not trust any assurances from the management until you have received the full amount owed to you.

I feel the doctor should wait for the consequences. We cannot predict whether the hospital will pay maternity benefits to her or not. If she doesn't receive the benefit, then a complaint can be made, but not before that.

Regards,
JS Malik