Pregnant HR Friend Faces Job Loss Over Salary Error: Can She Appeal or Stay Employed?

Hi, I need one clarification. One of my friends is working as an HR professional and made mistakes while calculating her own salary. This has affected her job, and the employer has given her a termination notice for manipulating the salary and plans to relieve her.

Additionally, she is 4 months pregnant and has stated that it was not done purposely, but rather a typographical error. She suggested that adjustments could be made, but the employer is not willing to accept this explanation and is not allowing her to continue in the job. Is there any option for her to continue working or any possibility of an appeal? Suggestions, please.

Hi, How long has she been employed with that company?

As per the Maternity Benefit Act, for eligibility for maternity leave, a woman must have been working as an employee in an establishment for a period of at least 80 days in the past 12 months.

Provisions for Dismissal Under the Maternity Benefit Act

The proviso to Section 12 of the Act states that where the dismissal is for any prescribed gross misconduct, the employer may, by order in writing communicated to the woman, deprive her of the maternity benefit or bonus or both. Therefore, the employer can dismiss the female employee even without paying the maternity benefit or bonus if it is proven that the pregnant woman has engaged in conduct that would amount to gross misconduct through a written order issued to the female employee. However, it is necessary, at the same time, to provide the opportunity for her to explain her position and defend herself against the charges after the internal inquiry is completed in an impartial manner.

Suspicion in Salary Errors

Making an 'error' in your own salary is mostly (if not always) a manipulation and fraudulent attempt to benefit oneself. Auditors will always take that stand. In this case, it appears that the mistake was only in her own salary, which is definitely suspicious. No employer will want such an employee to continue.

(We have had 5 such cases in audit previously, and all have been terminated with immediate effect).

Questions to Consider

Other things you have not conveyed:
- Did she find out on her own and report it and offer to pay it back, or was it found by audit/management?
- How did she not realize that her own salary is higher than it should have been?
- What evidence is there that she made a typographical mistake?

Case Study: A Similar Incident

We had this happen in our own office a month back, and 2 hours after the transfer, I got a call from the employee saying that she got a higher amount and asking if we had implemented salary hikes without intimating her. Once we confirmed it was a mistake, the money was returned in an hour (NEFT).

Future Implications

How you behave defines how you will be viewed in the future.

Yes, your only escape path now is if you can accuse the company of not conducting a domestic inquiry. But it is a Pyrrhic victory. They will still find a way to remove you and may then decide to file a serious complaint or make it a criminal matter even. So think carefully about the strategy you will adopt.