Facing Maternity Leave Challenges: How to Handle CEO Pressure and Unfair Demands in India?

Hello, My wife is working in an IT company where there are 16 employees (9 fully employed and 7 contractual workers). The company is registered under the CEO's name with a 99% stake and 1% in the CEO's mother's name. My wife is 22 weeks pregnant and it is stated that she needs to serve a 1-month notice period, but her CEO is pressuring her to work for a 3-month notice period without pay. She is seeking fully paid maternity leave, yet the CEO and HR are insisting that she work for 3 months on half salary during her maternity leave, with the following 3 months unpaid.

What should we do in this scenario?

How can we prove that the 10th employee is not being concealed?

My wife is extremely stressed, and the CEO even threatened her regarding our childbirth during a phone call. We are located in India; what steps should we take in this situation?

Unfair Work Conditions During Maternity Leave

Also, they are forcing employees to work during maternity leave.

How many years of experience does your wife have in the current organization?

Also, please ask your wife to document or record the conversations that happened to the possible extent in case you wish to go to the labor court.

Hi, please check whether that IT company falls under the purview of the Maternity Benefit Act.

Maternity Benefit Act Applicability

The Maternity Benefit Act is applicable to establishments employing 10 or more employees. Are those 7 contract employees working on a full-time basis or part-time/assignment call basis? Whatever the case may be, the employer's approach is neither good nor professional.

She has been with the organization for 11 months now, and her 1-year term will be completed on October 15, 2023. They are pressuring her to attend meetings, and yesterday they promised during a call to provide 6 months of fully paid leave, but today in the meeting, they denied it. They are misleading my wife in every way and showing disrespect towards her.

Determining Company Compliance with the MB Act

How can we determine if the company falls under the MB Act? Her offer letter does not mention it anywhere.

We do not know if the contractual workers are on a full-time or part-time basis. We are completely sure that he is trying to hide this information about the employees. Also, he has revoked access to my wife's company email ID and the email IDs of the team, which were mainly used for work.

Hi, Given the above information, I am assuming there will not be any EPF applicable for her.

As other members mentioned, we do not know the employee structure of the organization and how many employees are being reported for the purpose of compliance.

In this scenario, I feel your wife should just submit her resignation on medical grounds/maternity and request relieving with immediate effect along with all the documents (in this case, fitness certificate and reports regarding maternity, etc.). Submit any company assets to the office/colleague and take proof of the same, such as a photo/email confirmation, and mention the same in the email as well.

"CEO and HR are forcing her to work for 3 months on half salary during her maternity leave and say that the next 3 months will be extended and will be unpaid."

In case the above one-man show happens, please ask them to reply to the resignation email your wife wrote. She can say she is medically unfit to work further as stated in the email.

There is a fair chance that your wife may not receive any experience letter for the 11 months.

It's better to forgo the experience and have peace of mind during this critical phase of life than to go through such unpleasantness.

As for this: "he also threatened her of our child's birth on the call." Try to record all conversations in the future and submit a complaint to the nearest police station and women's grievance cells.

Thanks

They will be sharing a written document from their side to outline her responsibilities during her maternity leave. Additionally, we discovered that they stated a 1-month notice period in their offer letter, but they are now insisting on a 3-month notice period. Should I pursue legal action once I have all this documented information?

Hi, As she is going to complete one year of service, she should be eligible for maternity leave (though there are some different interpretations of this 12-month criterion). The Maternity Benefit Act 1961 states that a woman should have worked with her employer for at least 80 days in the 12 months preceding the date of her expected delivery. As the employer is not addressing the issue professionally, you may seek the help of the Labor Inspector of your spouse's office jurisdiction and try. However, these are time-consuming processes as employers know "how to handle such complaints." Ultimately, at this juncture, your spouse should be free from anxiety, stress, and hostility, so it may be better to look for some amicable solution, even if it costs her employment.

Also, no employer can insist on a notice period when the employee is expecting a child.