Bone surgery - company not considering my situation saying its company not norms

I have undergone clavicle bone surgery, and for the past four months, I have been working from home. In March, I had to go to the office due to pressure from my company. However, I am finding it challenging to concentrate on work due to my injury, and my hand has become swollen. I have requested my management for an additional two months of leave for complete recovery. Unfortunately, they are not taking my situation into consideration, stating that it goes against company norms. What should I do now? Is there any possibility for me to take a two-month medical leave and then return to work?

Dear Karthick,

I am very sorry to hear that you had to undergo surgery.

Your concern is regarding the implementation of the "Work From Office" policy on you. You have requested the "Work From Home" (WFH) option, but your company did not approve it. Could you provide details on when the communication regarding this matter occurred? If the discussion has reached the HR level, you may consider escalating the issue. As a final step, you can request an interview with the Managing Director. Before doing so, ensure you obtain a medical certificate from the orthopedic surgeon explaining your health condition and the necessity for WFH. When applying for the interview with the MD, state that your request to work from home is based on compassionate grounds and request an exemption from working in the office.

Best regards,

Dinesh Divekar

I believe that the surgery was not a result of any employment injury. Medical leave over and above what is available to an employee as per law or as per company policy is purely managerial prerogative. If they have rejected the request, you cannot get it. You can ask for leave without pay for two months. If they are not okay with that, you will have to resign and take complete rest. Once you are okay, apply for employment and sometimes, the vacancy in the same company is not filled, you will be considered again. If you make this proposal, sometimes, they will give a counter proposal of working from home on reduced pay. The reason why you are called to work from the office should be that they are not getting the required result when you are working from home. Again, when you are given work from home, they will suffer. But at the same time, if you are taking leave without pay or leave on a half-pay basis, they will agree. But all these depend on the market, and if there are plenty of candidates available, they will prefer to hire a new employee rather than keeping you.