Pregnant and Facing a 40 km Job Transfer: Should I Accept or Resign?

Dear All,

I am from Mumbai. I'm six months pregnant and working in a Service Ltd company. My company has issued me a transfer letter to a branch 40 km from my residence. They have given me two options: to accept or to resign.

Please suggest what I should do.

Dear Samiksha Mayank,

What has happened to you is regrettable. You are already in or about to enter the last trimester of your pregnancy. Against this backdrop, commuting 40 km away is difficult. But then there could be more than meets the eye.

Informing the company about your pregnancy

Did you inform the company officials about your pregnancy? If yes, how did you inform them, whom did you inform, and what was the mode of communication? Ideally, the woman is expected to declare her pregnancy upon completion of her first trimester or even one or two weeks earlier. She is expected to provide a certificate from a certified gynaecologist. Did you provide the certificate to the HR Department, and if yes, did you route it through your HOD?

Possible motives behind the transfer

The second thought that comes to one's mind is the ploy made by the company's administration. Are you not in the good books of your HOD or the top "boss"? They know well that while in the advanced stage of pregnancy, it will be difficult for you to accept the transfer. Therefore, the option for you is to resign from the job. The transfer is nothing but an unsuitable condition created with a hidden motive.

Options available to you

You have a few options at hand. The first option is to accept the transfer. The second is to resign from the job. The third option is to apply for the deferment of the transfer till the completion of your maternity leave. The fourth option lies in the middle of the first two. You apply for the maternity leave with immediate effect. If you wish to resign, then you can give your resignation while proceeding on the maternity leave. In the resignation letter, you can request to treat the maternity leave as your notice period.

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

Hi, As rightly pointed out by Senior Member Mr. Dinesh Divekar, it is not clear whether you had updated your employer in advance about your pregnancy, supported with necessary medical proof. This is an indirect act of compelling you to resign. Please consult your doctor. You can get a certificate from a gynecologist stating that traveling 40 km at this point might affect your pregnancy, with possibilities of miscarriage as well. If your employer still insists on a transfer, submit a complaint to the Office of the Labour Commissioner/Assistant Labour Commissioner/Labour Inspector of your office jurisdiction and request their intervention. Hopefully, your employer will not pressure you after this action. Of course, your relationship with your employer will be strained due to this move. It's advisable to take maternity leave with salary for 182 days and then seek other opportunities. If you choose to continue working after delivery, your employer might transfer you again out of resentment.

My company, which employs fewer than 10 employees, failed to inform me at the time of joining that the company doesn’t have maternity benefits and they’re not legally bound to provide them. I found out about this during my fourth year when I became pregnant. I informed them in the second month of my pregnancy to seek more information; they told me that since it’s a small company, they can’t give me 26 weeks of leave, but I can avail my earned leaves during my postpartum recovery. When I applied for the leaves at 37 weeks pregnant, they refused and told me I couldn’t continue working. I went into labor due to stress and delivered within a week. They never informed me of my last working day or provided any termination letter. Is it legal to do so?

I have never received any performance remarks throughout my tenure of 5 years.