Navigating Extended Maternity Leave for Health Complications: What Are Our Options?

Dear All HR Seniors,

One of our colleagues who has been working with us for the past 9 years is facing some issues.

She found out on Nov. 20, 2007, that she is pregnant. Her gynecologist advised her to take bed rest for at least the first 3 months due to her health condition. Therefore, from the next day, she took leave, informed her boss, and also sent an official email. She currently has 60 days of balance leave. However, a few days ago, she encountered some critical problems, and her gynecologist suggested that she take an additional 2 months of leave. She is very worried that she may need to take a full 9 months of leave. As HR professionals, can we grant such a long leave? Obviously, these leaves will be without pay (LWP).

Can the company provide such an extended leave to our employee? If not, she may have to consider resigning. Also, if the company can grant her leave, what about paid maternity leave? Is she eligible to claim that as well? Please advise us. I have reviewed the information on maternity leave but have not found any clear guidance. I am looking forward to your suggestions.

Thanks and regards,

Niyati

Hi Niyati,

It varies with companies and policies, but in certain cases, policies need to be flexible. In the event that an employee who has been with the company for a long time is facing certain health problems, you may have to grant them a leave for a long period if required (LOP). However, I doubt she can avail maternity leave during this period.

Dear Niyati,

It depends on the leave policy your company has. However, if the employee is a high performer and has been with you for a long time, and the management wants to support her, then she can be given special approval to avail of such a long leave. After all her regular leaves are exhausted, you can put her on Leave Without Pay (LWP).

I would like to emphasize that you need to present her case to senior management and get their approval.

Regards,
Byomjeet Mishra

Sorry. I mean after all the leaves are exhausted, you can put her on LWP. All the leaves include CL, SL, EL, and Maternity Leave.

Dear Niyati,

Just one question: does the employee fall under the ESIC bracket? If yes, then there is no problem. If no, then the employee is allowed to claim maternity leave, which is generally 84 days, and in addition to that, she can claim PL. Most companies do not allow CL and SL to be clubbed with PL.

This particular employee should apply and exhaust the SL first. Then, in the days before pregnancy, she should go on leave without pay. Just before delivery, she should go on maternity leave and then extend the same with PL. This will ultimately help her prove that she is still with the company at the end of the leaves.

Technically and legally, the company cannot terminate the employee if the employee submits a valid medical certificate. This perspective is from the employee's point of view. The company may not take it favorably. However, the company can arrange for a temporary replacement for those days or offer the employee training or internships.

Hope this helps you.

Regards, Viraj

Legally, such leave cannot be claimed. However, taking her long service into account, the management can make a decision to grant such a long leave without pay after she exhausts her eligible leave. Being in a loss of pay (LOP) for a long period is not a problem, provided the management voluntarily permits such leave without pay. Hence, it is only the management's perspective, and as HR professionals, it is our role to convince the management and secure such benefits when a loyal employee is genuinely in need.

Kannan

Dear Niyati,

Her pregnancy was confirmed on 20th Nov 2007. Let me assume that her pregnancy is two months old then.

She has 60 days' leave to her credit as of now. This takes care of 2 plus 2 months of confinement.

Now we are at the fag end of this year. Have you calculated the leave that will accrue to her account for the year 2007? If you have not, then you get another 20 to 30 days, and this will take care of another one month of confinement. This will be 2 plus 2 plus 1 month.

You can then sanction her special leave on loss of pay for three months. This will take you closer to her delivery period.

Now apply Maternity Leave rules. She will be eligible for maternity leave 6 weeks before and six weeks after the delivery.

If you apply this logic, you will be sanctioning her special leave on loss of pay only for three months, which is not very high considering her long service in the Company. I have not taken into consideration any sick leave that will be applicable to her.

Now the question is whether she will require more leave after delivery, and what happens if she takes more leave after delivery?

That, in my opinion, is a management decision based on her long, fruitful service to the organization. If I were in your position, I would advise the management to sanction her leave for three more months. If she recovers, then find a placement for her inside. If she does not return within that period, then you can take a decision as deemed fit!

Siva

Dear,

Sorry, I have incorrectly read your question and gave the suggestion. For this issue, it is only management's decision to grant such long leave, taking into account her loyal service, even though one has leave credit in his/her account. Here comes our HR role where we have to correctly represent her case to the management and get her the leave sanction. Perhaps we need to talk and convince her boss so that we can help a needy employee. Because if the management is positive to help her, even she can go on Leave Without Pay (LWOP) after exhausting her eligible leave.

Kannan

Dear Niyati,

This can get more and more complex as many people will have various aspects to bring to your notice which are correct in their own spheres. The best thing to do would be to place this concern in front of your senior management team and let them take a call on it. After all, a person who has given 9 good years of her life and loyalty to this organization needs to be given specific consideration, and this could be put down as a one-time courtesy keeping in mind her record. You could check on her maternity leave aspect and inform her as per the decisions taken by the management.

As I look at it, you could pay her for the months that she can avail of maternity leave and the rest can be LWP.

Regards,
Gouri

Thank you, Mr. Viraj, Kannan & Siva.

Our company is updating 2.5 leaves every month. So, we don't have any kind of CL, SL & PL. What can we do? As Mr. Siva told me, we can take a leave starting from the year 2008. Will this follow the rules we have?

I like one thing Mr. Viraj suggested, that the company cannot terminate such an employee. She provides a medical certificate monthly from her gynecologist, but the doctor is giving a 6-week medical certificate. Each time, she will provide a new medical certificate for a new period.

Mr. Viraj, she is not covered under ESIC. Our company only provides her with Rs. 595/- monthly as medical reimbursement.

Thank you once again for your valuable suggestions. I am very glad that on this website, HR seniors like you are giving newcomers confidence. For these laws, which books should I prefer? Please let me know.

Thanks once again, waiting for your mail. Niyati

Thank you, Gouri,

As you mentioned, it is a management decision, and I agree with you. However, according to the law, can we not provide her with 90 days of maternity payment? Even if she submits a legally applicable medical certificate, can management still terminate her?

Niyati

Maternity leave cannot be granted for 9 months. 180 days of maternity leave can be given if she has leave balance that can be used; the remaining leave can be taken as leave without pay with prior approval from top management because the period of leave is too long.

Regards

Dear Niyati,

It's clear that an employer can't terminate an employee under such conditions. They are liable to pay for six weeks before and six weeks after the delivery. In addition, if the employee provides proof of illness due to pregnancy, the employer will have to pay an additional one month. An employer will never deny the above liability. If the absence extends beyond these periods, there is no further liability for the employer. It depends on the employer whether they allow it or not. However, an employer will never remove her name from the Muster roll until she provides proof of illness from a certified doctor.

For details, you may refer to the Maternity Benefit Act 1961.

Thanks & Regards,
Ranjeet

Hi,

First, you did not mention that 60 days of EL have not been availed up to 20th November. How many days can your company grant EL for? First, mention the details about whether the lady is covered under ESI or not.

My suggestion is first to give EL to her, which covers 2 months. Next, she can take 12 weeks of maternity leave, which covers 3 months, totaling 5 months. After that, plan to give SLs. ELs and SLs can be given at the same time, but ELs must be completed at that time. Then, put her on LOPs.

Okay, bye.

Harsha Hyderabad

Hi,

It's not a much complicated issue. I feel, let that person resign from the service because, as an HR professional, we have to think about the employer as well as the employee. From the first day, she has to take care. There is no guarantee that after 5 months she is going to be in a better position to come back for duty.

Let her take care of the baby and her life first. Once she has a normal and God-blessed delivery, she can get back to the industry because getting a good job nowadays is not that difficult, that's what I feel.

In this way, even the company won't be affected. Instead of waiting for her, you can recruit a new person. But counsel her properly because of her condition.

Cheers!! Joe, Mumbai

Hi,

How is it that too many leave numbers are available on hand without lapse? CL lapses at the end of that year, SL can be accumulated up to 18 days, EL can go up to 20 days, and why are so many leave days on hand mentioned by you? Please adhere to the rules. Based on this, only you can work out her maternity period pay without loss of pay.

She can be paid for 12 weeks (6 months prior to and after delivery). So Basic(+DA) should at least be paid for this period. In some companies, the entire salary is considered for the calculation. Discuss this with your higher-ups.

PF contribution is also done for the 12 weeks because she has no break in service and continues to be a contributing member.

If, for medical reasons, she wants an extension, then she can be in service without salary or PF contribution. If ESI is covered, then it will take care of the extended period. Anyway, the discretion lies with the management.

Otherwise, consider a new appointment as the projects will not wait for her since she is also counted in man-hours even though she is not available.

I am Manager-HR with a BPO in Chennai.

Regards,

Chandru

Thank you, Joe, for your good suggestion. However, I won't agree with you. You have not taken into account her long service period with the company. You are only considering one side. As everybody knows nowadays, you cannot find good employees easily. As our senior suggested, we can appoint anybody on a temporary basis.

Regards, Niyati

Thank you, Mr. Chandru,

In our company, we have 2.5 days of leave for every month, and we can have 90 days of leave in our account; after this, our leaves will lapse. So we don't have any sick leave (SL) or casual leave (CL).

In our company, we have 3 months of maternity leave, which is 12 weeks, and we pay employees their full salary. However, there is a doubt whether management will consider such a long period.

As an old employee, she should receive all the benefits of maternity leave. That's what I think.

Regards,
Niyati

Dear Niyati,

Permission to go on leave for 9 months is excessive. This may be acceptable for someone on the board of directors but not for employees. Legally, as per ESI regulations, this may be permissible, but practically speaking, a company cannot put a project on hold just for one person.

A temporary arrangement could be made with a condition that if the current employee does not feel fit to return in 9 months, the new recruit can become a permanent employee. A company should not be obligated to keep her on the payroll for such reasons. This seems to be the only option available at the moment.

Regards,
Chandru

Yes, any organization can grant such leaves. Another alternative is a sabbatical. Also, consult your policy manual if there is fine print there.

AS