- This topic has 14 replies, 8 voices, and was last updated 1 year, 3 months ago by
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UMy wife is currently pregnant and working with a major insurance company. Due date for her is in Mid October. As per maternity benefit act she can apply for maternity from 8 weeks before due date i.e. mid August and till that time her Doctor has suggested for work from home.
Coming to her organisation they have not been helpful from the start. When we notified them of pregnancy the HR verbally asked her to go on leave from very next day. When we asked to provide that in writing nothing was shared.
The organisation has WFH policy but it needs approval from her department which they are not providing. They even had a call where HR was trying to make my wife resign which we again aksed in writing and they didnot share anything.
After multiple discussion this what they have suggested us.
Apply all the remaining leaves for her in the system.
Then go on Leave without pay till mid of August then from August go on maternity leave.They have shared this solution on email.I need help for following queries
1. Should we go on LWP currently or is there any way out of this as we want to continue working?
2. I have a feeling that once my wife goes on LWP the organisation will not honor their words and will not provide Maternity Benefits. How possible is this scenario?
3. We want to continue working from home till August and then go on maternity leave. Can someone provide insights into this?
Thanks in Advance
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S“The organisation has WFH policy but it needs approval from her department which they are not providing” – Has your wife dropped an email to the manager/department head explaining the situation as seeking Work from home based on doctors suggestion? If not, please drop an email to ALL (Manager, department head and the HR).
Wait for an official written response to that email.
Now going to you other points
1. Do not apply LWP
2. Very much possible that they will back track on the promise made. They will refer to some policy(which we may not be aware of to deny any responsibility)
3. If you company has a WFH policy then I do not see a reason why your wife cannot WFH until that period. Since this was suggested by doctor so I do not see any issue.
Now the main question, I hope your wife is not on Bench or in a project that is going to end soon?
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UThanks for your response
We have already requested via email to the department and they have denied such a request stating works requires the personnel to be in office. ( BTW her work is on a laptop and doesn’t require to be in the office)
No, she is not on the bench. She is not in IT so no bench concept. She is actively involved in her daily tasks.
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LYour wife’s due date is SEVEN months away. Why does she want to wfh starting now? Are there any medical complications? In most organisations, wfh is a privilege not an entitlement so the company is within its rights to refuse that if they think productivity will be hit. On the other hand, your wife needs to prioritise her and the baby’s health so if she really needs full rest, go on lwp or resign. Employers need to provide reasonable accommodation, not obligated to make exceptions (good ones will try their best but how many companies do that?)
So unless the company has a wfh policy that says they are obligated to allow wfh for entire pregnancy term, there’s nothing you can do.-
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LAlso in some companies employees rejoin automatically once lwp ends but you should read the policies and fine print carefully if you suspect their intentions. In my previous organisation, you rejoined automatically but were on bench and needed to be billable within a time frame. Otherwise the company could fire you. So yes they could be trying to fire / get your wife to leave to avoid paying maternity benefits. Legally they can’t discriminate against pregnant employees but there are murky areas and your situation makes it even more complex given that your wife is only 2 months now and you guys are demanding full wfh.
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UIf his wife resigns, will YOU pay for the insurance cover / hospital bills?
Anyone even suggesting OPs wife to resign is surely a devil to put it mildly. -
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QAsking as no context has been provided – why has the doc recommended wfh? Are there any medical complications like placenta previa? From what my doc had told me, these often get resolved after 1st trimester.
Either way, if doc can give their recommendation in writing, mail that to HR / department head say given there’s a wfh policy, please approve or provide alternate solutions on mail. She should not be taking LWP. Also, preempting HR to try and push her out as low performer. So gather all appreciation mails, appraisal / feedback documents that indicate no performance issues and have them ready.
Would strongly recommend consulting with a lawyer f2f. If HR is still playing hardball, it’ll work in your favour to be prepared and show that you’ve already consulted with lawyers.
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H1. Check with any other colleagues in the org who may have gone on maternity leaves on how the conduct of the company was with them. If you see a trend, they can’t be trusted.
2. Overall evaluate your work situation on parameters like – Would it hurt their business if I resigned, was I one of the bottom performers that they anyway wanted to let go, my cluster/business unit/city could be anything was not doing very well?
3. Have you abused WFH in the past? Does your manager not trust you to WFH?
4. Are they laying off any other people?Do not take any of the above personally, it’s a generic view. Nothing personal.
This should give you an idea on why they are doing what they are doing and what they could do. It’s an unfortunate situation but it is what it is.
Do consider to consult a lawyer and send a legal notice if the terms of employment contract are violated. But always remember what it comes with. That said, no company would like to risk any PR disaster or legal tussle around women and maternity especially.
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UThank you
1. A good suggestion will ask her to talk to other colleagues
2. I don’t think it will hurt business as when we notified of pregnancy to HR and asked for WFH they straight forward asked my wife to go on leave for next day. I was also shocked to hear the response
3.No, the manager trusts her but it is the HOD who has issues
4. No
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RNAL.
This seems like a toxic workplace. You can work till the day of pregnancy and no company can tell you to take LWP. Send them an email that this is going to amount to discrimination. Write a mail to the CEO/CFO/CHRO stating the WFH policy and your wife not being allowed the same. Tag them on LinkedIn if they still insists as a no. Do not, do not file for LWP no matter the pressure. Keep going to work till you can. Most woman go until the last month before due date. After end of maternity, leave the organisation and find something else.
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