Hello,
A few days ago, my wife informed her HR that she is pregnant and requested some work-related concessions due to the stress and travel involved in her job. Instead of offering support, HR, after consulting with her manager, issued a PIP stating that her performance had been below company expectations for the past 5 months. However, she had actually achieved more targets than other employees, and many others who had performed worse were not issued PIPs.
In her opinion, she feels that everything is being orchestrated so that the company can avoid the financial responsibility of paying for 6 months of no work and other benefits outlined in the maternity act.
Please advise on how she should proceed from this point onwards. Feel free to ask for more details about the situation if needed.
Thank you so much.
From India, New Delhi
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A few days ago, my wife informed her HR that she is pregnant and requested some work-related concessions due to the stress and travel involved in her job. Instead of offering support, HR, after consulting with her manager, issued a PIP stating that her performance had been below company expectations for the past 5 months. However, she had actually achieved more targets than other employees, and many others who had performed worse were not issued PIPs.
In her opinion, she feels that everything is being orchestrated so that the company can avoid the financial responsibility of paying for 6 months of no work and other benefits outlined in the maternity act.
Please advise on how she should proceed from this point onwards. Feel free to ask for more details about the situation if needed.
Thank you so much.
From India, New Delhi
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Provisions of Maternity Benefits Act
4. Employment of, or work by, women prohibited during certain period. -- (1) No
employer shall knowingly employ a woman in any establishment during the six weeks
immediately following the day of her delivery or her miscarriage.
(2) No woman shall work in any establishment during the six weeks immediately
following the day of her delivery of her miscarriage.
(3) Without prejudice to the provisions of section 6, no pregnant woman shall, on a
request being made by her in this behalf, be required by her employer to do during the
period specified in sub-section (4) any work which is of an arduous nature or which
involves long hours of standing or which in any way is likely to interfere with her
pregnancy or the normal development of the foetus, or is likely to cause her miscarriage
or otherwise to adversely affect her health.
(4) The period referred to in sub-section (3) shall be –
(a) at the period of one month immediately preceding the period of six weeks, before
the date of her expected delivery;
(b) any period during the said period of six weeks for which the pregnant woman does
not avail of leave of absence under section 6.
Suggest officially intimate company about pregnancy and enclose medical certificate in writing and duly acknowledged by company.Let it not be verbal intimation.
Once this intimation is given and acknowledged, company will have to follow the welfare act-Maternity Benefits Act 1961.
From India, Pune
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31804. Employment of, or work by, women prohibited during certain period. -- (1) No
employer shall knowingly employ a woman in any establishment during the six weeks
immediately following the day of her delivery or her miscarriage.
(2) No woman shall work in any establishment during the six weeks immediately
following the day of her delivery of her miscarriage.
(3) Without prejudice to the provisions of section 6, no pregnant woman shall, on a
request being made by her in this behalf, be required by her employer to do during the
period specified in sub-section (4) any work which is of an arduous nature or which
involves long hours of standing or which in any way is likely to interfere with her
pregnancy or the normal development of the foetus, or is likely to cause her miscarriage
or otherwise to adversely affect her health.
(4) The period referred to in sub-section (3) shall be –
(a) at the period of one month immediately preceding the period of six weeks, before
the date of her expected delivery;
(b) any period during the said period of six weeks for which the pregnant woman does
not avail of leave of absence under section 6.
Suggest officially intimate company about pregnancy and enclose medical certificate in writing and duly acknowledged by company.Let it not be verbal intimation.
Once this intimation is given and acknowledged, company will have to follow the welfare act-Maternity Benefits Act 1961.
From India, Pune
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Thank you, Mr. Nathrao, but she has already given written intimation to her HR regarding pregnancy. Just 2-3 days after giving the intimation, the HR team issued a PIP to her, stating the last 5 months of underperformance. As she is already more than 2 months pregnant, it is very obvious that her performance can be affected due to this. However, after knowing this fact, issuing a PIP so that they can get rid of the employee and save the burden of giving benefits under the maternity act seems totally unlawful. Please suggest what steps should we take from here on.
From India, New Delhi
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From India, New Delhi
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Are you sure PIP is a step to find out ways to ask her to quit? If so consult a local lawyer who deals with such issues and take his advice.
From India, Pune
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From India, Pune
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Below is the exact mail received from company’s head HR to her when she wrote a mail about her pregnancy and asked some concession in work as her work involves lot of traveling, stress, etc
Please suggest if consulting a lawyer is now the step that we need to take or there are some other ways as well.
“Dear Pooja,
First of all , hearty congratulations for entering into a new phase of life. I do understand this is the time when you have to take utmost care of yourself and should avoid doing stressful , travel related job.
Since all our backend operations, sitting job is handled from Pune Head Office, We only have Sales job at other locations including Delhi. Also we don’t have any work from home option. Regarding PIP process , so it’s a define process and can’t be altered, condition to condition basis. One need to perform and come out of PIP, else follows an auto termination process.
I have already spoken to you in this regard. What I would recommend is, in current scenario its better you give full attention on your health and resign from the job. In future whenever you find yourself fit and fine & comfortable to go on field job, you can apply at Purnartha again. We would be more than happy to have you on board.
Aside Prashant, please help Pooja in smooth relieving and would request to waive off her notice period on her resignation.
Pooja, if you need any help/assistance , do let us know.”
From India, New Delhi
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Please suggest if consulting a lawyer is now the step that we need to take or there are some other ways as well.
“Dear Pooja,
First of all , hearty congratulations for entering into a new phase of life. I do understand this is the time when you have to take utmost care of yourself and should avoid doing stressful , travel related job.
Since all our backend operations, sitting job is handled from Pune Head Office, We only have Sales job at other locations including Delhi. Also we don’t have any work from home option. Regarding PIP process , so it’s a define process and can’t be altered, condition to condition basis. One need to perform and come out of PIP, else follows an auto termination process.
I have already spoken to you in this regard. What I would recommend is, in current scenario its better you give full attention on your health and resign from the job. In future whenever you find yourself fit and fine & comfortable to go on field job, you can apply at Purnartha again. We would be more than happy to have you on board.
Aside Prashant, please help Pooja in smooth relieving and would request to waive off her notice period on her resignation.
Pooja, if you need any help/assistance , do let us know.”
From India, New Delhi
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Dear Pooja,
The contents of the letter issued to you are ridiculous. I recommend that you find out the labor office under whose jurisdiction your company falls. You can very well file a complaint with the labor office for the denial of maternity leave. Please note that the Labor Officer (LO) is different from a labor lawyer. The former is appointed by the government, whereas the latter is a professional who works individually and typically charges a fee.
When you approach the Labor Officer, make sure to bring your company's ID card, appointment letter, and most importantly, a printout of the email you received from HR.
Additionally, please note that the decision of the Labor Officer is not necessarily binding on either party. However, very few employers have the nerve to go against the decision of the Labor Officer as their decisions are generally favorable to employees.
Thanks,
Dinesh Divekar
From India, Bangalore
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The contents of the letter issued to you are ridiculous. I recommend that you find out the labor office under whose jurisdiction your company falls. You can very well file a complaint with the labor office for the denial of maternity leave. Please note that the Labor Officer (LO) is different from a labor lawyer. The former is appointed by the government, whereas the latter is a professional who works individually and typically charges a fee.
When you approach the Labor Officer, make sure to bring your company's ID card, appointment letter, and most importantly, a printout of the email you received from HR.
Additionally, please note that the decision of the Labor Officer is not necessarily binding on either party. However, very few employers have the nerve to go against the decision of the Labor Officer as their decisions are generally favorable to employees.
Thanks,
Dinesh Divekar
From India, Bangalore
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Thanks a lot Mr Dinesh for your kind response but the fact is she is not eligible to take maternity leaves as of now as she is some 3 months pregnant and still have to wait for another 3 months in order to apply for maternity leaves. The issue is after getting intimation of pregnancy from her, organisation is creating a situation so that she submits resignation on her own as clear from their mail. If we don’t do anything at this stage, they will succeed in their planning of giving maternity benefits. My wife just wants her organisation to be little lenient with her in terms of targets, nature of work, etc.
Now please suggest what would be the right thing to do for us.
From India, New Delhi
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Now please suggest what would be the right thing to do for us.
From India, New Delhi
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Dear Anupam,
Why are employees placed under the Performance Improvement Plan (PIP)? They are placed under PIP in order to give a chance to underperforming employees to improve their performance. It acts as a warning to the employee about what can happen if he/she does not improve their performance. During PIP, the reporting manager or Head of Department (HOD) is expected to invest time in the underperforming employee so that he/she can elevate their performance.
Now, in your wife's case, the disclosure of her pregnancy has become the cause of the PIP, which is solely illegal. Her organization is using PIP as a tool to target the female employee. Therefore, there is nothing wrong [per se] in approaching the Labour Officer (LO) for the withdrawal of the PIP letter.
By the way, how many employees report to your wife? Under the provisions of the Industrial Dispute Act, 1947, only "workmen" can approach the LO. Those who are supervisors and above cannot approach the LO. However, your wife's case is different, and the denial of maternity benefits certainly falls within the LO's jurisdiction.
In your wife's case, it is not a direct denial of maternity benefits but an implied denial. Therefore, I stand by my recommendation to approach the LO. In her application, let her state that the disclosure of her maternity has become the reason for the letter issued to her.
Nevertheless, before approaching the LO, she may submit an application addressed to the Managing Director (MD) for the withdrawal of the PIP. If the MD remains unresponsive, then the only option left will be to approach the LO.
General Comments for the HR Fraternity: The way HR has issued a letter to the employee speaks volumes about that HR professional. The person appears confused and may not understand the concepts of the PIP, including the possibility of termination. On one hand, HR aims to engage their employees, but on the other hand, they also work to disengage them. When a female employee is denied maternity benefits, it can create sympathy among other employees and impact overall employee morale.
Thanks,
Dinesh Divekar
From India, Bangalore
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Why are employees placed under the Performance Improvement Plan (PIP)? They are placed under PIP in order to give a chance to underperforming employees to improve their performance. It acts as a warning to the employee about what can happen if he/she does not improve their performance. During PIP, the reporting manager or Head of Department (HOD) is expected to invest time in the underperforming employee so that he/she can elevate their performance.
Now, in your wife's case, the disclosure of her pregnancy has become the cause of the PIP, which is solely illegal. Her organization is using PIP as a tool to target the female employee. Therefore, there is nothing wrong [per se] in approaching the Labour Officer (LO) for the withdrawal of the PIP letter.
By the way, how many employees report to your wife? Under the provisions of the Industrial Dispute Act, 1947, only "workmen" can approach the LO. Those who are supervisors and above cannot approach the LO. However, your wife's case is different, and the denial of maternity benefits certainly falls within the LO's jurisdiction.
In your wife's case, it is not a direct denial of maternity benefits but an implied denial. Therefore, I stand by my recommendation to approach the LO. In her application, let her state that the disclosure of her maternity has become the reason for the letter issued to her.
Nevertheless, before approaching the LO, she may submit an application addressed to the Managing Director (MD) for the withdrawal of the PIP. If the MD remains unresponsive, then the only option left will be to approach the LO.
General Comments for the HR Fraternity: The way HR has issued a letter to the employee speaks volumes about that HR professional. The person appears confused and may not understand the concepts of the PIP, including the possibility of termination. On one hand, HR aims to engage their employees, but on the other hand, they also work to disengage them. When a female employee is denied maternity benefits, it can create sympathy among other employees and impact overall employee morale.
Thanks,
Dinesh Divekar
From India, Bangalore
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Thank you so much Mr Dinesh for the valuable information...A few new MT joiners are under my wife but they don’t report to her. But as you said, even if they report, she can approach LO as the case is entirely different. As my wife told me yesterday, her manager is harassing her verbally by talking about her performance in the last 2-3 months despite knowing the fact what she has to go through in last 2-3 months. She feels stressed by listening to all this and her moral is going down. It may be their strategy to make employee submit resignation by following these indirect practices but after all these seem illegal to me. However we want to see their behaviour for just few more days so that we can get much more clarity about their mindset so that we can plan our next step. Please correct me if my thoughts are wrong. Thank you
From India, New Delhi
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From India, New Delhi
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Mr. Anupam In my view, your approach is completely correct. Observe their behaviour for few more days, post more clarity or evidences against their malpractices, approach LO. Goodluck :)
From India, Delhi
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From India, Delhi
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