I am working in an IT company. My company has sent an offer letter to a girl, and she accepted it. However, she mentioned that she is four months pregnant and plans to join the company from January 15th. After starting, she will require maternity leave starting from the end of March. She is inquiring whether the leave will be paid or unpaid. Also, she is asking if we can cancel her appointment. Please guide me on this matter.

Thank you.

From India, Pune
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Dear Rahul,

Cancelling the offer solely because of maternity leave is unfair. Before offering the job, you have to verify those things. From your company's point of view, it will not be profitable because she might be in the training period after joining, and then she will go on maternity leave.

The company has the right to cancel the offer before joining, which may not be a big deal for you. However, the reason given is quite sensitive. Therefore, it is suggested to keep her offer on hold for now. Please convey this information to her and help her understand the situation.

Thank you.

From India, Chennai
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I second Nijanthan C. If you have already offered her the job and she has accepted it, then it would be unfair to cancel it. What is the stance of the HOD/interviewer?

Last but not least, you can cancel the offer made to her by stating that you cannot hold her joining in January 2015 as you need to hire a person for immediate joining.

From India, Ahmadabad
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Thanks Nijanthan & saji Please clarify that for this case leave will be paid or unpaid ? b coz she will join on 5th Jan 2015 & will take leave from 20th March 15 Regards, Rahul
From India, Pune
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If she works for atleast 80 days in 12 months immediately proceeding the date of her expected date of delivery she is eligible for Maternity Benefits.
From India, Ahmadabad
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Dear Rahul,

As per the Maternity Benefit Act of 1961, no woman shall be entitled to maternity benefits unless she has actually worked in an establishment of the employer from whom she is claiming maternity benefits for a period of not less than one hundred and sixty days in the twelve months immediately preceding the date of her expected delivery.

May this information be of help to you.

Regards,
Anurag

From India, Hyderabad
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Hi,

If she works for 80 days after joining, she is entitled to 12 weeks of maternity leave. If she has not revealed this fact at the time of the interview, you may cancel the offer letter. Furthermore, it is up to your organization to decide whether you can handle the workload in her absence for 12 weeks. Based on this, you may make a decision. The 12 weeks of leave will be paid.

Thank you.

From India, Mumbai
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Dear Anurag please share the amendment if any with regards to 160 days in preceding 12 month instead of 80 days to update myself
From India, Ahmadabad
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It is a sensitive issue. It can crop up as gender discrimination, discrimination towards pregnant women.

The woman employee is eligible for maternity leave if she has worked in the establishment for 80 days before the expected date of delivery.

From India, Chandigarh
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It is 80 days, not 120 days in the twelve months immediately preceding the date of expected delivery and the women employee is entitled for all benefits with paid leave. AKS

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Anonymous
Hi Everybody, I have recently joined a Domestic BPO organization as a HR. can anybody help me out on how to design HR Policies for my organization.
From India, Hyderabad
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Hi,

Designing a policy for the organization is a scientific process and involves a lot of exercise. Please do not copy and paste policies from other organizations, even if they are from a similar industry. Please follow the process below:

1. Go through all the existing policies in the organization and assess if they need any revisions or if you find any defects.
2. Speak to the management and finance team, especially those involved in employee reimbursements, to identify any uncontrolled areas.
3. Consider the business needs and the level of control required.
4. Consult with the legal team and make decisions accordingly.

You may refer to my article on employee handbook format, which could help you: [Employee handbook format](http://blog.simplycareer.net/2013/04/employee-handbook-format.html)

Regards,
Govind


From India, Mumbai
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Ryan
90

Here are some thoughts:

1) You can issue a letter deferring her joining date to March or April 2015 as per your organization's convenience. This way, you can hire someone now who can join sooner, and at the same time, account for any attrition which will surely happen between now and March 2015.

2) There shouldn't be a problem withdrawing the offer, provided you can prove that the candidate did not disclose this required information at the time of the interview. There should be some declaration format where the candidate has signed off saying that all information shared is true and correct. Yes, it would be discrimination in a minor form; however, the organization is not a charity. Take legal counsel before going down this path.

3) In this situation you shared, she is not going to be entitled to ML anyway. So let her join, provide basic induction, team assignment, and let her work from home at 50% of the offered salary. That way, both the employee and the organization will gain.

Make sure you have taken all approvals in writing before you communicate with the employee.

All the best.

Regards,

From India, Mumbai
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Hi, if she has been working in your organization for more than 80 days, then she is eligible for maternity leave. If she hasn't spent 80 days yet, it is her responsibility to reveal this fact during the interview. Moreover, if she hasn't done so, you can offer her unpaid leave. Canceling the offer letter is not the right thing to do based on maternity reasons, especially since she has already joined your company.

In this situation, considering her responsibilities, the right course of action would be to grant her leave without remuneration.

From India, Chandigarh
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Friend,

The responsibility of the candidate in communicating her pregnancy to the probable employer cannot be negated before the interview process. Generally, companies have no problem in abiding by the leave norms entitlement for a female employee. In this case, we must understand that there are more facts unknown to the forum before we become judgmental and blame the company alone.

Take care,

Sourav Mukherjee

From India, Bangalore
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Pregnancy is neither a disease nor misconduct, nor a ground for separation by termination nor a disqualification. The HR should act in a responsible manner and educate the employer.

The establishment should not discriminate and invite the penultimate action.

From India, Chandigarh
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From India, Delhi
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Mr. Tyagi The query is that the employee has already informed the employer that she is 4 month pregnant and she will be going for Maternity Leave, she has not hidden the fact of her pregnancy
From India, Ahmadabad
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Please confirm 80Days are including Leaves/W/Offs/Holidays OR only Present Days will be counted.
From India, Chennai
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Weekly off/holidays/approved leave is counted in period of service
From India, Chandigarh
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A Pvt. Ltd. MNC in Gurgaon Notice Board Content

Hi Guys,

Please let me know the list of certificates to be displayed on the office notice board, for example, Shops and Establishment Act, etc.

Regards,
Deepali Saxena

From India, Delhi
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The issue here is not with the candidate. At least she was forthright in communicating her pregnancy. It is the company that is in a hesitant mood just for the sake of saving 12 weeks' pay, which is a social responsibility. She is in motherhood, treat her properly.

Pon

From India, Lucknow
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This is very critical issue please think and take advice from experienced person
From India, Gurgaon
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The simple facts here are:

1. Every company has a probation period, and 80% of companies do not provide any leaves during the probation period.
2. As per the Maternity Benefit Act of 1961, she has to work in that company for a specific period of time to avail the maternity benefit, which is definitely more than 6 months.
3. Nine out of ten companies operate on the profit maximization concept, where there is very little scope for emotions nowadays. Therefore, the majority of companies will not allow her paid leaves and will either ask her to leave or inform her about Leave Without Pay (LWP).

Hence, maybe I am a bit harsh being an HR, but canceling the offer letter is the step taken because it's the need of the time. Also, they have not given her the appointment letter, and there is a clause in the HR manual or documents that the company holds the right to cancel the offer letter.

Regards,
Amol H.
HR

From India, Mumbai
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In this situation you shared, she is not going to be entitled to maternity leave (ML) anyway. So, let her join, provide basic induction, team assignment, and let her work from home at 50% of the offered salary. That way, both the employee and the organization will benefit.

Ryan,
Man, I don't know in which parallel universe the above-mentioned point can be considered.

From India, Mumbai
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