I have a query. In our company, there was a female employee who went on maternity leave for 6 months. Management approved maternity leave for the female employee, but she did not show up for her scheduled shift. When we tried to contact her, she expressed that she is not willing to continue.
Thank you.
From India, New Delhi
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1Thank you.
From India, New Delhi
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Employee quitting after maternity leave is not good conduct by the employee. But then there is really nothing much that can be done.
She has left without notice, and consequences of leaving without notice can become applicable.
From India, Pune
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She has left without notice, and consequences of leaving without notice can become applicable.
From India, Pune
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Quitting a job after taking benefits under the Maternity Act is not good conduct. It is also a learning opportunity for the establishment and HR to adopt policies to prevent this.
Did she confirm her decision in writing? If not, ask her to submit her resignation immediately. Whether to work or not is dependent on one's personal wish.
From India, Mumbai
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Did she confirm her decision in writing? If not, ask her to submit her resignation immediately. Whether to work or not is dependent on one's personal wish.
From India, Mumbai
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Dear Sanjeev,
Maternity leave or otherwise, an employee is expected to report for duty upon completion of the leave. When the employee does not return, it is considered as "overstay," and if there is no communication and the overstay continues, then it is called abandonment of employment.
I recommend sending a notice to the female employee for not reporting for duty upon completion of maternity leave. You may send the soft copy of the mail by email, but it should be in addition to the hard copy. If there is no reply, or the explanation provided is not credible, then you may proceed with a domestic inquiry for her absence. If she does not appear before the inquiry, then based on her absence, terminate her service and close the matter.
For Mr. Prabhat Ranjan Mohanty: You have suggested, "Ask her to submit her resignation immediately." I believe this kind of advice is unnecessary. The employee should have the common sense to understand that when leaving employment, she is required to submit a resignation letter. Furthermore, if she was intelligent enough to apply for maternity leave, the same intelligence should have been applied when resigning from employment. Issue the termination order and close the case. If she requests a service-cum-relieving letter, then issue it with the remark "terminated services because of abandonment of employment."
Thanks,
Dinesh Divekar
From India, Bangalore
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Maternity leave or otherwise, an employee is expected to report for duty upon completion of the leave. When the employee does not return, it is considered as "overstay," and if there is no communication and the overstay continues, then it is called abandonment of employment.
I recommend sending a notice to the female employee for not reporting for duty upon completion of maternity leave. You may send the soft copy of the mail by email, but it should be in addition to the hard copy. If there is no reply, or the explanation provided is not credible, then you may proceed with a domestic inquiry for her absence. If she does not appear before the inquiry, then based on her absence, terminate her service and close the matter.
For Mr. Prabhat Ranjan Mohanty: You have suggested, "Ask her to submit her resignation immediately." I believe this kind of advice is unnecessary. The employee should have the common sense to understand that when leaving employment, she is required to submit a resignation letter. Furthermore, if she was intelligent enough to apply for maternity leave, the same intelligence should have been applied when resigning from employment. Issue the termination order and close the case. If she requests a service-cum-relieving letter, then issue it with the remark "terminated services because of abandonment of employment."
Thanks,
Dinesh Divekar
From India, Bangalore
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Hi Dinesh,
Thanks for sharing valuable information with us. I still have a question that is not clear yet. The employee is quite intelligent in this case; she purposefully completed her maternity leave and later denied to continue the services. The reason for this is that her personal life is not going well, she needs time for her family, but the employer believes this has nothing to do with it. We have paid her six months' salary, and now we are terminating her from the services. We didn't have time to find her replacement, and all of a sudden, when she completed her leave, she informed us.
What type of legal proceedings can we initiate against her? I respect women a lot, but the issue here is: if the employer denies maternity leave, then legal compliances come into the picture. But if the employee does this, then is there any legal framework?
Thank you.
From India, New Delhi
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Thanks for sharing valuable information with us. I still have a question that is not clear yet. The employee is quite intelligent in this case; she purposefully completed her maternity leave and later denied to continue the services. The reason for this is that her personal life is not going well, she needs time for her family, but the employer believes this has nothing to do with it. We have paid her six months' salary, and now we are terminating her from the services. We didn't have time to find her replacement, and all of a sudden, when she completed her leave, she informed us.
What type of legal proceedings can we initiate against her? I respect women a lot, but the issue here is: if the employer denies maternity leave, then legal compliances come into the picture. But if the employee does this, then is there any legal framework?
Thank you.
From India, New Delhi
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This is a simple case of abandonment of duty. The maximum the company can do is conduct a domestic enquiry and terminate services. Legal battles will not help. Some take advantage of laws meant for welfare. Maybe she has a genuine reason or whatever the matter may be, there is nothing much legally punishable in the whole affair.
From India, Pune
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From India, Pune
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Employers try to implement Hire and Fire policies. Employees attempt to evade employers after exploiting all possible advantages. All of this demonstrates only one thing - a lack of trust. Both sides must acknowledge and respect the constraints and difficulties faced in fulfilling their duties. It is not always smooth sailing for employers who must consistently deliver results in highly competitive conditions, while employees have to work tirelessly to meet the expectations of demanding employers. In the midst of all this, there will be individuals who attempt to escape, and there will be employers who terminate employment at will.
From India, Pune
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From India, Pune
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Dear HR colleagues,
The advice given to treat not resuming duty after availing Maternity Benefit as 'abandonment,' followed by holding an inquiry and culminating in the termination of her services, is outright far-fetched, misdirected, and illegal. The provisions of abandonment are contained in the Model Standing Orders and are applicable only to overstaying on privilege leave and not Maternity leave. It is as good as mixing oil with water.
The Maternity Leave/benefits are governed by a separate Act, and it has no mention of Abandonment after availing ML or otherwise and leaving the job immediately after availing MB is not denied under the M.B. Act. But her intention to leave the job by not following conditions relating to the notice period and only verbally conveying it is not in good taste. She can very well leave the job after availing MB by complying with the conditions of the notice period in the appointment letter and sending a resignation letter.
Since, in this case, she has failed to do so, the company has the only option to recover an amount equivalent to the notice pay from her F/F settlement dues and let her quit rather than take any vindictive stand.
Regards, Vinayak Nagarkar HR Consultant.
From India, Mumbai
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The advice given to treat not resuming duty after availing Maternity Benefit as 'abandonment,' followed by holding an inquiry and culminating in the termination of her services, is outright far-fetched, misdirected, and illegal. The provisions of abandonment are contained in the Model Standing Orders and are applicable only to overstaying on privilege leave and not Maternity leave. It is as good as mixing oil with water.
The Maternity Leave/benefits are governed by a separate Act, and it has no mention of Abandonment after availing ML or otherwise and leaving the job immediately after availing MB is not denied under the M.B. Act. But her intention to leave the job by not following conditions relating to the notice period and only verbally conveying it is not in good taste. She can very well leave the job after availing MB by complying with the conditions of the notice period in the appointment letter and sending a resignation letter.
Since, in this case, she has failed to do so, the company has the only option to recover an amount equivalent to the notice pay from her F/F settlement dues and let her quit rather than take any vindictive stand.
Regards, Vinayak Nagarkar HR Consultant.
From India, Mumbai
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There are many threads to this case. Find out the reason why she left or why she doesn't want to join.
If you paid a certain amount to her during maternity leave, ensure it complies with the maternity act (please check the relevant section to see if it states that the candidate should return to work after maternity).
If she is a good candidate, you can offer "work from home" or "creche facility" if possible.
From India, Pune
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If you paid a certain amount to her during maternity leave, ensure it complies with the maternity act (please check the relevant section to see if it states that the candidate should return to work after maternity).
If she is a good candidate, you can offer "work from home" or "creche facility" if possible.
From India, Pune
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"The Maternity Leave benefits are governed by a separate Act, and it has no mention of abandonment after availing ML or otherwise and leaving the job immediately after availing MB is not denied under the MB Act.
My view: The MB Act is a Social Welfare Act for Women, and it will not deal with cases of people availing leave and then not coming back for duty. The advice given to treat not resuming for duty after availing Maternity Benefit as 'abandonment,' followed by holding an inquiry and culminating in the termination of her services, is outright far-fetched, misdirected, and illegal.
I certainly would contest your words because 'advice was maximum you can have a domestic inquiry and terminate.' Allowing a person to quit without even a letter for the employee for quitting would not be in order. I would like to know where the illegality is involved in terminating an employee for misconduct. I would term not coming back from ML and not intimating the company as misconduct."
From India, Pune
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My view: The MB Act is a Social Welfare Act for Women, and it will not deal with cases of people availing leave and then not coming back for duty. The advice given to treat not resuming for duty after availing Maternity Benefit as 'abandonment,' followed by holding an inquiry and culminating in the termination of her services, is outright far-fetched, misdirected, and illegal.
I certainly would contest your words because 'advice was maximum you can have a domestic inquiry and terminate.' Allowing a person to quit without even a letter for the employee for quitting would not be in order. I would like to know where the illegality is involved in terminating an employee for misconduct. I would term not coming back from ML and not intimating the company as misconduct."
From India, Pune
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