A working mother terminated for taking leave to care her ailing daughter

The toughest decision a working parent faces is often between work commitments and being there for a child in need. Many of us hope that when sickness strikes at home, our workplace will be understanding and compassionate. But a decision to care for her sick daughter has become the focus of a dispute about workplace treatment and employee rights for one software worker.Software professional Bhavana on Thursday staged a protest outside the Tech Mahindra campus in Dundigal, saying she was unfairly sacked for taking three days off on sick leave to take care of her ailing daughter.Bhavana stated that she had worked for the company for almost four-and-a-half months when her services were abruptly terminated without any prior notice or any valid reason. She said that instead of receiving support for a family emergency after she notified the company that she needed to care for her daughter, she was fired.She also claimed the termination was not an isolated incident but part of a pattern of harassment she had experienced during her time there. Bhavana said she had fallen down earlier on the company premises and was on a medical leave for 14 days. The management kept emailing her during that period to ask her to return to work, warning that she might lose her job if she did not return before she was fully recovered, she said.She also detailed what she described as a hostile work environment, saying workers had to get permission to use the washroom. She said this just added to the stress she already felt trying to juggle work and family responsibilities.Bhavana, who took her protest to the company’s campus, said her termination was not empathetic to working parents and employees with real medical or family emergencies.Tech Mahindra said it had contacted the employee and was investigating the matter in response to the allegations. “We have contacted the employee and are in the process of investigating the matter on an urgent basis,” the company said in an email to The Hindu. Tech Mahindra is an employee centric company and we continue to remain committed to the well being and safety of our employees.The row has raised wider concerns about workplace culture, employee welfare and the difficulties faced by working mothers trying to balance career and family life.