She can file a case for wrong ful termination if she is terminated. She can also file for civil or criminal defamation if the charges are proven false
Fired on grounds of data theft , which is not proven, no valid proofs shown
Respected Lawyers, Ome of my family members recently got fired from her job on the grounds of : Data theft Cyber crime Unethical relationships at work(being over friendly with one of the junior) Moonlighting - accused of finding another job while working for the current company The company is an IT company headed at U.S.A, they have hired all their employees on a third party payroll based out of India My family member was on maternity leave (she would still be if she hadn't been fired) , she was called to a hotel in presence of her company CTO(chief technology officer)and her reporting along with 3 lawyers, was asked to sit in front of a camera and directly asked to confess that she has sold the companies data to another competitor. She was shocked to the core, initially shook but then stood her ground and said whatever are the charges are false and she has no idea about this. She clearly informed that she was on maternity leave, though had access to company laptop but that was only for official purpose as she hold a senior manager designation and the India business doesn't even have any other manager apart from her She constantly asked the CTO to show her what proof do something he have, he didn't show anything and just kept on saying there are several screenshots sent us via an email , screenshots between u and the competitor. She informed if she would do such a big theft why would she chat with that person? Why would she keep the evidence in black and white. The CTO informed her that it's a source who has sent them these emails, & the investigation is going on for a year. This can't be true as she was just appraised by the company in March, her maternity leave was approved with full access still.given to her of the company assests . She also informed that 2 weeks ago she had got a freelance consulting offer which she had informed her boss too and her boss said it's okay u can go ahead ,although she didn't take it.up as the person kept on asking for insights of the company products . Please can you suggest what can she do about this? She hasn't stolen any data for sure She has worked with this company for 9 years, can they directly fire her without any notice and without any chance of her explaining herself? What kind of case can she file against the company? Can they fire an employee on maternity leave ? They have threatened her that they'll go to the police if she doesn't confess of what she done and if she doesn't give them any information but she hasn't done anything is why she can't confess or give any details
Asked 6 years ago in Criminal Law
Religion: Hindu
9 Answers
Dear Mr.Nayak, Thank you for your response. Both the cases suggested, will they affect her future job/career? Would it be a sane approach to email the company's CTO explaining her sign of the story? Regards..
Asked 6 years ago
The employee is entitled to maternity leave of 6 months
2) if her services have been wrongly terminated she is entitled to file complaint against employer before labour court
3) An employer who denies a woman employee’s maternity benefit claim in India can be punished with imprisonment for up to 3 months, fine for up to Rs. 5000, or both. If your employer has dismissed or discharged you from service, he can be punished with imprisonment for 3-12 months.
She should refuse to confess
2) she has not committed any offence
3) in event any false FIR is filed contest the case
No don't try to approach on a emotional manner. Just send a legal notice with all that facts
File a petition before high court in ground that to deny her maternity benifit further the company has fired her on false ground and there is no substantial evidence against her with the company
In relief form high court seek set aside termination and reinstatement of her job.
This will not effect her future job prospects.
This is unlawful termination within the meaning of Maternity Benefit Act.
section 21 of Maternity Benefit Act employer can b punished.
In India, the Maternity Benefit Act 1961 entitles a female employee the time and resources to takecare of her child. The latest amendments to the act, the Maternity Benefit Act 2017, have increased the maternity leave from 12 to 26 weeks.
The modus operandi may not be as per law to fire her especially when she is ion maternity leave.
The option left before her is to file a writ petition before high court seeking relief and remedy for this.
She may have to gather all the evidences in her support and file a writ petition stating that the company's arbitral decision is against the law and natural justice.
She can also mention in her petition that she was forced or coerced to accept the false allegations and was threatened that they will implicate her in false police complaint if she is not accepting the charges.
You may discuss with a local lawyer and proceed against this injustice through high court .
Once the company has fired her then there is no use of approaching the company once again because she will not get any relief from her company once again as they have already determined what to do with her and have done the same.
Thus in my opinion i t may be better that you may appraoch high court with a writ petition on this.