- HR officer at an international bank in Bengaluru had sabbatical request denied after maternity leave
- The employee cited lack of support as a single parent as reason for requesting unpaid sabbatical extension
- Sabbatical leave is an employee benefit offered every three years, but her six-month request was rejected
A human resources (HR) officer at an international bank's Bengaluru office has sparked a social media debate regarding employees' rights after her request for a sabbatical was denied. The employee, a ten-year veteran of the bank who recently went on maternity leave, was denied the additional break that she requested due to various personal challenges.
"I'm an HR working for an international bank and based out of Bangalore. Within HR I'm a part of employee relations - the team that handles grievances, PIPs etc.," the woman wrote in a Reddit post.
The HR said her six-month maternity leave was about to end later this month, but she could not resume work as she did not have the desired support as a single parent.
"I had requested for an extension of six months' sabbatical leave (unpaid), which got rejected. (Sabbatical leave is provided as an employee benefit which can be availed between 3 months - year every three years)" the woman said.
She said she was 'flabbergasted' by the way the higher-ups rejected her request without hearing her out, especially when whe has been a long-term employee.
"The amount of preaching and projection that is done by my team across the bank to prove that it's an employee friendly bank is unreal. Hypocrisy to the core! After all, I'm only asking to use my benefit which is actually unpaid leave."
She added that her entire team comprised of women workers, which made the rejection even more surprising.
"My learning is that corporate is unpredictable, and it's actually the women who don't support other women," the HR said.
Check The Viral Post Here:
Maternity break
byu/blackdog08 inIndianWorkplace
'Really Shocking'
As the post gained traction, a section of social media users pointed out that the HR officer was given a taste of how most HR departments operate, while others questioned if she checked the company's policy thoroughly.
"So HR is seeing the inhuman side of Human Resources?" said one user, while another added: "Really shocking when i read you are working for 10 yrs there and your team members are women. Good luck, hope you reach out to management and they approve your leave."
A third commented: "As a former member of the HR fraternity, I can state with great confidence that the least employee friendly behavior in any company can be experienced in the HR department."
A fourth said: "Why would they give you more leave? You took maternity leave, that's about 6 months paid, plus some sabbatical. That's almost 1 whole year on leave, if not more. Why would they keep you on their payroll without you doing anything for almost the past year?"
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