Under what conditions is it prohibited to fire a pregnant employee?

This week I will continue to briefly discuss key protections that the law provides for pregnant women. This week I will look at quitting during pregnancy.
Under what conditions is it prohibited to fire a pregnant employee?
A pregnant employee who has been employed for six months cannot be dismissed under Section 9 of the Women’s Employment Act 1954. If the employer still wishes to dismiss, he must request permission from the ministry. economics upon dismissal during pregnancy. In the application, he must show that circumstances have arisen in which there is no other choice but to dismiss the Employee who is pregnant. The Ministry of Economy will listen to the employer, listen to the employee and make a decision to authorize the dismissal. While the procedure at the Ministry of Economy is ongoing, which can sometimes take several weeks, the employee must continue to work at the workplace and receive a salary. If the employer is Adam’s contractor, even a temporary cessation of work will be considered dismissal.
What about an employee who has been on the job for less than six months? Doesn’t the law protect her?
Firstly, in the case of an employee with less than six months of experience, the employer does not need permission from the Ministry of Economy to dismiss a pregnant employee; in addition, a situation may arise when the employer, when hiring a new employee, is not satisfied with her and therefore wants to say goodbye to her. According to the law and judicial practice, in the first months of work the work is trial, even if it is not defined as such in the formal contract. And therefore, a pregnant employee in such circumstances will not be protected. In principle, the Women’s Labor Law extends its protection to a pregnant employee only from the sixth month of her work (not during her pregnancy). However… if the dismissal is related and made due to pregnancy, that is, the employer finds out about the pregnancy and immediately decides that it is not suitable for him and fires him – this is where the law on equal opportunity at work comes into force. into an action that prohibits discrimination against an employee because of her pregnancy. Thus, the dismissal of a pregnant woman who has worked in the workplace for less than six months is invalid only if there is a direct connection between the dismissal and the pregnancy. And as we explained in previous articles, it is difficult to prove a causal relationship between layoffs and pregnancy; sometimes we prove it depending on the circumstances. For example, when everything was fine before the announcement of pregnancy, and the next day after the announcement, a summons appeared for a pre-dismissal meeting with accusations of dysfunction that had no traces before the announcement of pregnancy in an employee on probation, as in the case described above proving a connection between dismissal and pregnancy will be doubly difficult.
The employer fired the pregnant woman without permission. Should the employee request a return to work or can she seek financial compensation?
According to the decision of the labor courts, the law does not require an employee dismissed in violation of the Women’s Labor Law to actively act with the aim of actually returning to the workplace, which also does not meet the requirements of the law. purpose of the law. The duty to mitigate an employee’s damages, like almost every claim, does not impose a duty on the employee to file a claim in court or to seek a temporary restraining order during pregnancy.
In each individual case, it is recommended to contact our office.