"Starting Maternity Leave Tomorrow" After 40 Days of Employment
"Received Settlement for Pregnancy and Unfair Dismissal from Previous Job"
A story has emerged about an employee who concealed her pregnancy when joining a company and then requested maternity leave just 40 days after starting work.
On the 24th, a post titled "An employee on her 40th day at work hid her pregnancy and is taking maternity leave" was uploaded to an online community. As of 8 a.m. on the 24th, the post had garnered over 206,000 views and more than 800 comments, becoming a major topic of discussion. The author, Mr. A, who runs a restaurant on the outskirts of Gyeonggi Province, began by saying, "I received a sudden message from an employee who has been with us for 40 days, saying she would take maternity leave over the weekend."
Mr. A stated, "Her due date is June 1st, so she said she would take 90 days of maternity leave?45 days before and after the due date?starting immediately from Monday, April 22nd. She claimed she was unfairly dismissed at her previous job due to pregnancy and extracted a settlement, but threatened that she didn’t want to go through the same here," he alleged.
According to the messages Mr. A shared, employee Ms. B asked, "Legally, you can’t refuse maternity leave, right? You wouldn’t do that, would you?" After receiving no response from Mr. A, Ms. B continued, "It might be misunderstood as me quitting, but I intend to keep working and will return after the maternity period. My husband will take care of childcare." She pressed on, saying, "We just need to decide whether the maternity leave starts on April 22nd or at a time that suits the store’s situation." When Mr. A still did not reply, Ms. B sent a photo of the maternity leave application form, urging, "I believe you’ve seen my messages. I’m sending the maternity leave application form now."
Mr. A lamented, "My coworkers asked her several times if she was pregnant, but she kept denying it until the end. I received the message on a Saturday afternoon and had no chance to consult or look into it. From what I found online, employers can refuse parental leave within 180 days of employment, but there is no such right to refuse maternity leave. Ms. B confidently sent me related documents, saying, ‘I have nothing to lose,’" he expressed.
He continued, "Only today did I contact a tax accountant, lawyer, and labor consultant to inquire, and they all said I was the one being wronged. They said it’s clear she joined with the intention of making money. Pregnancy should be celebrated in this low birthrate era, but how can I congratulate someone who hides the fact and then threatens me with a message just 40 days after joining?" he shared his frustration.
Mr. A added, "She will probably use all 90 days of maternity leave and then fulfill 180 days to take parental leave. I’m scared to even see her face. I don’t think I can work with someone like this. But if I forcibly dismiss her, she’ll cling to that too. I’m really at a loss about what to do," he asked for advice.
Netizens who read the story responded with comments such as, "She must have planned this," "Does she want to do this with a baby inside her?" "Hiring new staff is already stressful enough, and this is just awful," "People like her make those who legitimately take maternity leave get criticized," "As a woman, I’m ashamed," "If there are more people like this, they won’t want to hire married women," "She said she wasn’t pregnant during hiring, but now she is?can’t they fire her for that?" and "I can’t believe someone like her is having a baby."
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