The stability of the pregnant woman in the work environment consists of maintaining job security, while the professional is pregnant and, after the baby is born, during the months of maternity leave.
Some of your labor rights are:
- Maternity leave;
- Childcare assistance;
- Maternity pay;
- Release to do exams and consultations.
This issue has always raised frequent doubts among companies and the main one is whether or not it is possible to fire an employee in this situation.
Every day, many companies violate the rights of their pregnant employees because they do not know clearly what the law says. In such cases, employers end up suffering labor liabilities and being obliged to carry out the reintegration of the employee or to pay indemnities.
The legislation guarantees the stability of the pregnant woman from the moment the pregnancy is confirmed. Even for situations in which the professional is in a trial period.
This issue is extremely important for business and must be dealt with thoroughly by companies. In the event of any abuse of rights, the corporation can suffer serious consequences.
Therefore, it is essential to be on top of all legal issues to ensure all the rights of pregnant employees in your company. In this post, we will discuss what those rights are and the main doubts in this situation. Follow:
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Rights that guarantee the stability of the pregnant woman
Every woman who is pregnant is protected by Consolidation of Labor Laws (CLT). Therefore, HR must be aware of all labor rights of pregnant women in your company.
To avoid mistakes being made and the company may suffer some labor action, it is necessary to ensure that the Desktop do not cause any risk to the management or cause the employee not to have to leave the newborn due to work obligations.
But, after all, what are the labor rights of pregnant women? Let's clarify them below, check it out:
1. Maternity leave
According to the law, the period of maternity leave must be 120 days, without any damage to the employee's job or salary. This benefit is guaranteed by the art. 7, XVII of the Federal Constitution.
For those companies that participate in the program called “Citizen companies”, the employee will also have the term of her leave extended for another 60 days.
2. Consultations and exams
It is also guaranteed the right to have examinations and consultations so that the pregnant woman can ensure that everything is fine with her health and that of the baby. Thus, pregnant employees are exempt from working hours during the period specified in the certificate.
For this, the law guarantees the exemption for medical procedures for at least six consultations and other complementary exams.
3. Maternity salary
To guarantee the effective stability of the pregnant woman, the law guarantees her paid leave during the maternity leave. The employee is entitled to the Maternity Salary paid by the EHIC, for a period of 120 days.
The payment of this salary must be made directly by the companies, which are reimbursed by the social Security.
4. Transfer of function
The pregnant woman can request a change of sector or activity, if her occupation may cause risks to her health or that of the baby. To fulfill this requirement, it is necessary to have a certificate from the company's occupational physician and the professional accompanying the pregnancy.
When the pregnant woman returns to work, after her leave, it is ensured that she returns to her previous role.
5. Stability
From the moment of pregnancy confirmation and up to five months after delivery, the stability of the pregnant woman in her job is guaranteed. This period is independent of the duration of maternity leave.
It guarantees stability even if a dismissal is made before the pregnancy is confirmed, but it is verified that the pregnancy started before the employee left. Accordingly, the company must guarantee compensation for the total period of stability or carry out the employee reintegration.
In cases where the pregnancy occurs already within early warning, whether it is worked or compensated, stability is also valid.
6. Daycare
Another way to guarantee the stability of the pregnant woman is through childcare assistance. Those companies that have at least 30 professional women in their staff must guarantee a kind of daycare for the breastfeeding period.
It is necessary to provide an appropriate place for the employees to keep their children in care during the breastfeeding period. If the company does not have the infrastructure to install a nursery, there may be an agreement to have the nursery reimbursement to cover the expenses of the one chosen by the employee.
7. Breastfeeding
Pregnant women are entitled to breastfeeding, even during working hours, after maternity leave until the child is 6 (six) months old.
It is provided to the pregnant woman, during workday, two rests, half an hour each for an 8-hour day. In addition, it is permissible for intervals to be joined, so that the breastfeeding maid can arrive an hour later or leave an hour earlier.
8. Non-criminal abortions
In this situation, the stability of the pregnant woman or maternity leave is not offered, as these measures are granted for the protection of the baby. However, in the case of non-criminal abortion, when proven by an official medical certificate, the woman is entitled to a 2-week paid rest.
The idea of this rest is to ensure that the employee can recover physically and psychologically after the situation.
After knowing what are the rights related to pregnant employees in your organization, it is still necessary to know what are the common doubts for that moment. They require preparation of the company so that it can give the correct orientation to its collaborators. See what they are:
Main doubts about the pregnancy of female employees
1. Is it possible to get a certificate before maternity leave?
The answer is yes. The obstetrician who accompanies the pregnancy may take the employee away from her duties if she considers that she is unable to work as a result of the pregnancy.
This leave does not count as maternity leave, as long as it happens before the 36th week of pregnancy. After that, medical leave is already accounted for on maternity leave.
2. What is required to apply for maternity leave?
The employee needs to take Baby's Birth Certificate and yours work card in personal department from the company and confirm if there is a need for any extra documents.
3. Which employees are entitled to maternity leave?
All employees, micro-entrepreneurs and self-employed professionals who contribute to Social Security (EHIC) have this right. It is enough that they have contributed for at least 10 months until the moment of the baby's birth.
4. What is the value of maternity leave?
The amount received by the employee is the same as her monthly salary before giving birth. In the case of commissioned employees, an average of the salaries of the last few months before the start of the leave is made.
5. Foster mothers are also entitled?
Yes, as long as they have a minimum of 10 months of contribution. For cases of adoption of more than one child, the period of absence is not cumulative.
6. Who pays for maternity leave?
In cases where the leave lasts 120 days, the company must make full payment of the salary to the employee, transferring the EHIC portion normally.
Now, when the company is part of the program “Citizen company”, the additional 60 days are paid entirely by the company, which can then deduct the income tax.
For micro-entrepreneurial and self-employed professionals, the EHIC makes the payment.
7. How is the employee's vacation entitlement?
When the employee has, at the end of her maternity leave, unsuccessful holidays, the company can grant you 30 days of vacation after the leave period if you want.
Now, in cases where there has been a vacation for more than 23 months, the company is obliged to take the vacation after the leave.
8. How long does the pregnant woman's stability last?
The stability of the pregnant woman lasts throughout her pregnancy. After delivery, the employee still has 5 more months of stability.
9. What happens if the professional quits after maternity leave?
In this situation, the company may stop charging the traffic ticket referring to the prior notice, in case the employee does not intend to comply with it. However, if the organization so wishes, it is possible to demand compliance with the notice or the payment of a penalty for the period.
10. Can the employee who becomes pregnant on the trial contract be dismissed?
The pregnant employee cannot be exempted from the experience contract, except for just cause.
11. And when does pregnancy happen on early warning?
The employee has the right to stability of the pregnant woman guaranteed, even if she is indemnified, since the period of prior notice is also part of the length of service for all legal purposes.
12. Is the pregnant woman obliged to inform in the job interview about her pregnancy?
No. The company is prohibited from requiring this information or carrying out tests to verify the pregnancy. Such fact can cost the job vacancy, because the employer knows that, after a short time of work, the employee will be removed from the service. Therefore, the law prohibits the requirement of pregnancy certificates.
13. How can the company offer support to pregnant women?
There are several ways for the company to support pregnant women. One of them has been gaining a lot of strength in the market and is a novelty in Brazil.
We live in a time when HR must take on, once and for all, its multifunctional and strategic side for the qualification of the workforce of its companies.
Often, taking the reins of conditions external to the work environment, but which impact on the professional routine. It is the case of financial well-being for employees.
And as an example of this practice, a new modality reached the UK residents market – wages on demand.
The search CareerBuilder, conducted in 2017, attested that 78% of respondents are barely able to settle accounts with their salary.
In addition, of the more than 3,000 respondents, about ¾ of them also attested that they have one or more accumulated debts. Clear sign that something needs to be changed, do you agree?
O on-demand salary it is a modality that has been gaining strength in the market and aims to add flexibility so that employees receive for hours worked, but not yet paid. Something that greatly relieves future mothers, who are concerned about the arrival of the new member of the family.
Let's look at a simple example: if the company has the habit of making payments for its human resources only on the 30th, or on the fifth business day of each month, professionals are limited to that.
If a pending account is going to earn interest in that period when there is no more money in the account, the debts accumulate. However, with the offer of salary on demand, the professional can receive payment for days already worked whenever he wants. Best of all, he has the flexibility to plan his month.
We recommend that you read this article to better understand on-demand pay. In it you will understand the functionalities of the HR Consultant UKy, a corporate benefit of payments on demand.
It is essential that the company guarantees the stability of the pregnant woman to its employees. All rights discussed above are protected by CLT and must be strictly followed by corporations. Supporting your employees at this time is a big differentiator for your business and should be part of the organizational culture to ensure the fulfillment of all rights.
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