Today\’s expectant mothers are mostly working women, so pregnancy and childbirth are often one of the difficulties they face when finding employment or returning to work. Many mothers have encountered unfair treatment. We have summarized the following experiences and hope that expectant mothers can protect themselves during pregnancy and understand their rights.
Pregnant woman rights information
As working women, once they become pregnant, they are often subject to certain restrictions at work. Some units may fire female employees on the grounds of pregnancy, resulting in unfair treatment of pregnant women in the workplace. So what rights do pregnant women have?
1. Pregnant women have the right not to be dismissed
Generally speaking, labor problems that pregnant women may have during pregnancy can be roughly divided into the following categories:
1.Pregnancy dismissal
There are two types of dismissal: agreement dismissal and non-agreement dismissal. The former means that when a woman goes to work, the employer will ask the employee to sign an agreement that if she becomes pregnant, she will automatically resign. If the employee is not fired according to the agreement, no agreement has been signed, but the employer has fired the pregnant woman on its own initiative.
2. Postpartum dismissal
Refers to pregnant women who return to work after giving birth.
In fact, even if an employee signs an agreement to voluntarily resign during pregnancy, it is still legally invalid.
Rights Notice
The \”Law of the People\’s Republic of China on the Protection of Women\’s Rights and Interests\” clearly stipulates that no unit may dismiss female employees or unilaterally terminate labor contracts on the grounds of marriage, pregnancy, maternity leave, breastfeeding, etc.
Article 29 of the Labor Law stipulates that if a female employee is pregnant, gives birth or is breastfeeding, the employer shall not terminate the labor contract in accordance with Articles 26 and 27 of the Labor Law (see below).
Article 26 of the Labor Law: Under any of the following circumstances, the employer may terminate the labor contract, but must notify the employee in writing 30 days in advance. The employee is ill due to illness or is injured due to non-work reasons and cannot engage in the original job or the job arranged by the employer after the medical treatment period expires; the objective circumstances of the conclusion of the labor contract have changed significantly, resulting in the failure of the original labor contract to be performed, and the two parties cannot negotiate the change. The labor contract is agreed upon.
\”Labor Law\” Article 27 If an employer is on the verge of bankruptcy, is being reorganized in accordance with the law, or has serious difficulties in production and operation, and it is really necessary to lay off employees, it shall explain the situation to the trade union or all employees 30 days in advance, listen to the opinions of the trade union or employees, and Report to the union. Staffing can be reduced after administration reports.
In addition, during the medical period, pregnancy period, childbirth period and lactation period, the employer shall not terminate the labor contract when the labor contract expires. The labor contract period is automatically extended to the expiration of the medical period, pregnancy period, childbirth period, and lactation period. (\”Labor Law of the People\’s Republic of China\” Opinions on Several Issues Lao Bufa [1995] No. 309)
2. Labor protection of female employees
1. Pregnant women have the right not to have their wages reduced.
my country\’s wage distribution implements equal pay for men and women for equal work, and female employees are not allowed to have their basic wages reduced during pregnancy, childbirth, and lactation. (\”Regulations on Labor Protection of Female Employees\”)
2. Female employees are prohibited from engaging in operations where the concentration of toxic substances such as lead, benzene, and benzene exceeds national health standards during pregnancy. In the pharmaceutical business, where they are engaged in the production of anti-cancer drugs and diethylstilbestrol, work involving excessive levels of radioactive material in the workplace must be done manually. Earthmoving work, strenuous physical work, work with strong vibrations throughout the body, work that requires frequent bending, squatting, climbing, and high-altitude work, etc. (\”Regulations on the Scope of Prohibited Work for Female Employees\” Lao\’an Zi [1990] No. 2)
3. Regarding the working time arrangement of female employees, the \”Regulations on Labor Protection of Female Employees\” stipulates:
Female employees are not allowed to extend their working hours during pregnancy and are generally not allowed to work night shifts. If a pregnant female employee does not meet the original labor conditions, her workload should be reduced or other labor arrangements should be made based on the certificate from the medical department.
Female employees who are pregnant for more than 7 months should arrange a certain amount of rest time during working hours and appropriately reduce their workload.
Prenatal check-ups for pregnant female employees during work should be included in working hours, that is, they will be treated as attendance, and will not be treated as sick leave, personal leave, or miner leave. For female workers on the front line of production, the production quota will be reduced accordingly to ensure the time for prenatal check-ups.
3. About maternity leave
maternity leave time
Article 8, Paragraph 1 of the \”Regulations on Labor Protection of Female Employees\” stipulates that the maternity leave for female employees is ninety days, including fifteen days of maternity leave.
In case of difficult delivery, the maternity leave will be increased by 15 days. For those who give birth to multiple babies, the maternity leave will be increased by 15 days for each additional baby.
miscarriage maternity leave
Article 8, Paragraph 1 of the \”Regulations on Labor Protection of Female Employees\” stipulates that if a female employee becomes pregnant and has a miscarriage, her employer will grant her a certain period of maternity leave based on a certificate issued by the medical department. The specific time can be considered according to the regulations of various localities and industries or determined by the unit at its discretion.
Breastfeeding leave during work
\”Regulations on Labor Protection of Female Employees\” Article 9 For female employees whose babies are less than one year old, the unit shall provide two breast-feeding (including artificial feeding) periods of 30 minutes per shift. For multiple births, breastfeed for each additional baby and increase the breastfeeding time by 30 minutes. The two breastfeeding breaks for female employees during each working shift can be combined. Breastfeeding time within the unit and time traveling to and from breastfeeding are included in working time.
Husband’s carer’s leave
The husband\’s request for leave shall be subject to whether the child is late and the regulations of the province where he is located. The \”Population and Family Planning Management Regulations\” of most provinces stipulate the time for husbands who have late children to take parental leave, usually from 7 to 1About 0 days, in some places such as Henan, it can last as long as a month!
maternity leave
\”Population and Family Planning Law of the People\’s Republic of China\” Article 25 Citizens who marry late and have children may be granted extended marriage leave, maternity leave or other benefits. Regulations vary from place to place. For details, please consult the \”Population and Family Planning Management Regulations\” of your province.
Work arrangements during pregnancy
Article 7 of the \”Regulations on Labor Protection of Female Employees\” stipulates that during pregnancy, units shall not arrange for female employees to engage in labor with third-level physical labor intensity prescribed by the state and labor that is taboo during pregnancy.
Extension of working hours; for those who are unable to perform the original work, the workload shall be reduced or other work shall be arranged based on the certificate from the medical department. Female employees who are pregnant for more than seven months (including seven months) are generally not allowed to work night shifts; they must be given a certain amount of rest time during working hours.
Prenatal checkup
Paragraph 3 of Article 7 of the \”Regulations on Labor Protection of Female Employees\” stipulates: Pregnant female employees who undergo prenatal checkups during working hours shall be counted as Labor time. The unit should not withhold wages on this basis.
How do working mothers-to-be take maternity leave?
For working mothers, the first thing they have to face is to deal with the relationship between maternity leave and work, because only by preparing for the workplace in advance can maternity leave be worry-free.
Planning for maternity leave
Being able to take good care of your children while having a place in the workplace is the best outcome, but not every mother has such a good opportunity.
Therefore, we would like to remind you that although taking maternity leave is a basic right given to you by the law, you need to pay more attention when exercising these rights, especially for mothers who do not want to give up their work. Plan a maternity leave work plan in advance.
Master the 5W1H Principles
The more irreplaceable the work being done, the more complex the handover preparations will be. You can master the 5W1H principle, first carefully record the details of each work related to you, and then list the work details, such as routine affairs list, special task list, upcoming implementation task list, etc., so that the agent will Take over the work quickly according to the arrangements in the table.
WHO: Who are the relevant personnel involved in each task? Who do I need to report to?
WHY: Why do it? Involves aspects such as the purpose of the work. Also, what are the principles you follow in your work? What kind of work status and attitude should be maintained? With these contents as reference, agents can make correct judgments when facing major changes.
WHEN: The date on which each job is performed, such as a specific day or week, is there a fixed pattern?
WHERE: Where you can get resources or assistance.
HOW: How to execute yourWhat are the skills for the job.
Confirm the work agent
After listing the work details, communicate with the supervisor to determine the work agent as early as possible. Due to different duties and positions, your work agent may be one person, or it may be assigned to different people to be responsible for different work projects.
Handover of work
Handing over work to the work agent is a very important step. Before maternity leave, let your agent understand the context and process of your work, and get into work in advance so that you can leave easily if you develop symptoms of premature labor. At the same time, let the agent get acquainted with colleagues who have close contact with the work, and inform colleagues that the agent will take over your job during maternity leave.
Keep in touch with the company during maternity leave
During maternity leave, you can have a phone call with your agent to check on his work status. Although it may be troublesome sometimes, don’t be stingy with this little time. And patience is the long-term way to survive in the workplace in the future.
Preparations before the end of the holiday
When you are still immersed in the maternity leave of getting along happily with your baby, you will suddenly find that the maternity leave is about to end, so a week or two before the end of the holiday, mothers It’s time to calm down! You can chat with colleagues, especially the work agent, about the progress of the work and what tasks are urgent at this stage. You can also take out the work list and ask the agent to explain the latest status of each work in detail. In this way, you can quickly regain your original feeling as soon as you return to the company!
Six key points in taking maternity leave
How long does it take to take maternity leave? In addition to national legal provisions and company arrangements, there are also many specific personal circumstances.
Before you make a decision, you may wish to ask yourself the following questions:
Family finances: If you are a dual-income family and suddenly lose part of your income, and increase the cost of your baby, Can it be afforded? Do you have any pressure to get a loan to buy a house or a car?
Emotional management: You have two jobs. You have to take care of your family and work hard in the workplace. You are already exhausted physically and mentally, but your baby is like an angel and a devil. When he gets emotional, do you Do you have enough EQ and IQ to face it?
Family support: What is the attitude of your spouse, parents, and parents-in-law towards your request for maternity leave?
In terms of competition in the workplace: the longer the maternity leave, the more unfamiliar you will be with the job, and the more obvious the gap will be when you return to the workplace. Do you have the ability to make up for this gap? If not, what\’s your solution?
Company operations: Depending on the operating status of the company, various benefits for employees will be different, so this is also an important point that needs to be carefully considered when considering maternity leave.
Parent-child relationship: In addition to yourself, is there a suitable person to take care of the baby? Do you feel safe leaving it to a nanny? In order to work, you will definitely have to lose a lot of happy time with your baby. Are you willing to do so?
4. Rights enjoyed by female employees who are breastfeeding
For female employees who are breastfeeding babies under 1 year old, theirThe unit where you work should provide two breast-feeding times (including artificial feeding) during each working shift. Each breast-feeding time is 30 minutes for a single baby. For multiple births, for each additional baby, the breastfeeding time is increased by 30 minutes. If the journey is far, the two lactation times can be combined (including artificial feeding). Breastfeeding time and time spent traveling to and from breastfeeding within the unit shall be counted as working time.
Female employees with babies under 1 year old are not allowed to work night shifts or overtime. During the breastfeeding period, female employees are not allowed to be exposed to toxic substances such as lead, mercury, arsenic, benzene, and trinitrate.
Various relevant laws stipulate that in addition to ordering corrections, the person responsible for the unit and the person directly responsible for violating the regulations must also bear corresponding legal and administrative responsibilities depending on the specific situation.
5. If a dispute occurs, how to resolve it
If the labor rights of pregnant or nursing mothers have been violated, they can apply to the unit’s labor dispute mediation committee for mediation; if mediation fails, If one party requests arbitration, it may apply to the Labor Dispute Arbitration Commission for arbitration. Either party may also apply directly to the Labor Dispute Arbitration Commission for arbitration. If you are dissatisfied with the arbitration award, you may file a lawsuit directly with the People\’s Court.
By understanding these rights, expectant and new mothers can better arrange their work and life. After all, if women in the new era want to have a happy family, they should also have a happy time at work.