Maternity and firing

Am I the asshole? After a few months clear to me an employee was taking company for a ride. Average a few days a week in the office, otherwise sick/on errands, delivered no work. CTC 55L. Before I could fire her, she announced she was taking Maternity leave a few months into the job. Well crap guess I need to pay her for 6 more months more because of laws I don't understand. Rip my bank account. She returns, same issues. I put her on a pip & she resigned telling me I'm sexist and it will be hard to find a new job now. I say sorry, performance was bad, she can do pip and stay if things are better. She askes for 2 months salary and i agree. A lawyer calls telling me I need to pay more or they will file a case. Said I discriminated to her, and it's not legal. I think this person is a bully/psycho/self entitled. But am I the asshole?

What are some of the questions related to labour law in India that you always wanted to know (probably something that your HR may not explicitly tell you) - Ask here!

My wife got selected by an MNC on July 29th, and she is currently 8 months pregnant. According to their policy, an employee must work for 80 days to qualify for maternity leave, but this requirement doesn't apply in her case. Can anyone provide clarity on what to expect regarding her maternity leave and any special considerations she might need to be aware of?

Hi guys! I have a situation. I hold an offer from a company now. And only after the offer was released, we realised our pregnancy. What would be the right thing to do now. Should I tell the new company about this and how will my maternity leaves be impacted? Is it not wise to join the new company even after knowing the situation? Or how do I handle this 🥺

I am hoping for a sabbatical from my consulting job for my mental health for 1.5 months. Folks who have experience with this- do sabbaticals generally ever affect promotions or performance based incentives? How should i proceed in such a situation?

Does an extended Sabbatical leave of 3months, show up in your leaving certificate or hurt your chances for future job roles? Planning to take an unpaid sabbatical due to health reasons, employer has agreed for the same, just need to understand this aspect. Does it also count as work experience?

I met one of my college friends yesterday at a bar. She got married last year and was laying down the struggle of finding a new job. Now, apparently in many interviews when she reached the final few rounds, the HR or the Hiring Manager enquires about marital status and whether she has any children. When she mentions that she recently got married and that she does not have any kids, the company stops responding to her. She elaborated that although they might have found another fit for the role but she is a T-1 grad who did her Masters from an Ivy League college and has worked for 4-5 years in both NA+EMEA and India. It is becoming more apparent to her that, HRs and Hiring Managers have a strong bias because they are definitely presuming that since she recently got married and will likely have a child soon, that she will use up her maternity privileges leading to significant productivity drop. Meaning, that the company will likely have to hire someone else to make up for productivity loss. She does not plan to have kids for another 3-4 years but getting married is proving really hard for her. Especially in the Series B+ startups that she is applying to.