Google waives paid maternity and sick leave for its laid-off employees. In response, more than 100 former employees organized a group called “Retrenchment on Leave.” They are therefore asking the US company to show good faith and honor all the leaves authorized till January 20, 2023.
Dismissal of employees on maternity leave: Controversial decision
According to US media CNBC, Google refuses to pay all terminated employees maternity and sick leave. In response, more than 100 former workers at the company formed a group called “Retrenchment on Leave.” They are asking management to pay them for the weeks and months they were allowed to take before the layoffs were announced in January. The group has already sent three letters to executives, including CEO Sundar Pichai and HR director Fiona Cicconi, but there has been no response.
The group includes among its members those who have been on maternity leave, sick leave or personal leave. Meanwhile, the layoffs come after Google announced an increase in parental leave for full-time employees last year. However, Alphabet’s parent company experienced its biggest cost-cutting in nearly two decades. The company announced in January that it would cut 12,000 jobs, or about 6% of its workforce, to deal with slower business growth.
Sundar Pichai said US-based employees will receive an additional 16 weeks of pay and a two-week severance package for every year they work at Google. The company also said that the severance pay will include paid holidays. Employees laid off on sick leave urge the CEO and other executives to clarify the situation immediately due to an upcoming deadline: formal severance regulations are expected by March 31.
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Ex-Google employees ask to try
Former Google employees said their access to doctors and specialists through Google’s “One Medical” program was cut off the same day they were notified of the layoffs. As evidence, the former Google software engineer said she lost access to her doctor. Some of the other ex-employees said they were offered the chance to continue seeing their doctor, but only in practice…and insisted they find an alternative.
They have asked Google to try to fulfill their parental leave and/or sick leave obligations for all leave authorized beginning January 20, 2023. Former employees who tried to contact Google said they had lost access to the company’s internal system and could do so. Fill the form in a temporary portal only. While some of them said they received responses within a week of their request, the response seemed automatic, reiterating their deadline or encouraging them to apply for a different position. Ex-employees have called on Google to fix the problem, citing other companies such as Amazon, who said they would be severance and pay the rest of the time.
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Parental benefits at the center of the claims
Google was called to order by ‘leave on leave’, not receiving the parental benefits to which they were entitled. The group reminded Google management of the importance of these parental interests and the company’s intentions when updating its layoff plan. The team referred to Google’s original core value, “ Don’t be mean“, I request management to respond quickly.
Some laid-off employees are optimistic about a solution to the problem, hoping that leaders will take stronger action. The committee recommended that compensation for remaining vacation days be consistent with Google’s current policy of paying furloughed employees. The laid-off employees called for working with upper management to find a solution consistent with the company’s commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace.
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