I was told I wasn’t pregnant when I joined the company… I will take maternity leave as soon as I join the company.

A story about an employee suddenly notifying that she would be taking maternity leave after 40 days has become a hot topic online.

On the 24th, an article was posted on an online community with the title, ‘An employee on her 40th day of employment is hiding the fact that she is pregnant and taking maternity leave.’

Writer A introduced himself as running a restaurant on the outskirts of Gyeonggi-do and said, “I received a call from an employee who had been on the job for 40 days out of the blue over the weekend saying she was taking maternity leave.”

According to the article, on the 20th, the employee, Mr. B, notified Mr. A via text message on his mobile phone that, “Since the baby is due on June 1st, I will take maternity leave starting on April 22nd for a total of 90 days, 45 days each side.” At the same time, he said, “A fellow employee asked me twice if I was pregnant, but I said no because I was afraid that if I said yes, I would not be able to work and would be burdened.”

In addition, Mr. B sent a warning text to Mr. A, saying, “I was unfairly dismissed at my previous job due to pregnancy, so I took out the settlement money, and I don’t want to do that here, too.” He added, “You can’t legally refuse maternity leave, but you sure wouldn’t do that, right?” I also sent it.

Mr. B sent a text message again to Mr. A, who was taken aback by the sudden situation. He added, “The boss can receive support from the government that exceeds my salary, so there is no loss at all. In fact, I can receive subsidy for replacement workers. I think it is a good choice for me and the boss.”

Mr. A said that he discussed the issue with a tax accountant, lawyer, and labor attorney. However, it was confirmed that everyone told Mr. B, “It seems like he was hit.” The employee did this on purpose for money.

Mr. A finished his story by saying, “I was semi-threatened. Even if I wanted to force them to be fired, they would bite me. I don’t know what to do.”

Netizens who heard Mr. A’s story responded with comments such as “It’s clever,” “My tax money is being spent on people like that,” and “Laws that are unreasonable for only one side should be changed.”

Jang Ji-min, Hankyung.com guest reporter [email protected]