An employee at a private bank in India has resigned after her manager allegedly denied leave to care for her critically ill mother and suggested placing her in a medical or shelter home, according to a post shared on Reddit that has drawn widespread criticism.
The allegation surfaced on the r/IndianWorkplace subreddit, where a user identified as Mr_Moulick said the employee had sought a few days of leave after her mother’s condition worsened due to incorrect medication. The request, the post claimed, was met with a response that left the employee with a stark choice.
“If her mother is not recovering, put her in a medical or shelter home and come to the office,” the manager allegedly said, according to the post.
“That was it. She was left with two choices — work as usual or stay with her mother,” the user wrote. “She stayed with her mother. Soon after that, she had to resign. She had worked there for years.”
The post did not name the bank or the individuals involved, and the claims could not be independently verified. The bank has not publicly commented on the allegation.
The account quickly gained traction on social media, amassing more than 600 upvotes and prompting a broader discussion about workplace culture, managerial accountability and the limits of employee flexibility in Indian corporate settings.
Several users urged formal documentation as a means of protection. “Ask the manager to give this suggestion in written, and watch his tone change and ego crumble,” one commenter wrote. Others questioned why the employee resigned rather than waiting for formal termination, while some called for stronger legal safeguards against what they described as exploitative behaviour.
The episode has renewed scrutiny of how organisations handle caregiving responsibilities, particularly in situations involving medical emergencies. Business reporting in recent years has highlighted growing employee expectations around empathy, flexible leave and mental health support, even as enforcement and protections remain uneven across sectors.
While the Reddit post stops short of detailing any legal action, the discussion it triggered underscores a persistent fault line in Indian workplaces: the gap between policy and practice when personal crises collide with professional demands.