An employee recently shared a deeply frustrating experience after his company demanded extensive medical proof when he applied for sick leave. Posting on the Indian Workplace forum, he explained that he works in a major BPO firm in Gurugram and had carefully planned his sick and casual leave so he could attend therapy sessions for physical injuries caused by a previous accident.
Despite having remaining leave days, he was stunned when his employer insisted on receiving both an X-ray and an MRI scan as evidence for the medical issues he was already treating. He questioned the logic behind asking for such scans for nerve-related pain and internal inflammation, pointing out how unreasonable the demand felt.
He added that even though he still had unused leave in his balance, his request was being rejected without proper justification. According to him, corporate workplaces in India often operate in a rigid and unfair manner, showing little concern for employee well-being.
He claimed that his employer even proposed a deal where his leave would only be approved if he agreed to give up half of his remaining casual and sick leave. To him, this made it clear that the company prioritized around-the-clock staffing over basic compassion, pushing employees to leave their allotted benefits unused.
Many Reddit users responded strongly to his post. One commenter expressed that the company’s actions were completely unreasonable and lacked basic humanity. Another user shared that even something as minor as stomach pain should be enough to justify sick leave and emphasized that sick leave is an employee entitlement, not a privilege one needs to request with folded hands.
A third person mentioned that such behaviour is common in call center environments. They explained that they work in a similar setup and constantly need to assert themselves because management often resists legitimate requests. They stated that standing firm is necessary and that while the workplace culture may not be ideal, persistence usually helps. Another participant added that employees are only required to notify the company about taking sick leave, not plead for approval, stressing that informing is different from asking.