Continued from here ...

The week before Christmas, Catherina asked if she could speak to me ... not then, she said, but later in the day.

Sure.

About 3:30 she came to my office door and announced it was now time for our chat. Okay ...

I made us both a cup of tea and we took seats at the table on the veranda.

"Don't look at me," she said.

Huh?

"I can't talk if you look at me. I'm too shy."

Okay ...

Then she handed me an appointment card from the anti-natal clinic ... for some reason, in countries that have had great influence from Great Britain anti-natal is used in place of pre-natal -- go figure.

Ah ha.

She's four and something months pregnant.

She's been working with me for two months and is four+ months pregnant ... due sometime in May. Could she have suspected when she applied for the job? She says no, and I take her at her word.

A bit about the law in Seychelles ...

An employee can be terminated at any time during the probationary period and no cause other than 'unsuitable for the position' need be listed. After the probation, it is virtually impossible to fire anyone for anything ... although I suppose murder might be a fireable offense, but not much else is. Catherina knows this as well, or better, than I do.

Maternity leave is three months at full pay.

May I reiterate that Catherina has been here for two months and has not proven herself to be any more than barely adequate at the early stages of a job that is meant to include much more responsibility eventually? May I also add that three months paid leave means that there's no way we can afford to get help in while she's on maternity leave? That, of course, will leave me doing everything, which means that the work I get paid for ... the work I love, the projects I have lined up ... and the extra stuff I've not had time for but have been planning to take care of soon will be very difficult to get done.

I'll also mention that we'll be paying her three-months' full wages for no work after working for just six months, and if she quits when her maternity leave is up ... well, we'll be asking ourselves again about loyalty, gratitude, fairness and so on.

So, here I am. What do I do?

Continued ...