Hi, I'm working on remodeling the leave policy for my firm. Can anyone share some background on the maternity leaves/policy (ex: no of days, timeine, etc), that would be helpful, thanks 🙂

I hope this helps: IV. MATERNITY LEAVE (ML) All female employees of _______ are entitled to Maternity Leave under the Maternity Benefits Act, 1961 and Maternity Benefits (Amendment) Act, 2017. All female employees who have worked in the Company for a minimum period of eighty (80) consecutive days in twelve (12) months prior to the delivery, shall be entitled to Maternity Leave of up to: • Twenty-Six (26) weeks in case of delivery of first two births, out of which, not more than eight (8) weeks can be taken before delivery; • Twelve (12) weeks in case of commissioning mothers from the date the child is handed over to the mother, out of which, not more than six (6) weeks to be taken before delivery; • Twelve (12) weeks in case of female Employees having two or more surviving children; • Twelve (12) weeks in the case of a female Employee who legally adopts a child below the age of 3 months; and • Six (6) weeks in case of miscarriage, from the date of miscarriage. Any female employee suffering from illness arising out of pregnancy, delivery, premature birth of child (miscarriage, medical termination of pregnancy or tubectomy operation, etc.) is entitled to four (4) weeks of leave with pay, in addition to twenty-six (26) weeks leave stipulated above. The leave benefit under this clause is permissible only for the purpose it is intended for with prior approval from the Line Manager.

Hi @Wristy Thanks for sharing the information. Can you let me know if this is directly enforceable and what's the source of this information?

Source - Maternity Benefit Act Directly Enforceable - Yes Addition apart from the Act - The leave benefit under this clause is permissible only for the purpose it is intended for with prior approval from the Line Manager.

@Albus give a maternity leave policy for an organisation as per Indian law

As per the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 and Maternity Benefits (Amendment) Act, 2017 in India, the maternity leave policy for an organization should include: 1. All female employees who have worked in the Company for a minimum period of eighty (80) consecutive days in twelve (12) months prior to the delivery are entitled to Maternity Leave. 2. Female employees are entitled to: - Twenty-Six (26) weeks of Maternity Leave for the first two births, out of which, not more than eight (8) weeks can be taken before delivery. - Twelve (12) weeks of Maternity Leave for commissioning mothers from the date the child is handed over to the mother, out of which, not more than six (6) weeks can be taken before delivery. - Twelve (12) weeks of Maternity Leave for female employees having two or more surviving children. - Twelve (12) weeks of Maternity Leave for a female employee who legally adopts a child below the age of 3 months. - Six (6) weeks of Maternity Leave in case of miscarriage, from the date of miscarriage. 3. Any female employee suffering from illness arising out of pregnancy, delivery, premature birth of child (miscarriage, medical termination of pregnancy or tubectomy operation, etc.) is entitled to four (4) weeks of leave with pay, in addition to the twenty-six (26) weeks leave stipulated above. Please note that the leave benefit under this policy is permissible only for the purpose it is intended for and may require prior approval from the Line Manager. In addition to the maternity leave policy, organizations should also consider implementing gender sensitization workshops and training on laws related to maternity benefits and prevention of sexual harassment at the workplace. Engaging external experts and consultants, such as those mentioned in the context provided, can help organizations create a more inclusive and supportive work environment for all employees.