Supporting Adoption in the Workplace: How Much Maternity Leave Should We Offer?

I need advice... One of my employees will soon adopt a child of 4 months. She is asking for maternity leave. We need to support such actions, but how much leave can we give? I find no such guidelines.

Legal Adoption and Maternity Leave

The Act does not provide for this. If the management wants to give, you can extend in cases where there is a legal adoption. The quantum can be decided by you as there is no legal provision for this. 50% of what the act provides could be a benchmark.

Regards,
Sivasankaran

I am with Sivasankaran on this. Since the Act doesn't cover this situation—at least as of now—it's up to the company to decide the quantum. Though 50% could be a starting point, if the employee can be spared for the full duration of the legal eligibility as per the Act, why not give her the 100% leave quantum? In a way, though there could be a difference of opinion here, handling adopted kids is tougher from various angles—to the extent I know of child psychology. And here the parents too would take time to get used to the kid.

In addition to the need-aspect of this situation, you could also look at it from the HR-advantage point of view. I am sure it would set a good example for the employees about how HR in your company is flexible with regard to the rules, rather than going just by the rulebook.

All the Best.

Regards,
TS

Adoption Leave and Maternity Benefit Act

The Maternity Benefit Act does not provide for maternity leave for the adoption of a child, as other members have already mentioned. However, some establishments provide for adoption leave for those adopting a child, which should be legally allowed. Thus, the company, as a special case, may offer 6 weeks of leave to an employee from the date of adopting a child upon submission of proper documents as evidence of the adoption. Since your objective is laudable, I trust it should not be difficult to make a decision even on a case-by-case basis, as these instances are few and far between.

Regards,
B. Saikumar
HR & Labour Law Advisor
Mumbai

The issue didn't catch the government's attention until its own employees underwent the hardship. The government, considering a law making maternity leave mandatory for adoptive parents, has finally presented it before the state cabinet.

Last year, 10 of its employees opted for adoptions but had to use annual leave to bond with their children. On May 31, 2007, the Centre issued a memo granting 135-day maternity leave for adoptive mothers. The state government is making a similar provision.

According to adoption centers, most prospective parents prefer healthy babies below three years. There is a misconception that older children don't bond easily with their new families. Child psychologist Dr. Vijay Raman states that mothers going for adoption definitely need maternity leave to bond with the child.

Aloma Lobo, the Chairperson of the Adoption Coordinating Agency of Karnataka, explains that in these cases, the leave is granted from the date of the legalization of adoption, not immediately after the child's arrival. Legalization takes more than six months, and the children are placed with the family based on a temporary foster-care agreement pending legal adoption. "So the adoption leave should be granted immediately upon the child's arrival at home rather than waiting for the court papers. Mothers need more time to bond with their children. Some of the corporate and IT companies, which are sensitive to the issue, have already begun providing 135 days of maternity leave for mothers going through adoption," she said.

Last year, 89 children - 29 boys and 60 girls - were adopted from the Adoption Coordinating Agency of Karnataka.

Maternity Leave for Adoptive Mothers

Adoptive mothers who are Central Government employees become eligible for 180 days of maternity leave. However, this is applicable only if they have less than two surviving children at the time of adoption and if the child they adopt is below one year of age.

Paternity Leave for Adoptive Fathers

Additionally, male Central Government employees are now eligible for 15 days of paternity leave upon adopting a child, subject to the same conditions as those applicable to female employees.

In a way, such leaves as proposed by many above should get a legal nod from the government so that the adoption of a child gets a boost. This will affect society positively. The homeless children will get a home of their own. The childless parents will be blessed as well. Poverty, illiteracy, and suffering will be alleviated. What else do you want from a forward-looking government?

As far as Jaychau is concerned, he should allow benefits to the mother who adopted a child, not anything less than what she should have got had she given birth to a baby herself. There is no statute to prevent you from providing better facilities mentioned in the book of law. From a modern HR outlook, these changes will create better feelings amongst the employees.

I think there is no law regarding maternity benefits for women who adopt children. However, HR professionals should not only follow a professional approach. As members of society, we should also consider humanitarian aspects, not just professional ones. The bond between a mother and child can be nurtured through continuous contact, fostering a lifelong relationship between them.

We should support such maternity practices as a contribution to society. That's it.

I am a working mom and adopted our daughter about four years ago. When our office did not have provisions for maternity leave, I applied to the management, and as a goodwill gesture, it was approved. Now, it is a standard procedure in our company rules! I was also given the option to work from home for an additional month.

Changing Family Setups

Family setups are changing, and we cannot rely solely on old standards. Adopted children require more time to adjust to their new families. Trying to restrict the time a mother or father spends helping the child acclimate to new surroundings based on "rules" would be callous and disheartening.

In our company, for adoption, we follow the same rules and regulations as applicable under the Maternity Benefit Act as far as the number of leaves are concerned.

Regards,
Rajeev