Maternity Leave and Service Bonds: Can Leave Extend the Bond Period?

Hi all,

We are granting one of our employees maternity leave within the service bond. Will it be considered under the bond time, or will it automatically shift beyond the bond time? For example, if her bond time is from January 2015 to January 2017, can we shift her bond time to April 2017?

Hi Buddy,

No, you cannot treat maternity leave as a break in her service because, as per the definition of continuous service, an employee is said to be in continuous service if he/she worked 240 days above the ground and 190 days below the ground. According to the Industrial Act of 1947, for calculating working days, you have to consider maternity leave as well, provided it does not exceed 12 weeks. Therefore, you should not extend her bond time.

With Regards,

Mr. Thumbs Up

It would depend on the wording of the bond terms.

In most cases, this is not standard practice, and therefore, you are free to extend the bond period by the number of leaves taken for maternity leave. It would be a good idea to include these terms in future bonds.