Can I Take an Extra Month of Maternity Leave Before or After the 26 Weeks?

Question on Extra Maternity Leave

I have a question pertaining to one month of extra leave in addition to the 26 weeks. Is there any provision to avail one month of extra leave pre-maternal leave (8 weeks), or will the additional one month leave be applicable after the completion of 26 weeks, as per the Act of 1961 under section 10?

Section 10 of the Act

Section 10 of the Act states: Leave for illness arising out of pregnancy, delivery, premature birth of a child, or miscarriage. A woman suffering from illness arising out of pregnancy, delivery, premature birth of a child, or miscarriage shall, on production of such proof as may be prescribed, be entitled, in addition to the period of absence allowed to her under section 6 or, as the case may be, under section 9, to leave with wages at the rate of maternity benefit for a maximum period of one month.

Kindly advise.

Dear Rajkumar, yours is, in fact, a good question. The exact answer to your query lies in understanding the phrase "in addition to" used in section 10 of the MB Act, 1961. Normally, the phrase "in addition to" refers to "something extra which would be available after something else already in existence." Therefore, whatever is mentioned as "in addition to" is an extra that comes later in the chronological sequence.

Regarding the maternity benefit contemplated under the Act, simply put, it is the leave of absence with wages and continuity of service. If you scan sections 5(1), 9, and 9-A of the Act, you will find that the central points of reference are the "day of delivery," "medical termination of pregnancy," "miscarriage," and "tubectomy operation," respectively. Therefore, the additional leave of one month under section 10 can only be availed of after the occurrence of such incidents.

The leave of absence due to other sickness is covered under the prenatal portion of the maternity leave.