R.A. No. 11210 - (105-Day Expanded Maternity Leave Law)

Congress of the Philippines

Metro Manila

Seventeenth Congress

Third Regular Session

Begun and held in Metro Manila, on Monday, the twenty-third day of July, two thousand eighteen.

REPUBLIC ACT No. 11210

AN ACT INCREASING THE MATERNITY LEAVE PERIOD TO ONE HUNDRED FIVE (105) DAYS FOR FEMALE WORKERS WITH AN OPTION TO EXTEND FOR AN ADDITIONAL THIRTY (30) DAYS WITHOUT PAY, AND GRANTING AN ADDITIONAL FIFTEEN (15) DAYS FOR SOLO MOTHERS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known and cited as the "105-Day Expanded Maternity Leave Law."

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. - It is the declared policy of the State under Article XIII, Section 14 of the 1987 Constitution to protect and promote the rights and welfare of working women, taking into account their maternal functions, and to provide an enabling environment in which their full potential can be achieved.

Article II, State Policies, Section 12 of the 1987 Constitution provides that the State recognizes the sanctity of family life and shall protect and strengthen the family as the basic autonomous social institution and that it shall equally protect the life of the mother and the life of the unborn from conception.  Moreover, Sections 17 and 22 of Republic Act No. 9710, otherwise known as "The Magna Carta of Women," provides for women's rights to health and decent work.

To achieve these, and in recognition of women's maternal function as a social responsibility, the State shall institutionalize a mechanism to expand the maternity leave period of women workers.  This will provide them with ample transition time to regain health and overall wellness as well as to assume maternal roles before resuming paid work.  This Act is consistent with local and international legal instruments that protect and promote the rights of women.

SEC. 3. Grant of Maternity Leave. - All covered female workers in government and the private sector, including those in the informal economy, regardless of civil status or the legitimacy of her child, shall be granted one hundred five (105) days maternity leave with full pay and an option to extend for an additional thirty (30) days without pay: Provided, That in case the worker qualifies as a solo parent under Republic Act No. 8972, or the "Solo Parents' Welfare Act," the worker shall be granted an additional fifteen (15) days maternity leave with full pay.

Enjoyment of maternity leave cannot be deferred, but should be availed of either before or after the actual period of delivery in a continuous and uninterrupted manner, not exceeding one hundred five (105) days, as the case may be.

Maternity leave shall be granted to female workers in every instance of pregnancy, miscarriage or emergency termination of pregnancy, regardless of frequency: Provided, That for cases of miscarriage or emergency termination of pregnancy, sixty (60) days maternity leave with full pay shall be granted.

SEC. 4. Maternity Leave for Female Workers in the Public Sector. - Any pregnant female worker in the government service, regardless of employment status, in National Government Agencies (NGAs), Local Government Units (LGUs), Government-Owned or -Controlled Corpoporations (GOCCs), or State Universities and Colleges (SUCs), shall be granted a maternity leave of one hundred five (105) days with full pay regardless if the delivery was normal or caesarian: Provided, That, in case the employee qualifies as a solo parent under Republic Act No. 8972, or the "Solo Parents' Welfare Act," the employee shall be paid an additional maternity benefit of fifteen (15) days.  An additional maternity leave of thirty (30) days, without pay, can be availed of, at the option of the female worker: Provided, further, That, the head of the agency shall be given due notice, in writing, at least forty-five (45) days before the end of her maternity leave: Provided, finally, That no prior notice shall be necessary in the event of a medical emergency but subsequent notice shall be given to the head of the agency.

Maternity leave of sixty (60) days, with full pay, shall be granted for miscarriage or emergency termination of pregnancy.

SEC. 5. Maternity Leave for Female Workers in the Private Sector. - Any pregnant female worker in the private sector shall be granted a maternity leave of one hundred five (105) days with full pay, regardless of whether she gave birth via caesarian section or natural delivery, while maternity leave of sixty (60) days with full pay shall be granted for miscarriage or emergency termination of pregnancy.

(a) A fenale Social Security System (SSS) member who has paid at least three (3) monthly contributions in the twelve (12)-month period immediately preceding the semester of her childbirth, miscarriage, or emergency termination of pregnancy shall be paid her daily maternity benefit which shall be computed based on her average monthly salary credit for one hundred five (105) days, regardless of whether she gave birth via caesarian section or natural delivery, subject to the following conditions:

(1) That the female worker shall have notified her employer of her pregnancy and the probable date of her childbirth, which notice shall be transmitted to the SSS in accordance with the rules and regulations it may provide;

(2) That the full payment shall be advanced by the employer within thirty (30) days from the filing of the maternity leave application;

(3) That payment of daily maternity benefits shall be a bar to the recovery of sickness benefits provided under Republic Act No. 1161, as amended, for the same period for which daily maternity benefits have been received;

(4) That the SSS shall immediately reimburse the employer of one hundred percent (100%) of the amount of maternity benefits advanced to the female worker by the employer upon receipt of satisfactory and legal proof of such payment; and

(5) That if a female worker shall give birth or suffer a miscarriage or emergency termination of pregnancy without the required contributions having been remitted for her by her employer to the SSS, or without the latter having been previously notified by the employer of the time of the pregnancy, the employer shall pay to the SSS damages equivalent to the benefits which said female member would otherwise have been entitled to.

In case the employee qualifies as a solo parent under Republic Act No. 8972, or the "Solo Parents' Welfare Act," the employee shall be paid an additional maternity benefit of fifteen (15) days. | READ MORE >>

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