Section 72, The Employment Act, 2023

(1) Upon presentation of a medical certificate issued bya certified medical practitioner or a midwife certifying the expected date of delivery or the actual date of delivery, as the case may be, a female worker shall be entitled to not less than 14 weeks’ maternity leave in accordance with this Act, any other enactment, contract or collective agreement, on full remuneration. (2) During the period when a female worker is on maternity leave in accordance with subsection (1), her normal benefits and entitlements including her contractual rights and the accumulation of pension rights as well as her legitimate expectations to advancement and seniority, shall continue uninterrupted in the manner in which they would have been had she not gone on such leave and her period of employment shall not be considered to have been interrupted, reduced or broken by the exercise of her right to maternity leave. (3) An employer shall not terminate the employment of a female worker during pregnancy or maternity leave. (4) A female worker shall have right to return to the job which she held immediately prior to her maternity leave and on terms and conditions not less favourable than those which would have applied had she not been absent unless- (a) that job has ceased to exist because of economic, technological or organisational reasons; (b) she is incapable of continuing to perform that job; or (c) on grounds not related to the pregnancy or birth of the child and its consequences or nursing. (5) The burden to prove that the reasons for termination or dismissal are unrelated to pregnancy or childbirth and its consequences or nursing under subsection (4), shall rest with the employer. (6) In either of the circumstances under paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection (4), the employer shall take reasonable steps to find the female worker a suitable alternative job within the workplace and where a suitable alternative job cannot be found or if the female worker unreasonably refuses the offer of a job, the employer shall be entitled to terminate her employment with notice in writing, if the employer so requests, subject to providing severance pay under section 80 and to the requirements of redundancy compensation under section 82 and disciplinary penalties under section 83. Maternity 46 47 Annual leave. (7) Where sickness arising out of pregnancy or during confinement, affecting either the mother or her baby, and making the mother’s return to work inadvisable, the right to return under subsection (4) shall be available within 20 weeks of the date of confinement or miscarriage. (8) A female worker shall be entitled to the rights mentioned in subsections (1) and (3) after giving not less than 7 days advance notice to her employer of her intention to take maternity leave or such shorter period as is reasonable in the circumstances, and after giving not less than 7 days notice of her intention to return to work. (9) An employer shall not terminate or dismiss a female worker because of her absence from work on maternity leave.