So the Expanded Maternity Leave IRR is out! What great timing: on Labor Day, as a tribute to workers everywhere, and less than two weeks before Mother’s Day, as a tribute to all Moms. Since our office, the office of Akbayan Senator Risa Hontiveros, is the sponsor and champion of this law, I thought I would prepare a set of FAQs based on the law and the Implementing Rules and Regulations for working-out-of-the-house Moms like me. The law is available via this link. If you want to read the full text of the EML IRR, you can read it below:
This is PART 1: MATERNITY LEAVE FOR PUBLIC SECTOR AND PRIVATE
SECTOR EMPLOYEES.
I will be posting PART 2 soon: ALLOCATION OF MATERNITY LEAVE
CREDITS (the Daddy Quota!), MATERNITY LEAVE FOR VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTORS
(informal workers, freelancers, OFWs) and NATIONAL ATHLETES.
First things first, when is the
effectivity date of the EML?
The EML has been effective since March 11, 2019. (This is 15 days after the official date of publication, which I think has been set at February 23). This means that all qualified female workers who delivered or miscarried on March 11 or later shall enjoy benefits under the law. This confirmed by the SSS in an interview quoted by Smart Parenting.
What are the maternity leave
benefits under RA 11210?
Generally, a qualified female worker who has delivered an infant
is entitled to receive 105 days of maternity leave, full pay, with an
additional 15 days if the female worker is a solo parent. She is entitled to 60
days of maternity leave, full pay, in the event of miscarriage or emergency
termination of pregnancy. The female worker may also choose to allocate a
maximum of seven days to the father of the child, or in his absence, a
qualified alternate caregiver. An additional maternity leave of 30 days may be
availed of, on top of the 105 days, without pay.
What is the amount of maternity
leave benefit that qualified female workers are entitled to?
All qualified female workers employed in the formal economy are
entitled to full pay.
What exactly is the definition
of full pay?
Full pay refers to all remuneration or earnings paid by an
employer to a worker for services rendered on normal working days and hours not lower than the wage rate fixed
by the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board including allowancesprovided for under existing company
policy or collective bargaining agreement, if any. Full pay in the public
sector, on the other hand, includes the basic salary and allowances as
may be provided under existing guidelines.
Is there a maximum number of
times that maternity leave benefit can be availed?
Maternity leave shall now be granted in every instance of
pregnancy, miscarriage or emergency termination of pregnancy, regardless of
frequency.
What about multiple childbirths
(twins or triplets)?
The female worker shall enjoy only one maternity benefit,
regardless of the number of offspring.
What about overlapping
maternity benefit? (This can happen when, during the 105-day maternity leave
period, the female worker gets pregnant again, but miscarries; or, during the
60-day period after miscarriage, the female worker gets pregnant again then
miscarries again)
The female worker shall be enjoy maternity benefits for the two
contingencies, but the leave must be utilized in a consecutive manner.
How shall the maternity leave
be used?
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. It can be credited as combinations of prenatal and
postnatal care, but in no case shall postnatal care be less than 60 days.
Who are qualified to avail of
maternity leave benefits under RA 11210?
Female workers in the public sector, female workers in the
private sector, female workers in the informal economy, female workers who are
voluntary contributors to the Social Security System, and female national
athletes.
Who qualifies as a solo parent?
Solo parent refers to a covered female worker who falls under
the category of a solo parent defined under Republic Act 8972 or the Solo
Parents Welfare Act of 2000.
Public sector employees
Who are considered female
employees in the public sector?
This category includes any pregnant female worker in the
government service, regardless of employment status and length of service, in
National Government Agencies, Local Government Units, Government Owned and
Controlled Corporations, State Universities and Colleges or Local Universities
and Colleges. Employment status may be permanent, temporary, coterminous, fixed
term, casual, contractual, substitute or provisional.
May maternity leave also be
availed of by teachers during long vacations?
Female teachers may also avail of maternity leave even during
long vacations, i.e., summer and Christmas, in which case, both the maternity
leave benefits and the proportional vacation pay (PVP) shall be granted.
How will public sector
employees be paid?
The female worker shall have the option to receive full pay
through lumpsum payment or regular payment of salary through agency payroll.
How are disputes to be
resolved?
For public sector employees, disputes shall be filed initially
to the head of agency and then appealed to the Civil Service Commission. The
agency shall not hold or delay the payment of full pay to the female worker
pending the resolution of the dispute.
Private sector employees
Who are considered qualified
female employees in the private sector?
To qualify for the grant of maternity leave benefit, the female
worker must meet the following requirements: (a) three monthly contributions in
the twelve-month period immediately preceding the semester of childbirth or
miscarriage; (b) 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.
Are domestic workers
(kasambahay) included?
Yes, they are included. The IRR defines employed female worker
as “a female worker, including a domestic worker, who performs services for an
employer in which either both mental or physical efforts are used and who
receives compensation for such services, where there is an employer-employee
relationship.’
What if the SSS benefit is
lower than the actual pay received by the female employee?
Employers from the private sector shall pay the difference
between the full salary of the female employee and the money benefits received
from the SSS. (For example, if the employee receives 30,000 pesos a month, and
then receives from the SSS 16,000 pesos as the monthly maternity benefit, the
company has to be shoulder the balance of 14,000 pesos.) This is subject to
exceptions, such as if the employer is a distressed establishment, is employing
not more than ten workers, and is considered a micro-business enterprise with
total assets of not more than 3 million pesos. (To know more about this, please
refer to the IRR, which outlines the exceptions in detail).
How are disputes resolved?
Disputes relating to SSS payments shall be lodged before the SSS. Disputes regarding the payment of salary differential, and labor standards issues, shall be filed before the DOLE.
