Maternity Leave Rules in India: 26 Weeks, 80 Days, and What Employers Owe

A woman who has worked at least 80 days in the 12 months before her expected delivery is entitled to up to 26 weeks of paid maternity leave, and her employer pays it. The Code on Social Security, 2020 now carries these rules, which previously sat in the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, and has been in force since 21 November 2025. If your company has 10 or more employees, assume this applies to you.

Who the rule covers

Chapter VI applies to every shop or establishment in which ten or more employees are employed, or were employed on any day of the preceding twelve months. The First Schedule of the Code sets that line. Factories, mines and plantations are covered whatever their headcount.

The look-back is the detail teams miss. A company that had 10 people on payroll on any day of the past year stays covered for twelve months after headcount drops below 10. A software company's office normally falls under this clause, so the trigger is your headcount history, not the number on your HR dashboard today.

The 80-day test

Eligibility needs at least 80 days of actual work in the 12 months immediately before the expected date of delivery. The Code counts more than days physically worked: days of lay-off and paid holidays declared under law also count toward the 80.

A woman who joined fewer than 80 days before her expected delivery date is not eligible under this rule, so the joining date in your HR system decides the answer. Check it before you promise anything.

How long the leave runs

| Situation | Maximum paid leave | Timing rule |

|---|---|---|

| Woman with fewer than two surviving children | 26 weeks | Up to 8 weeks may fall before the expected delivery date |

| Woman who already has two or more surviving children | 12 weeks | Up to 6 weeks may fall before the expected delivery date |

| Legally adopted child under 3 months, or a commissioning mother | 12 weeks | Counted from the day the child is handed over |

> The 26 weeks is a ceiling, not a fixed payout. Pay runs for the period she is actually absent, at her average daily wage, so the cost follows the leave she takes.

What "average daily wage" means in practice

Each day of absence is paid at the average daily wage. That average is taken over the days she actually worked in the three calendar months before she starts leave, using the wages payable for those days. It cannot fall below the applicable minimum wage.

Take a woman who worked 62 days in the three months before leave and was paid ₹1,24,000 for them. Her average daily wage is ₹2,000 (₹1,24,000 ÷ 62), and that is the rate for each day of leave she takes.

Notice, advance pay and the 48-hour rule

Three procedural points decide whether the payment goes out on time:

- She gives written notice of her leave start date. While she is pregnant, that date cannot be earlier than eight weeks before the expected delivery.

- Pay for the period before delivery is made in advance, on proof of pregnancy. The balance is due within 48 hours of proof of delivery.

- If she has not given notice while pregnant, she can give it after delivery, and the missing notice does not cancel her entitlement.

If she dies before the benefit is paid, the employer pays the nominee named in her notice, or her legal representative if there is no nominee.

Duties that are easy to miss

- No work for six weeks after delivery, miscarriage or medical termination. The employer may not knowingly employ her in that window.

- No arduous work in the month before the six weeks, if she asks for it. Arduous work includes long hours of standing.

- Medical bonus of ₹3,500, payable unless the employer provides pre-natal and post-natal care free of charge. The Central Government can notify a different amount. You do one or the other, not neither.

- Nursing breaks until the child is 15 months old.

- Work from home after leave, only where the job allows it and only if the employer and the woman agree on the terms.

The numbers at a glance

| Rule | Figure | Where it sits in the Code |

|---|---|---|

| Covered establishments | 10 or more employees on any day in the preceding 12 months | First Schedule, Chapter VI |

| Eligibility | 80 days of actual work in the 12 months before expected delivery | Section 60(2) |

| Crèche | 50 employees (or the number the Central Government prescribes) | Section 67(1) |

| Medical bonus | ₹3,500, unless free pre-natal and post-natal care is provided | Section 64 |

A crèche is required at 50 employees, either on site within the prescribed distance or through a common crèche arrangement. The employer must allow the woman four visits a day to it, and those visits include her rest intervals.

A checklist for this quarter

1. Pull each woman's joining date and days worked for the 12 months before her expected delivery date.

2. Count headcount over the past year, not only today, to confirm whether Chapter VI applies to you.

3. Decide now how you will meet the medical-bonus rule: free pre-natal and post-natal care, or the ₹3,500 bonus.

4. Write the work-from-home option into policy as something agreed case by case, not as an entitlement.

5. Plan the crèche arrangement before headcount reaches 50, not after.

Maternity pay runs through payroll for every month of the leave, so it sits in the same payroll run as your unpaid-leave deductions. For the unpaid-day side, the loss of pay calculator at clan.biz/loss-of-pay-calculator shows the per-day effect of each absence. For balances, see clan.biz/leave-balance-calculator. If you want leave, payroll and payslips in one system, see clan.biz/pricing or book a demo at clan.biz/demo.