CLARIFICATION AND NEW PROVISION IN 2025 (See Finance Department O.M. No. 16116 dated 30.05.2025-CLICKHERE)

• 👉 Maternity leave can be availed from any date in between 3 months prior to EDD (Expected Due Date) or 6 months from the Date of Delivery. VERY CRUCIAL-Remember you have to choose 180 days within this period only. Consider 2 dates. (i) the exact date 3 month backs to you EDD (ii) the exact date by adding 6 month to you Date of Delivery. You have to plan in such a way that the 180 days should fall inbetween these days. Example how you will lose leave period: Suppose you applly for maternity leave after 2 month of date of delivery of your baby- You will only get 4 months of maternity leave and will lose 2 months. So apply wisely to spent total 180 days with your baby.

Think of maternity leave like a limited-time offer—you get 180 golden days, but only if you strategically claim them. Imagine it's a government-issued coupon for quality baby time, but there’s a catch: you must use it within a strict time window.

You have two deadlines to watch out for: (i) 3 months before EDD (because prepping for the baby is serious work—finding the perfect name, resisting the urge to buy tiny clothes in bulk, and mastering the art of nesting). (ii) 6 months after delivery (when sleep becomes a distant memory, and your baby starts running the house like a high-ranking official).

Now, suppose you apply for maternity leave late, say two months after delivery—big mistake! You’ll only get 4 months, meaning you lose 2 months that you could have spent convincing your newborn that night is for sleeping, not hosting 2 AM concerts.

So, plan wisely! Use all 180 days efficiently—because let’s be honest, this is your one chance to boss around without Office Establishment questioning it.

• 👉 A female employee is entitled to maternity leave for her second living child, regardless of the number of times she has previously availed maternity leave—including cases where previous pregnancies did not result in a living child.
• 👉 If a female employee is on maternity leave and gets promoted, she must formally notify the appropriate authority of her joining through an official letter. She will still be entitled to utilize the remaining period of her maternity leave before resuming her new role.
• 👉 A female employee has the flexibility to avail maternity leave either as a continuous period or in a piecemeal manner, depending on her requirements and the applicable policy provisions.

• Example: Maternity leave in a government job is like a well-planned budget—you start by sanctioning 3 months before your Expected Due Date (EDD), meticulously preparing for the arrival of your little VIP (who, unlike your boss, never approves leave requests).

  Then, you resume duty, hoping to escape diaper duty for a bit, only to find that the real challenge isn't the baby—it’s the paperwork. Your colleagues keep asking, "When’s the treat?" while you juggle files with one hand and baby bottles with the other.

  Fast forward two months, and you realize work is a peaceful retreat compared to managing sleepless nights and an infant’s energy levels. So, you file another leave request, citing "remaining maternity leave"—which your office grants, but only after three rounds of clearance.

  Now back home, you triumphantly reclaim the last 3 months, surviving on chai, snack breaks, and unsolicited parenting advice from relatives who suddenly think they’re maternity policy experts.

• 👉 A female employee must ensure that childbirth occurs in a government-approved medical facility to be eligible for maternity leave benefits, as per the new provisions.