Giving birth is undoubtedly the hardest yet loving phase of a woman’s life. The emotional and physical tiredness it carries along should not be ignored. Earlier, employers used to fire women if they saw that the need for maternity leave hindered the woman worker’s ability to perform in the workplace. Hence, women used to take unpaid leaves in order to avoid being fired. Maternity leave is provided to women for before and post-pregnancy problems. To avail of the benefits of maternity leave, you must apply for maternity leave. Read on to know how to apply for maternity leave.
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What is the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961?
The Maternity Benefit Act, of 1961 is a law that protects the employment of women at the time of their maternity. It allows women employees to avail the benefit of fully paid wages during their absence from work before and post the delivery. The said woman is required to have worked for at least 80 days in the 12 months preceding the date of her expected delivery. Organisations with more than 10 employees are eligible to imply this act.
How to Apply for Maternity Leave?
To avail of maternity leave prior to expected delivery, the woman employee must give a notice/application in writing that clearly mentions the date of absence from work and a certificate of pregnancy.
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How to Write a Maternity Leave Application?
Keep the following things in mind before writing a Maternity leave application:
- Ensure that your maternity leave application adheres to the requirements of your company’s rules, such as mode of application, advance notice time, number of leave days allowed, and payment.
- Mention that the application is for maternity leave in the first paragraph itself.
- Clearly include the number of days you will be on leave during the period.
- Mention how you are planning to cover the workload during your maternity leave.
- If your company permits work from home, and you wish to take up work from home instead of leaves, then mention the date and timings you would be available to work from home during the period.
- Don’t forget to express your gratitude for the support provided by your manager during this time.
- Suppose there is any specific timeframe for giving advance notice to avail of maternity leave in your company. In that case, you must submit the application on time to claim the maternity leave benefit.
Maternity Leave Application Example
Here is a sample application to give an idea of how to write the perfect maternity leave application:
Date: XYZ, 2022
From:
XYZ (Your Name)
XYZ Colony, New Delhi (Your Address)
XXXXXXXXX (Your Contact Details)
To:
(Recipient’s Name)
(Recipient’s Office Address)
Subject: Maternity Leave Request
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am (Your Name) working as (Your Designation) in (Name of the department). I would like to inform you that I am pregnant and would like to take (number of days) of maternity leave beginning (start date) to (reporting date). I assure you that there will be no issues in carrying out my duties as I return back to work.
As per the company’s maternity leave rules, I am eligible for (Number of days) of leave before delivery and (Number of days) of leave after delivery. My expected delivery date is (your delivery date), hence I want to use my maternity leave to take care of myself and the baby post-delivery as advised by my doctor.
I would be supervising the project (project name/details) from home wherever possible. I want to suggest Mr./Ms. (Name of the person) to be in charge of this project during my absence.
I would also like to mention that I will be available on my mobile number (your personal mobile number) and email (your email ID) during my leave. Feel free to contact me for any work-related issues. Please let me know if I am required to submit any forms before going on leave.
Thank you for your kind consideration.
Regards
(Your signature)
(Your Name)
FAQs
A maternity leave protects the employment of women at the time of their maternity.
To avail of maternity leave, you must give a notice/application in writing that clearly mentions the date of absence from work and a certificate of pregnancy.
You must adhere to the company rules before writing a maternity leave application.
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