Maternity Leave can’t be denied to Female Employees under Probation

The Maharashtra Administrative Tribunal (MAT) recently ruled that probation should not be an obstacle to a woman who wants to be a mother. The tribunal quashed a 2015 state order that denied maternity leave to a then 28-year-old assistant forest conservator in Mumbai.

According to the MAT judgment, a probationer’s seniority should not suffer if she wants to be a mother, as it is her basic human and natural right. The state of Maharashtra, being a welfare and progressive state, has guaranteed 180-day maternity leave to every woman employee. The tribunal stated that such leave is as much a right of the newborn to be with the mother as it is the mother’s right to be with the child.

The woman, who is now a divisional forest conservator at SGNP, had challenged the 2015 order. The forest department had classified her 180 days of maternity leave and an additional 43 days of post-natal leave taken in 2013 as “extraordinary leave” during her probation period. This decision was deemed illegal by the tribunal.

The state argued that the woman’s probation had ended in March 2015 instead of mid-2014, which affected her seniority. However, her lawyer argued that the state failed to consider her maternity leave, resulting in the incorrect calculation of her probation period. This error cost her seniority.

MAT clarified that any probationer must complete the mandatory period of one or two years. However, the solution lies in changing the method used to compute the probation period. The tribunal ruled that probation can only be extended for an employee’s assessment if their performance upon resuming work is found to be unsatisfactory. If a probationer’s work is satisfactory during the 180-day period after resuming work post-maternity leave, their seniority would be deemed from the end date of their original probation period, along with their batchmates. This mechanism ensures that the government has sufficient time to appraise the probationer while protecting the rights of the child to be with the mother and the mother’s right to be with the child.

The state had cited recruitment rules of a three-year probation, including two years of training, to justify its actions. However, the MAT judgment emphasized that maternity leave is statutory under the Maternity Benefits Act and that the seniority of female employees should not be affected by their maternity leave.

In conclusion, the recent ruling by the Maharashtra Administrative Tribunal ensures that probation should not be an obstacle to a woman who wants to be a mother. Maternity leave is considered a basic human and natural right, and the seniority of female employees should not suffer due to their maternity leave.