Employment Act 1955 · Updated to 1 Aug 2023 · Part IX · Pregnancy and Maternity
37. Length of eligible period and entitlement to maternity allowance
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A female employee gets at least ninety-eight consecutive days of maternity leave for each confinement. Her employer pays a maternity allowance only if she worked there at least ninety days in the nine months before confinement. An employee with five or more surviving children gets no allowance. Ending her employment during maternity leave is an offence, unless the business closes.
Summary · Drafted with AI, checked against the official text on 30 Sep 2026.
Every female employee shall be entitled—
to maternity leave for an eligible period in respect of each confinement; and
subject to this Part, to receive from her employer a maternity allowance to be calculated or prescribed as provided in subsection (2) in respect of the eligible period.
*NOTE—Previously “ten”—see subparagraph 9(b)(iii) of the Employment (Amendment) Act 2022
[Act A1651].
Where a female employee is entitled to maternity leave under subparagraph (a)(i), whether or not she is entitled to receive maternity allowance from her employer for the eligible period under paragraph (c), or whether or not she has fulfilled the conditions set out in paragraph (2)(a), she may, with the consent of her employer, commence work at any time during the eligible period if she has been certified fit to resume work by a registered medical practitioner.
Subject to section 40, maternity leave shall not commence earlier than a period of thirty days immediately preceding the confinement of a female employee or later than the day immediately following her confinement:
Provided that where a medical officer or the registered medical practitioner appointed by the employer certifies that the female employee as a result of her advanced state of pregnancy is unable to perform her duties satisfactorily, the employee may be required to commence her maternity leave at any time during a period of fourteen days preceding the date of her confinement as determined in advance by the medical officer or the registered medical practitioner appointed by the employer.
Where a female employee abstains from work to commence her maternity leave on a date earlier than the period of thirty days immediately preceding her confinement, such abstention shall not be treated as maternity leave and she shall not be entitled to any maternity allowance in respect of the days during which she abstains from work in excess of the period of thirty days immediately preceding her confinement.
Notwithstanding subparagraph (a)(ii), a female employee shall not be entitled to any maternity allowance if at the time of her confinement she has five or more surviving children.
For the purposes of this Part—
“children” means all natural children, irrespective of age;
and
“eligible period” means a period of maternity leave of not less than *ninety-eight consecutive days.
*NOTE—Previously “sixty”—see paragraph 12(b) of the Employment (Amendment) Act 2022
[Act A1651].
Employment 43
A female employee shall be entitled to receive maternity allowance for the eligible period from her employer if—
she has been employed by the employer for a period of, or periods amounting in the aggregate to, not less than ninety days during the nine months immediately before her confinement; and
she has been employed by the employer at any time in the four months immediately before her confinement;
A female employee who is eligible for maternity allowance under paragraph (1)(a) shall be entitled to receive from the employer for each day of the eligible period a maternity allowance at her ordinary rate of pay for one day, or at the rate prescribed by the
Minister under paragraph 102(2)(c), whichever is the greater.
A female employee employed on a monthly rate of pay shall be deemed to have received her maternity allowance if she continues to receive her monthly wages during her abstention from work during the eligible period without abatement in respect of the abstention.
Where a female employee claims maternity allowance under this section from more than one employer, she shall not be entitled to receive a maternity allowance of an amount exceeding in the aggregate the amount which she would be entitled to receive if her claim was made against one employer only.
Where there are more employers than one from whom the female employee would be entitled to claim maternity allowance in accordance with subsection (2) the employer who pays the maternity allowance shall be entitled to recover from such other employer, as a civil debt, a contribution which shall bear the same proportion to the amount of the maternity allowance paid to the female employee as the number of days on which she worked for such other employer during the period of nine months immediately preceding her confinement bears to the total number of days on which she worked during the said period:
employer
“employer” means any person who has entered into a contract of service to employ any other person as an employee and includes the agent, manager or factor of such first mentioned person, and the word “employ”, with its grammatical variations and cognate expressions, shall be construed accordingly;
Provided that if the female employee has failed to comply with subsection 40(1) or (2), the employer who pays the maternity allowance shall not thereby be prevented from recovering contribution calculated in accordance with this subsection.
employee
“employee” means any person or class of persons— (a) included in any category in the First Schedule to the extent specified therein; or (b) in respect of whom the Minister makes an order under subsection (3) or section 2a;
Any employer who terminates the service of a female employee during the period in which she is entitled to maternity leave commits an offence:
Provided that for the purpose of this section, such termination shall not include termination on the ground of closure of the employer’s business.