Whether an employee is entitled to maternity leave pay if she fails to notify the employer of her pregnancy and ceases to report to duties.
In consideration of the above, we revert to you as follows:
1.0 Laws Regarding Maternity Leave Pay
1.1 The Employment Relations Promulgation 2007 (hereinafter referred to as “ERP”) makes specific provisions for maternity leave and the rights of women whilst on maternity leave.
1.2 Section 101 of the ERP reads;
A woman employed in a workplace who expects to give birth is entitled to maternity leave and abstain from work for a period of 84 consecutive days subject to providing her employer with a certificate from a registered medical practitioner or registered nurse specifying the possible date of birth.
2.0 Application
2.1 This section specifically states that a woman is entitled to be paid for a period of 84 days but she must provide her Employer with a medical certificate specifying the possible date of birth of her child.
2.2 The inference drawn from the above provision is therefore that in the event that an employee fails to notify the employer of her pregnancy or provide the employer with a certificate specifying the possible date of birth, she will not be entitled to the maternity leave pay.
3.0 Obligation of the Employee
3.1 According to the ERP an employee is expected to notify the employer of her pregnancy and also provide the employer with certificate specifying the possible date of birth.
3.2 The possible date of birth is usually determined by the medical practitioner through medical examination which is conducted after a weeks into gestation.
3.3 Therefore it is the duty of the employee to inform the employer of her pregnancy after which the employer has the duty to make the requisite arrangement of her maternity pay/leave.
4.0 Issue at hand
4.1 According to the instructions that has been provided to us, we note that the your office wishes to to know if an employee is entitled to maternity leave pay if she fails to notify the employer of her pregnancy and ceases to come to work to give birth and also fails to advise the employer of the reason of her absence.
4.2 Taking into consideration Section 101 of the ERP, the employer will not be obliged to pay the employee for her maternity leave as the employee had failed to notify the employer of her pregnancy.
4.3 Further to that, the employee failed to provide the employer with a certificate specifying the possible date of birth which would have enabled the employer to make the necessary arrangement for the payment of the maternity leave pay.
5.0 Conclusion
5.1 Taking into consideration the above, it can be concluded that the employee is not entitled to maternity leave pay is she fails to fulfill her obligation towards the employer by notifying the employer of her pregnancy.
