Maternity leave law in Pakistan
The principal statute is the Maternity Benefit Ordinance 1958, which applies to establishments with 10 or more workers. Key provisions:
| Provision | Details |
|---|---|
| Duration | 12 weeks (84 calendar days) for the first 3 pregnancies. May be split as 6 weeks pre-delivery and 6 weeks post-delivery, or taken entirely post-delivery. |
| Pay | Full salary during the entire 12-week period. The employer bears the full cost (not deducted from leave balance in the usual sense). |
| Eligibility | Employee must have worked for the employer for at least 4 months before expected delivery date. |
| 4th pregnancy and beyond | The Ordinance only mandates benefit for the first 3 pregnancies. After that, leave is at the employer's discretion. |
| Job protection | The employer cannot dismiss a woman during maternity leave or for a period of 3 months after her return. |
| Extension | If delivery is complicated or results in illness, additional leave may be granted on medical grounds as sick leave. |
Some provincial laws and federal rules extend entitlement further:
- Federal Government employees (Leave Rules 1981): 180 days (6 months) maternity leave
- Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: KP Civil Servants Rules grant 12 weeks; some departments voluntarily extend to 16 weeks
- Private sector companies (policy): Many multinationals and large Pakistani firms now offer 16–20 weeks as a market benefit
Maternity leave timeline
Pre-natal
Up to 6 weeks before expected delivery date
Post-natal (core)
Remaining weeks (min 6 weeks post-delivery mandatory)
Extension
Medical extension on sick leave if complications
Under the Ordinance, the employee is typically required to give the employer notice of the expected date and to provide medical confirmation of pregnancy. This is a policy/documentation matter handled by HR outside the leave record.
Paternity leave
Pakistan's labour law does not currently mandate paternity leave at the federal level for private sector employees. However:
| Sector / Status | Paternity entitlement |
|---|---|
| Federal Government employees | 30 days (updated under Leave Rules amendments 2019) |
| Punjab civil servants | 30 days |
| Sindh civil servants | 30 days |
| KPK civil servants | 30 days |
| Private sector (standard) | 3–7 days (commonly offered as a company policy benefit) |
| Progressive private employers / multinationals | 14–30 days |
In Octal HR, paternity leave is set up as a separate leave type with its own name and annual days allowance (with carry-forward left off, as it typically does not carry over).
EOBI and SESSI maternity benefit
Registered workers are entitled to maternity cash benefits from their provincial social security scheme:
- PESSI (Punjab) — Maternity benefit: 12 weeks' wages paid by PESSI if the employee is registered and contributions are current. Employer pays full salary; PESSI reimburses the employer for the PESSI-covered portion.
- SESSI (Sindh) — Similar 12-week maternity cash benefit for registered workers.
- ESSI (KPK), BESSI (Balochistan) — Similar provisions per provincial social security acts.
- EOBI — EOBI does not provide a standalone maternity benefit; its old-age benefit is separate.
Claim process: To claim the SESSI/PESSI maternity benefit, HR submits a claim form to the respective social security office within the timeframe set by that authority, attaching the birth certificate and hospital discharge summary. This claim is filed with the social security office directly and is separate from Octal HR.
Set up maternity / paternity leave in Octal HR
Maternity and paternity leave are each set up as a leave type under Leave → Leave Types, using the same simple fields as any other type:
The pre-natal/post-natal split, eligibility, medical documentation and frequency rules described above are matters of law and company policy. Octal HR does not enforce them automatically — HR applies them when reviewing and recording the leave.
Recording maternity leave
Maternity leave is recorded through the normal leave request and approval flow:
Payroll during maternity leave
Maternity leave under the Ordinance is fully paid. As a matter of policy this means:
- All salary components (basic, HRA, utilities, allowances) are paid in full for the leave period
- EOBI and provincial social security (PESSI/SESSI) contributions continue as in a normal month
- Because the leave is paid, it does not trigger a loss-of-pay deduction in payroll
SESSI reimbursement: If your company claims the PESSI/SESSI maternity cash benefit, the reimbursement received from the social security authority is handled in your accounts as income — it does not reduce the employee's payslip. This reconciliation happens outside Octal HR.
Return from maternity leave
- When the employee returns, HR resumes normal attendance and payroll for the following period.
- If the employee needs additional time due to medical complications, this is handled as further leave (for example sick leave) from the return date.
- Remember the statutory protection: under the Ordinance the employee cannot be dismissed for 3 months after her return. This is a legal obligation for HR to observe; it is not tracked or enforced automatically by the system.