Maternity leave refers to the period of time when a mother stops working following the birth of a child. When an employee is expecting, the employer can expect to receive time off requests. Maternity leave can start before the child is born if the mother requests it or has complications in her pregnancy; or it can begin after birth.

For small- to medium-sized businesses, maternity leave can cause complications for the company, as well. Covering workload and shifts can be difficult, but more and more employers are seeing the benefit of providing a maternity leave benefit as generous as they can afford.

Who are eligible for a maternity leave benefit?

All regular full-time female employees are entitled up to 105 days of paid maternity leave as per the local law. In case of miscarriage or emergency termination of pregnancy, employee will be entitled to 60 days of paid maternity leave or global bereavement leave and not both. An additional unpaid leave can be used at the employee’s discretion. An employee who qualifies as a solo parent will be granted an additional 15 days maternity leave.  The period of maternity leave shall be inclusive of any holiday(s) that fall within the period of maternity leave. Maternity leave is available to eligible Philippines-based employees regardless of nationality or marital status.

For female employee working in the Public Sector

Any pregnant female worker in the government service, regardless of employment status and length of service, in National Government Agencies (NGAs), Local Government Units (LGUs), Government-Owned or Controlled Corporations (GOCCs), State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) or Local Universities and Colleges (LUCs).

The following documents shall be submitted to the agency to enjoy maternity leave:

  • Accomplished Application for Leave (Civil Service Form No. 6);  
  • Medical Certificate issued by a government or private physician, as proof of pregnancy and estimated date of delivery;
  • Accomplished Clearance Form (Civil Service Form No. 7)
  • Solo Parent I.D., for solo parents who want to avail of the additional maternity leave of 15 day


For female employee working in the Private Sector

To qualify for the grant of maternity leave benefit, the female worker must meet the following requirements:

To be eligible for maternity benefit from the Social Security System (SSS), an employee must have paid at least 3 monthly SSS contributions in the 12 month period immediately preceding the semester of the birth, miscarriage or termination;

An employee must also notify her employer of the pregnancy and expected date of birth. Notice shall be transmitted to the SSS in accordance with the rules and regulations it may provide. However, failure of the pregnant female workers to notify the employer shall not bar her from receiving the maternity benefits, subject to guidelines prescribed by the SSS.

For Self-employed/Voluntary/OFW SSS members

Maternity benefits shall cover all married and unmarried women, including female workers in the informal economy. Female workers in the informal economy are entitled to maternity leave benefits if they have remitted to the SSS at least three (3) monthly contributions in the twelve (12)-month period immediately preceding the semester of her childbirth, miscarriage, or emergency termination of pregnancy. Self-employed female SSS members, including those in the informal economy, OFWs and voluntary SSS members may give notice directly to the SSS

Is the maternity leave applicable only to married females?

No. This does not apply to married females only. The maternity leave can be availed of regardless of the civil status of the mother or her child’s legitimacy

Can a female employee re-apply for maternity leave if they get pregnant again?

Yes. They can apply for maternity leave in every instance of pregnancy.

Here is the process on how to avail the maternity leave and benefit given by the company:

  1. Employee shall submit the following requirements to the finance department:
  2. Hard copy of the Ultrasound report (see photo for reference)

(See photo for reference)

  • Photocopy of the employee’s SSS ID and company ID
  • The finance assistant is tasked to email the softcopy of the of the requirements mentioned above to the HR department while CC’ing the HR manager and the employee’s manager.

2. After sending the email, the finance assistant’s duty now is to file the notification online through:

  • The SSS Website @ sss.gov.ph. Once there, log-in with the details provided and click Employer Portal. (See photo for reference)

Subsequently clicking on the E-services button to submit the maternity notification for the employer. Based on the Maternity Notification Form provided by SSS, fill up the required fields then click add after filling up the required fields. (See photo for reference)


3. After sending the form upon completion, the finance assistant shall receive a confirmation that the form has been accomplished. (See photo for reference)


4. The finance assistant shall forward the successful notification to the concerned employee while CC’ing her immediate head and the finance manager.

5. Consecutively, the employee shall file her actual maternity leave, filling up all the details needed based on the IRR of the RA No. 11210 or the act of increasing the maternity leave period to one hundred and five (105) days for female workers with pay and an option to extend for an additional thirty (30) days without pay. This also grants extension of fifteen (15) days for solo mothers, and for other purposes.


The maternity leave period is counted in calendar days, inclusive of Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays. This is in consonance with the rule that maternity leave should be availed of in a continuous and uninterrupted manner.

This should be filed to the HR Department.

  1. It is the finance assistant’s duty to compute and release the maternity benefit one week before the expected delivery date with the computation (based on the IRR of the RA No. 11210):

Current Basic Salary Daily Rate x number of days = Total Benefits

Note:

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For the SSS reimbursement, the finance assistant will be the one to collect the requirements from the employee (refer to this link for further details of the reimbursement: https://www.sss.gov.ph/sss/appmanager/pages.jsp?page=maternitycomputation)

The requirements needed for the reimbursement are the following:

  • Hard copy of the Maternity Benefit Reimbursement Form

  • Hard copy of the Certified True Copy of the Birth Certificate (by the City Health)
  • Hard copy of the OR Record or Abstract
  • Once the requirements are gathered and completed, the finance assistant shall submit all the requirements to SSS and keep the acknowledgement slip for the reimbursement.
  • The Finance Assistant is also the one to monitor the refund within 1-3 months of the expected date said by SSS.
  • If no refund has been received from SSS after three months, the finance assistant will be the one follow up SSS of the problem and to resubmit any lacking requirement if that is the reason why the refund has not been processed yet.
  • When the SSS reimbursement is received through the ASOC or TBOS official bank account, the bookkeeper shall now reconcile the account.