DOLE to Issue IRR for Expanded Maternity Leave Law on Labor Day
Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III announced on Friday last week that the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of the newly enacted law, the Expanded Maternity Leave (EML) Law, will be issued on Labor Day of this year.
Signed into law by President Rodrigo Duterte last February 20, the EML Law, otherwise known as Republic Act No. 11210, extended the previous 60-day paid maternity leave to 105 days, with an option to extend for an additional 30 days of unpaid leave. Solo mothers are granted an additional 15 days of paid maternity leave.
The law shall apply to females working in the government, private sector, and informal economy, regardless of their civil status or legitimacy of the child. It shall also apply to every instance of pregnancy, miscarriage or emergency termination of pregnancy regardless of their number of occurrence.
The law provides for the option to share 7 of the 105 days to the father of the child, in addition to the existing 7 days paternity leave granted under RA No. 8187. Absent a father figure, the 7 days can be granted to an alternate caregiver of choice of the mother, such person may be a relative or current partner.
Secretary Bello stated that the new law is a triumph for the labor sector in upholding the rights of women. “Providing workers with enhanced paid leave is one of the best strategies to help them manage work-life balance, which translates to their higher productivity at work,” he added.
Working mothers can start availing of the expanded maternity law 15 days after the publication of the IRR in a newspaper of general circulation.
