Odisha government employees can now avail maternity and paternity leave even in cases of birth parenthood. The state government Mohan Majhi has approved 180 days of leave for mothers and 15 days for fathers in such cases.
A notification from the government’s finance department issued on Thursday said: “A female state government employee, with less than two surviving children, who becomes a ‘substitute mother’ will be eligible for 180 days maternity leave.”
Surrogate mother means a woman who consents to give birth to a child (genetically related to the intended couple or intended woman) through adoption from the implantation of an embryo in her womb and fulfills the conditions as provided in clause (b) of rule (iii) of Section 4 of the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021 , said the notice.
A female civil servant with less than two surviving children, who becomes a ‘surrogate mother’ – a birth mother who uses her egg to create an embryo that is implanted in any other woman – will be eligible for 180 days maternity leave.
A male state government employee with less than two surviving children, who becomes a ‘sending father’ – father of a biological child – will be eligible for 15 days paternity leave within a period of six months from the date of birth. delivery of the child.
“If both the birth mother and the employed mother are state government employees, both will be eligible for 180 days of maternity leave each,” the notification said.
Although the state government now provides 180 days of maternity leave to female workers for expectant mothers and 15 days of maternity leave to male workers, this provision has been under scrutiny for a long time.
While hearing the plea of ​​a female laborer who became a mother by birth but was denied a 180-day leave on June 25, the Orissa High Court ruled that women workers who became mothers due to the birth of another person have the same right to maternity leave and other benefits provided by nature and benefits. foster mothers.
On June 18, 2024, the Union government’s Ministry of Labor and Training Notification has extended maternity and paternity leave benefits to central government employees who become parents through surrogacy.
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