Maternity Leave Request

A Maternity Leave Request is a notice or letter sent by an employee who wants to request a leave of absence by reason of her pregnancy or miscarriage. This type of leave which the law grants in favor of the employee should be granted by the employer otherwise the employer may be found to be violating the laws and may be punished accordingly.

Under the Expanded Maternity Leave Act, a female employee who is pregnant may claim Maternity Leave which guarantees them one hundred and five (105) days of leave. If the female employee suffers a miscarriage, she is entitled to sixty (60) days of leave. In both cases, she is entitled to an additional fifteen (15) days if she is unmarried or single.

The employee is entitled to full pay during the leave provided that she has made at least three monthly contributions in the twelve-month period preceding the due date or estimated date of delivery.

In case the female employee wants an additional Maternity Leave, then a Notice for Additional Maternity Leave may be used. This is a letter given by an employee on maternity leave to their employer to inform the latter that she is extending her maternity leave with which she is entitled to an additional thirty (30) days of leave. Further, this type of leave is a special leave request and should not be used for ordinary leaves such as sick leave, vacation leave, or service incentive leave. For these kinds of leave, an ordinary Leave Request from Employee should be used. Lastly, in case it is the husband who want to claim a leave, a Paternity Leave Request should be used.

How to use this document

The details of the employee such as her name and contact details should be provided, as well as the details of the employer to whom the leave is requested by the employee. The following are the essential contents of this letter:

• The reason for claiming the leave whether pregnancy or miscarriage, which should include the attachment of the medical certificate issued by the employee's physician relative to such pregnancy or miscarriage.
• The start date of the leave.
• The estimated date of delivery (or the date of miscarriage).
• An option to claim company benefits if they are better than the statutory benefits or those provided by the law or if it is a leave grant longer than the leave under the Expanded Maternity Leave Act. It must be noted that this is not an additional benefit but may be availed of by the employee instead of the statutory benefits.

After completing the document, this letter may be printed, signed, and sent to the employer and the employee should keep a copy for their records. This letter may likewise be sent via email to the employer.

Applicable Law

The Labor Code of the Philippines is the law that governs leave applications of employees in the Philippines. The Department of Labor and Employment also issues Department Orders to implement the laws found in the Labor Code and sets the daily minimum wage rates. Specifically, R.A. 11210 or the Expanded Maternity Leave Act, and R.A. 8187 is applicable.

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